Mrs. Miniver
by Jan Struther. “This book is in no way about action or adventure of war. Instead it is overflowing with observations about human nature that were amazingly accurate - the kind of thing that you never thought of before but once put into words you realize that so many feelings and actions are universal to the human race. Mrs. Miniver musings include trying to put words to the sound that her windshield wipers make and mustering up false urgency to Christmas shop early. She even contemplates the personalities of the people who go in with the swing of a swinging door vs those who push against the flow to try to enter faster. Somehow when I write them down they just don’t sound as brilliant but I can pick up the book now, turn to any page and find a little gem. Meanwhile, the war is brewing and Mrs Miniver takes her children to be fitted for gas masks. She also goes to the dentist and watches the last autumn leaf fall from the tree outside her window…so life is going on while the world slowly boils.”
