The Splendid and the Vile

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson.

Pages: 464 pages

Length: 1 Month (April)

Participants: Alison, Krish

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

[Alison]

I am a little ways into Part Three and am reading a bit of this a day! I have read Eric Larson’s “Devil In the White City” and my husband read “Dead Wake” last year so I was intrigued by this book! I know nothing about the Blitz during WWII or even that much about Churchill so I was looking forward to this book! I really like how he makes the chapters short...that seems to not make the subject drag on...also he makes the characters very personable and makes you want to learn more about them! This is not a dry read at all and I am really enjoying it!

[Joan]

I've been listening to this on audio since March 10th. I'm currently at the epilogue. I've listened to "Dead Wake" and "In the Garden of Beasts". I remember enjoying them which is why I got this audio. However looking back I rated Dead Wake 3 stars and In the Garden of Beasts 2 stars. Having been 3 or 4 years since I've listened to them, I remember more details on In the Garden of Beasts. This book I'm not sure I'm going to remember much from it and I wonder if it's just the audio isn't that great. The reader is a little dull. I've been disappointed with it. I'm curious to see everyone's reviews on it.