Flesh And Grass

By Libby Cone


This is a beautiful little gem of a book; an intriguing nugget of a story, skilfully polished into a wonderful jewel. As I read I felt as though I’d been transported into a totally different world – partly because the historical setting was so unusual and partly because of the narrative technique.

Because the narrator, Cornelis, is blind the narrative relies heavily on the descriptive power of the sense of smell. As we get to know Cornelius better throughout the course of the book we get to know what certain scents mean to him and how they can trigger emotions in him more intensely than in other people.

The story is set during the time that the Dutch were setting up colonies in the New World and follows the unrest between Holland and England on the Delaware coast. This is a period of history that I don’t know much about, and haven’t read much about – so for me that added a lot to the interest of the story.

Like Libby Cone’s previous book ‘War On The Margins’ there is a firm base of historical fact to the fiction. She says in the epilogue, “I humbly present this work, ‘Flesh And Grass’, as a work of fiction loosely based on the story of the Plockhoy settlement.”

As such, I found it an informative, different and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find out more about ‘Flesh And Grass’ here. And you can read my review of ‘War On The Margins’ here.

War On The Margins

By Libby Cone

This is a very unusual book. Based on Libby Cone’s MA thesis, it is a fictionalised account of some of the real events that took place on Jersey during the Second World War.

The story is interspersed with original documents from the time, which add depth to the narrative and increase the chilling sense of reality that runs through it. Most people will be aware of the treatment of the Jewish population of Jersey during the Nazi occupation, but this account brings it vividly to life.

The counterpoint to the part of the narrative that deals with occupation and war, is the telling of some very different love stories. A shy young woman desperately trying to hide her partly Jewish heritage and an escaped prisoner; two women working for the resistance; an elderly Jewish woman and her infirm husband. All of their stories show how love can triumph even in the squalor and terror of war and the brutality of the Nazi regime.

The real life story of the artists and resistance workers Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore is cleverly woven into the story and adds a new dimension. Their story is fascinating.

I do recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period and wants to read a very human account of it. I was gripped by the story throughout.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt