The Care and Management of Lies audiobook

Disclaimer - I received this from the First Reads Giveaway. Additionally, I do not summarize the plot - that is at the top of the page.If there was only one thing I was allowed to rave about _The Care and Management of Lies_ it would be how much I came to care about the characters. At a critical point of the novel, I even broke my readers code - no reading ahead! - but my break was over and I couldn't leave the character hanging!Please read this novel: the emotions the characters put you through are genuine. At the conclusion of this book, I had 'a book hangover'; I could not pick up another book as I was still thinking about this one. I still do catch myself thinking about it in random parts of my day.

This book was totally astonishing. What I found the most remarkable is that Ms. Winspear covers the human side of World War I better than any other fiction book I've read that has been set during the Great War. Ms. Winspear wrote this book to commemorate the 100 anniversary of the beginning of this terrible war. The setting is a farm in Kent and of course in France where the fighting was occurring. The time is 1914 and 1915. The book is all about Kezia Marchant who becomes Kezia Brissendon when she marries Tom Brissendon in early 1914. Kezia is a parson's daughter and well educated for the times. She is a school teacher when she marries Tom, a farmer in Kent. Kezia gives up her London life to become a farmer's wife. She has not got much experience in cooking, keeping house or farming for that matter, but her love for Tom encourages to embrace her new life with both arms. Kezia and Tom are deeply in love, but then Tom decides to join the army at the very beginning of the war (August 1914). At the time everyone thought it would be all over by Christmas. Kezia is left to manage the farm and the house on her own. She is only a few months married, but her optimism and the letters that she and Tom send to each other help her cope. The letters that Tom and Kezia exchange are the main things that drive the plot along in this surprising book. As we know, there was so much misinformation and outright lies divulged about the war and what it was actually like for the soldiers in the trenches, that people at home in England never really understood the enormity of the war and the huge toll it took on lives on both sides. This is apparent in Tom and Kezia's letters as neither one tells the other one what is actually going on with them. Neither one wants to worry the other one. Ms. Winspear introduces the real story of what happened in the trenches in between these wonderful warm letters and it is done in such an understated way, that it makes the war even more vile than what we the readers have thought it was. World War I was a despicable war with no redeeming qualities and nothing is solved by it as is made apparent when World War II began only 21 years after the end of WWI. The book raises a good many questions about patriotism, war-time sacrifices, and the damage done to human lives and psyche both at home and in the trenches. This is a remarkable book. It is both very dark and very warm at the same time.

I'm a huge historical fiction fan, and there seems to be a dearth of books about World War I, so when I saw The Care and Management of Lies, written by a well-known author, I couldn't pass it up. For the most part, I really enjoyed the bookKezia and Thea are best friends. Well, at least they were all through school. But now Kezia is going to marry Tom, Thea's brother, and move to the family farm to become a farm wife. Thea is enjoying her job as a teacher in London, so the girls have grown apart.It is surprising how well Kezia takes to farm life. She is a society girl, and knows nothing about cooking or running a household. But she works hard and she and Tom have a great relationship. Shortly after they are married, World War I breaks out, and Tom enlists. Kezia must now run the entire farm, with the help of a few men who for various reasons can't fight in the war.Thea, always a suffragette, is now protesting the war, and when she is in danger of being arrested for sedition, she has a change of heart and joins a medical team and runs an ambulance transporting wounded from the front lines to the hospital.The Care and Management of Lies does a good job of describing life in the trenches for the soldiers, as well as the changes in the lives of those left behind in England. Not a lot happens, but Kezia is a wonderful character, and I enjoyed reading the letters she wrote to Tom, and seeing her become such a strong woman. Ultimately, The Care and Management of Lies is a book about surviving a world turned upside down and holding true to what is important.Winspear writes very beautifully, and The Care and Management of Lies will be enjoyed by those who want to know more about life during the war. The characters are memorable and while the book is heartbreaking, it's also heartwarming.

Jacqueline Winspear got the inspiration for this novel when she stumbled across a woman's household management book; The Woman's Book - Contains Everything a Woman Ought to Know which was edited by Florence B Jack and first published in London in 1911. The book not only covered household management, but also had comprehensive sections on cookery, children, home doctor, business, dress, society, careers, and citizenship.Set just before, and during the First World War; The Care and Management of Lies is a haunting, yet very engaging story that tells of life both behind the trenches and back at home in rural Kent.Kezia and Thea became best friends when they were both scholarship girls. They formed a bond, sharing new experiences together and considered themselves to be sisters. As they grew up, they grew apart - with Thea risking her liberty by taking part in anti-war demonstrations, whilst Kezia fell in love with Thea's brother Tom. Kezia and Tom married and Kezia was determined that she would be the best farmer's wife in Kent. Throwing herself into an almost alien way of life; cooking, helping on the farm, Kezia thrived and Tom wondered how he had been so fortunate to find this practical, passionate woman.When war is declared, both Tom and Thea join up and find themselves on the frontline. Tom's sense of duty forced him to follow the village men into the Army, whilst Thea took the opportunity to distance herself from the increasingly violent protests that her friends were becoming involved with.Kezia is left to run the farm herself, with just the help of a couple of elderly and unfit men. Turning to the Woman's Book that Thea gave her when she married, she started to create wonderfully delicious dinners for her absent husband. Cooking the meals, and then describing them in fine detail in letters to Tom made Kezia feel as though she was doing something for the war effort. Whilst Tom cheered the hungry, cold and scared soldiers by reading out the descriptions of these succulent treats.The Care and Management of Lies is an unusual story, giving a different aspect to this dreadful and ferocious war. Jacqueline Winspear has vividly portrayed life behind the frontline and at home, creating wonderfully lifelike characters who the reader can really relate to. I felt as though I too had travelled their journey, and admit to more than a couple of sniffs and sobs along the way.This is the first time that I have read anything by Jacqueline Winspear and I was very impressed by the strength of feeling that her writing inspires. I will most certainly read more of her books.

