Book Review: Over By Christmas by William Daysh - Page 2

George emerges as the central character of Over By Christmas. We follow him repeatedly to and from Portsmouth. He sees The Pacific and the South Atlantic. He sails around Britain into the North Sea. He is in Malta and Gallipoli. Above all, he is in the war, perhaps not muddied in trenches, but permanently threatened by torpedo, shell and sea. He makes friends, is loyal, and gallant and is promoted.

But throughout, his passion for Carrie remains. Chances to reconcile their differences, to realise their shared love are rare, but important moments. And then…

And then this is the beauty of Over By Christmas. The narrative engages the reader in its characters’ lives. In twists and turn it surprises, but in the end we have merely the complications of human relationships. Warfare is about sparring, about conflict, imagined gains and suffered losses. Affairs of the heart may demonstrate strikingly similar qualities.

Article Author: Philip Spires

I was a child in Sharlston, then a mining village, and then Crofton, near Wakefield, UK. I went to London University and then did two years as a VSO in Kenya. I then taught in London for 16 years before moving to Brunei technical education. …

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