Now, God Be Thanked [Paperback]

John Masters (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Book Company (1979)
• ASIN: B001IKMX7E
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with WWI background, July 25, 2005

By 

SusieQ (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now, God Be Thanked (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read a fair amount of novels that use WWI and the English aristocracy as a plot point. And so many of them are sentimental drivel. But as of this date, I can safely say that "Now God Be Thanked" is frankly one of the best novels I've ever read, as well as one of the best at using the carnage and the changes wrought by WWI on England as its theme. The basic plot interweaves the stories of two English families, the Rowlands and the Strattons, and how the war is a force of change in all their lives, but it's so much more than just that. It has all the emotional power of the old TV series, "Upstairs Downstairs" but I'm not comparing it to that; it's vastly deeper & richer. This is the first book of a trilogy by John Masters and it ends in December, 1915. I can only say that I am eager to find the other two books in the trilogy and find out the futures of all these characters, though I can imagine most will be heartbreaking, particularly for the young men...I was especially impressed with the fact that Masters balanced such a large canvas of characters; every one is given his or her chance and we come to know them -- NOT a light read, very involving & thought-provoking.