Roads of Resistance (Falcon Point Historical)
War ruins lives. Not just those of soldiers but innocents—civilians crushed by battle, displacement, treachery, and famine. Roads of Resistance follows several young adults, mostly in the Netherlands, as the tides of WWII sweep over, stagnate, and recede from them. Sowards weaves a convincing tale of complex motives and allegiances, crossed purposes, trust and betrayal against the backdrop of the Dutch resistance, the Holocaust, Operation Market Garden, and the final collapse of the Nazi invasion. She rewards serious readers with a deep look into the collateral damage of war.
Ingrid Lang flees Austria in a panic and soon runs into Gerritt Hendriks in the Netherlands. Ingrid’s childhood friend, Rupert Altbauer, is seriously wounded on the Eastern Front before assignment to Arnhem to combat the Resistance. Each careens between crises, as folded timelines supply background. 1944 finds Ingrid and Gerritt deeply involved in resisting the Nazis and hopeful of liberation. Nothing comes easily. Many characters misunderstand the motives and loyalties of others, even friends. Given their ages, emotion-driven action naturally follows. Soward’s closing is true to her premises and intellectually if not emotionally fulfilling.
This realistic presentation of the suffering of civilian populations in war makes it personal for the core characters as they thread a shifting maze of aspirations and obstacles. Choices have consequences. Conflicts and compromises within the Dutch Resistance highlight the varied backgrounds and goals of the royalists, communists, Christians, humanitarians, and those merely seeking to survive. Beyond accidental death or injury caused by combat, civilians suffer deprivation, starvation, and scattering. Families are broken by betrayal as well as bullets. Sowards delivers deep, satisfying historical fiction.
