Resistance

Sheers, Owen. Resistance. Nan A. Talese, 2007.

Reason read: Sheers celebrates a birthday in September. Read in his honor.

The year is 1944 and Sheers has introduced his readers to an alternate World War II in which Germany has all but won the war. For perspective, D-Day landings are an utter failure, Dewey wins the presidency of the United States, and Britain is almost completely German occupied. In the far reaches of a remote sheep-farming countryside all of the Welsh menfolk have abruptly disappeared, leaving their wives to farm the land alone just before the harsh arrival of winter. At the center of the story is young Sarah Lewis, not yet thirty and a sheep farmer’s wife of two years. Her antagonist is a German soldier, Albrecht Wolfram, who has come with a band of soldiers to the valley in search of a map. Incidentally, this map is real. It is the Hereford Mappa Mundi, a priceless medieval map of the world. But, back to Albrecht. He is not your average World War II villain. He loves books, nature, and music. The war has made him sick of fighting; he just wants to hide from the war and Sarah’s world is the perfect hideout. It is if Sheers wants you to like Albrecht just a little despite the side he is supposed to be on. Incrementally, the sentiment is felt for all of the soldiers under Albrecht’s command. As winter approaches, the local women and the German soldiers must work together to survive. Their mutual necessity for each other forms strange relationships. Sarah and Albrecht perform a dance of growing trust and lingering suspicion while Sarah tries to hang onto the hope that her husband is still alive and will return. In the end, the community of women face a heartbreaking betrayal. There is much more to the story, but I will leave that alone.
As an aside, one of my favorite scenes in the book is when Albrecht brings Sarah a gramophone and plays her cello music of Bach. It is like a seduction for the senses as well as the heart.

Quotes to quote, “The shrapnel had numbed his world” (p 99) and “…despite his blunted senses, which had left him feeling less human than ever” (p 99). These two sentences sent shivers down my spine as they alluded to something farm more ominous about Mr. Wolfram.

Author fact: Resistance is Sheers first novel. He is also a poet which makes me wonder if he put himself in the story as the poet Sarah remembers from childhood.

Book trivia: because Resistance takes place on a sheep farm readers learn a great deal about tupping, dipping, and foot rot. Resistance was made into a movie in 2011. This is one I would definitely see.

The music is very important in Resistance. Bach’s Cello Suites No. Four, the Allemande, the Courante, the Sarabande, and the Intermezzo.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Wales Welcomes You” (p 248).