Sleeping through war - Jackie Carreira

Set against the backdrop of real, world-changing events, these are thestories that are forgotten in the history books.

The year is 1968 and the world is changing forever. During the monthof May, students are rioting and workers are striking across the globe, civilrights are being fought and died for, nuclear bombs are being tested, there aremajor conflicts on every continent, and war is raging in Vietnam. Against thisvolatile background, three women strive to keep everything together.

Rose must keep her dignity and compassion as a WestIndian nurse in East London. Amalia must keep hoping that her son can escape their seedylife in Lisbon. And Mrs Johnson in Washington DC must keepwriting to her son in Vietnam. She has no-one else to talk to. Three differentwomen, three different countries, but all striving to survive - a courageousattitude that everybody can relate to.

Although SleepingThrough War is a work of fiction, this somewhat hidden history attemptsto humanise a few weeks in time that were so stuffed with monumental eventsthat it's easy to forget the people involved. The author was a child in 1968and lived in London and Lisbon during the 1960s. She met women like these anddidn't want their voices to go unheard into the future. Readers of both historyand literary fiction will enjoy this emotionally-vivid work that weaves fictioninto fact.