Why read Human Voices?

Book cover of Human Voices

Book description

The human voices of Penelope Fitzgerald's novel are those of the BBC in the first years of the Second World War, the time when the Concert Hall was turned into a dormitory for both sexes and the whole building became a target for the enemy bombers.

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Why read it?

1 author picked Human Voices as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Janet Beard

Author

An unsparing portrait of a cast of characters working for the BBC in London at the outset of the war, this novel is both funny and moving, though Fitzgerald’s keen sense of irony assures that the writing is never sentimental. Even the most minor characters come to life, as they adjust to both the bureaucracy of the wartime BBC and the realities of life during the Blitz.

From Janet's list on The best fiction about women’s experiences of World War II.