The Care And Management Of LiesByJacqueline WinspearWhere it all takes place...Much of this book takes place in and around London, a family farm outside of London and the battlefields of the First World War...in particular...France.When much of it happens...Most of this story takes place just a few months before England enters the war. The intense parts of this book occur on the battlefields and back at the family farm while the war is actually happening. What it's all about...Thea is best friends with Kezia...they go to school together and become teachers together. Along the way Kezia falls in love with Tom...Thea's brother...and marries him and becomes a farmer's wife. Thea becomes involved with suffragettes and becomes political and just a bit disdainful of Kezia. Enter World War I and all of its horrors. Tom leaves, Thea leaves, even Kezia's father leaves for war. Kezia deals with the farm and it's workers. Tom...gentle sweet Tom...not only has war to live through but also an evil horrible Sergeant Knowles...who literally hates him for his goodness. Kezia and Tom's next door neighbor is also Tom's commander but he still can't do much to stop Sergeant Knowles from persecuting Tom.Which characters had the most impact on me...Kezia was my most impactful character. She was so sweet and true and brave. Every small or large thing that she did was laced with elegance and beauty. She started with always using her best napkins at tea to wearing Tom's trousers to milk cows while Tom was at war. She literally saved the farm during this period. What did I love the most...Oh my...I loved Kezia and Tom's relationship. I loved their gentle ways with each other. I loved the letters they wrote to each other during this war.Whom did I love the least...This is easy...Sergeant Knowles. And actually...I was not a huge fan of Thea, either. She was too disdainful of Kezia...she felt too superior for absolutely no reason.Why I wanted to read it...I love this author's Maisie Dobbs books and wanted to read this stand alone new one.What made me love it...This author made me love it. This book grabbed me from the start and I literally loved every word, every scene, every character...well...almost every character.Why you should read it, too...It is an amazing book about the lives of people who were living through a horrible war. It will touch your soul. I could not believe the beautiful ending of this book. I laughed...I cried...I loved every word.

The Care and Management of Lies is a beautiful story of the love and friendship of three people and how those lives were forever altered by World War I. Kezia and Thea met in school and became best friends. Kezia marries Thea's brother, Tom. Thea becomes active in the suffragette movement and is convinced that Kezia is going to have a difficult time being a farmer's wife.As the war begins, Tom sees that many of the men who work on his farm are enlisting. Thea volunteers as an ambulance driver to avoid being arrested for her war protesting activities. Kezia is left to keep the farm running, with an old man and a lame boy to help her with the work.Kezia keeps the farm running and makes everyone around her feel loved and cared for. Her letters to Tom are filled with her cooking that she cooks for him at home. These letters are read by Tom to his men who feel her love for Tom and give them something to think about besides the mud and rats and death that actually surround them. There is no gratuitous violence and the characters are complex and well-drawn. I listened to this as an audio-book and the reader's voice was perfect for it. A really good read or listen.

This book is about a woman--a strong, intelligent, caring and confident woman. She knows who she is and she's not afraid to make mistakes and that's what gives her the strength to do what she must. She loves truly. She is a powerful influence for good in the lives of those around her. She's an amazing woman and I want to be just like her.

One of the best novels about WWI that I have read. An emotionally draining book. It's scenes of WWI will make you revile all of the old men who send young men and women to war. Yet the love and care expressed between husband and wife and between comrades is so touching.

I thoroughly enjoy the characters that Jacqueline Winspear creates for her stories and this book was no exception. She does a very good job of evoking the time, place and sensibilities of her historical fiction while not being overly nostalgic or sentimental. I find her settings easy to wrap my head around and the slower pace makes for a relaxing read. In this particular story, I appreciated her linking the ideas in “The Woman’s Book” with day to day life at the beginning of the First World War even as we spend time with a number of main characters, which included men. (view spoiler)[ While I couldn’t be surprised by the ending, it was still sad. The fact that all the bad news came to the reader in the last few pages was a blessing and given how our heroine handled it, we, too, were encouraged to carry on. (hide spoiler)]

Jacqueline Winspear just keeps getting better in my opinion. I am hooked on the Maisie Dobbs mysteries and then I happened to check this book out from the library as it sounded interesting. She never disappoints. The story is about three individuals just before World War I; a woman, her brother and the brother's soon-to-be bride who is a friend of the sister. Each individual's character is well thought out and presented. The story is complex but totally realistic. We delve into each character and the passions they have, the goals they hope to attain all wrapped up in the complications of life.It is a poignant story about love, war and the searching for something in life to give it meaning. It, ultimately, is a sad story with one being drawn into the deep love between the characters and the management of the lies they must tell to keep each other sane.I highly recommend this book. As a historical novel it displays the tragedy of WWI without going into all the gory details. It also shows how people on the home front had to deal with day-to-day life and how they coped with it.One thing I will always be struck with was a section where the husband is at the front in France facing death every day knowing that if he does not kill the Germans, they will kill him. He gets a letter from his wife who informs him that the British have captured many Germans and are keeping them not in prisoner of war camps but in a guarded fashion allowing the local farmers to use the men as helpers to grow the food to supply British Troops. She tells her husband that his German is among them, working, eating and sleeping in order to help the British cause. He feels it is so ironic that while he is close to death the same people he fears are taking his place on his farm doing his work which he would otherwise be doing if he was not at the front fighting. He is facing death and his enemy has replaced him in the peace of his home.