Cottam presents us with a series of dilemmas.Byline: By David Whetstone whetstone, natural or manufactured stone used as an abrasive solid to sharpen tools. It is used dry, with water, or with oil. Such a stone of the finer grade used with oil is usually called an oilstone. Hamer's War (Pocket Books, pounds 6.99) and Slapton Sands (Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. , pounds 12.99) by Francis Cottam. Most novels about the Second World War are either over-sentimental or one dimensional. But Hamer's War, by Francis Cottam, proved an inspirational holiday reading choice. Cottam has chosen an unusual protagonist ( a rugged Nazi hero, decorated for valour by the Fhrer himself ( and does a clever thing. He makes us sympathise with him and makes him worthy of our sympathy. Martin Hamer is an English-sounding name and, indeed, the young Hamer spent some time in England before the war. But war comes and Hamer, a loyal professional soldier, throws his weight behind the Fatherland. He has little at home to live for. His young wife, Lillian, was killed in a car crash just before war broke out. Injured fighting the Russians ( Cottam diligently keeping British readers on side ( Hamer is sent to recuperate re·cu·per·ate v. To return to health or strength; recover. at a concentration camp in Poland where he saves a Jewish woman from a vicious dog. As his relationship with the woman, Julia, deepens, we learn the truth about Hamer's marriage to the seemingly angelic Lillian. This is a terrific twist in a tale which forges along, losing nothing from regular flashbacks. The new novel from Hamer, Slapton Sands, flashes back to just before D-Day from the 1970s when American research student Alice Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. is anxious to unravel the mystery behind a tragic training accident. Nearly 1,500 American marines were killed off the Devon beach when training for the June 6 assault on Normandy. But what exactly went wrong? Again Cottam's crisp prose carries a good story along. |
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