Part of the Furniture

By: Mary Wesley

Narrated by: Samuel West

Juno Marlowe hurries away from the thundering planes overhead, having just said goodbye to the two men she has always loved. She finds herself rescued by a stranger, frail and older than his years, who offers the protection of his house and a little more.

©1998 Mary Wesley (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A great author paired with a fantastic narrator

Seventeen year-old Juno Marlowe is heartbroken after having seen off her two best friends, bound for their army service during WWII at a London train station. Adding to her sorrow and confusion is the recent memory of a threesome which she hadn't planned for and didn't necessarily consent to, but before she has a chance to sort out her thoughts and feelings, she's grabbed by a kindly stranger who pulls her into his house for protection as an air raid is underway. The man is obviously in poor health, and even as he has innocently asked Juno to lie by his side, soon passes away, but not before having first written a letter to his father about the young girl. All these events are covered very quickly at the start of the story however, and the rest unfolds when Juno has made her way to the father's farm out in the English countryside. It's a wartime tale about the sorrow of loss and the hope new beginnings bring, with wonderfully colourful characters, and best of all, Wesley's gorgeous prose. I wish I could do this book justice, because it is one that definitely deserves to be read an enjoyed by many. Wesley herself is an interesting character, as it seems she only took up writing in her 70th year after the passing of her husband, and went on to become a bestseling British author in the last 20 years of her life. Definitely an author I'll be reading a lot more from. Read with warmth and compassion by Samuel West, who could possibly be the love of my life, or at the very least, my very favourite narrator.