Decided to use the novel as a good excuse to sit in the sunshine this afternoon and finish it.
I must admit that the period in which it was set - London in 1962 - was not at all familiar to me. I was only 10 at the time, and had no idea that there was such a strong anti-Semitic feeling, and had never heard of the 62 group. Jo Bloom certainly raised awareness of this and successfully recreated some of the culture of the period too with the record shops, fashion, hair salons, pubs and coffee bars.
I would say that this is a good novel rather than a great novel. The characterisation was a little two-dimensional at times, and their motivation lacked depth. This didn't, however, spoil my enjoyment of the novel and, once I had started reading, I found it difficult to put down. It was full of suspense and some of the descriptive details successfully evoked 1960s London; I had forgotten how much smoking went on!!
I liked the cameo portraits of the girls from the salon, and the way in which some of the other minor characters were delineated - such as Jack's parents.
Still not sure about the optimistic ending. The plot lines were tied up a little too mechanically, with the 'baddies' on trial and a wedding on the horizon for the hero and heroine. Even Barb's parents were re-united at the end, and we are made to feel that Henry won't follow in his father's footsteps.
I think this was possibly Jo Bloom's first novel. If this is so, then I look forward to seeing her develop as a writer and will certainly add future novels to my reading list.
Thank you, Gransnet, for sending me a copy of the novel and sending me on a slightly different path from that which I usually tread.