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Murray Pura | One Hundred Years Ago – What Kind Of World?
March 26, 2012
Cheers. Welcome to my guest blog for freshfiction. If you'd like to leave a
comment after reading the blog, please go ahead. This will automatically enter
you into a giveaway for an autographed copy of my new novel THE WINGS OF MORNING. All
the best! This winter saw the film War Horse coming to our local cinemas, a story
about a boy and his horse set during World War One. At the same time, the
popular British series Downtown Abbey was sweeping an ever-growing number
of fans into its embrace on Sunday evenings in Canada and the US. Part of Season
2's story in Downtown Abbey was World War One. But the series also takes
a look at the coming of the motorcar and electricity. The first decades of the 20th century were a period of momentous
change. The motorcar and electricity were part of that. But so were the
telephone and the airplane. Try to put yourself in your grandparents' and
great-grandparents' place. For hundreds of years, thousands of years, you use a
horse and a cart. Suddenly people are driving past you in a car. It's never
happened before. You always needed a horse. At the same time, except for going
up in hot air balloons, flying was unheard of – who could even think of
ever really flying up with the hawks and starlings? Yet it happened and by 1914
airplanes were buzzing over people's heads in ever increasing numbers. Flying!
How incredible was that? Toss in flicking a switch for your house lights,
instead of lighting candles and oil lamps, along with talking with your brother
or sister in Denver while you were living in Boston, and the first years of the
20th century made most people's heads and brains spin. Then there was the lethal aspect of those years – a world war for the
first time, unprecedented in its scale of destruction and loss of human life.
And right on its heals, the horseman of disease and pestilence – The
Spanish Influenza, the first modern pandemic, rivaling the Middle Ages' Black
Death in terms of its global scope and the numbers slain. More died from the
pandemic than died in the trenches and skies of Europe's war. Imagine all that
loss of human life taking place in a short span of five years, 1914-1919. It
must have staggered families in every country affected – and almost every
country was affected. So in this mix we see the Amish of the United Stares trying to hold onto their
distinctive take on the Christian faith and their distinctive lifestyle. A
lifestyle that wasn't really that distinctive until 1900-1920 came along. For it
was when they said no to telephones when everyone else was saying yes, no to
motorcars, no to electricity, no to airplanes, that they began to look
different, even odd. But the oddness was nothing to how they looked when they
refused to fight for America in the first global conflict – then they
looked like bad neighbors and unpatriotic. In fact, with their German language
and accent, they looked a lot like the enemy American boys were being killed by
in France and Belgium. So people took it upon themselves to burn down their
churches, vandalize their homes and farms and crops. And some people in the
government and the military took it upon themselves to imprison and even kill
those Amish-and Hutterites, Quakers, and Mennonites. Which is where my early 20th century story comes in. Not like War
Horse or Downtown Abbey. But with a young man who is a whiz at flying
and a young woman who loves to go up with him into the heaps of white cumulus
and golden sun. With a military who sees how brilliantly he flies and
manipulates him into enlisting and fighting in the sky over France, even though
the Amish are against war and will cut him off once he climbs into a cockpit.
With a woman who loves him and believes in him despite all those around her who
scorn and reject him for what he is doing. With bloody warfare that the Amish
youth swears he will not take part in, choosing to force planes down without
killing their pilots, until the day comes when so many of his own men have been
shot down his fingers turn in rage towards the machine guns mounted on the
fuselage of his plane. That's THE WINGS OF MORNING.
I invite you to pick up a copy and get into its world with that young man
and woman and find out what happens in the years 1917, 1918, and 1919 to them,
their love, their people, their nation, and their faith.
Comments
34 comments posted.
Re: Murray Pura | One Hundred Years Ago – What Kind Of World?
Sounds like a book I want to read so would love to win it
(Shelly Itkin 10:43am March 26, 2012)
I, too, would like to read it and winning is always good.
(Mary Hay 10:54am March 26, 2012)
Just love these kinds of book. This sounds like a great book to read. Would like to wind this book. Thank you
(Diane Castiglione 11:17am March 26, 2012)
Love your review of history. Good for you!
Blessings,
marjorie
(Marjorie Carmony 11:18am March 26, 2012)
The Wings of Morning looks like a wonderful book. I would love to win a copy - but even if I don't win, I plan to get the book to read. The description has me intrigued. Best of luck with it!
(Nancy Reynolds 11:26am March 26, 2012)
I love books with Amish themes. This sounds like one I'd like to read.
(Wilma Frana 11:35am March 26, 2012)
Amish themed books are probably my favorite, so I know I would love to read it. Thanks for the contest!
(Becky Darmogray 12:09pm March 26, 2012)
Sounds great! I would love to read this... winning is even better. Thanks!
(Ladette Kerr 12:30pm March 26, 2012)
Sounds like my kind of book. Please enter me! What a wonderful post.
Thanks for sharing
AprilR
(April Renn 12:49pm March 26, 2012)
I love variety and this has a very different premise than anything I've read. Sounds very intriguing and thanks for the chance. What a great way to find a new author.
(Jeanne Sheats 12:50pm March 26, 2012)
I love to read historical fiction Murray and this sounds like
you have a winner on your hands!! My grandma will be 98 in May
and she is always telling me about her past which so many
things a re hard to imagine now.
(Mishelle Nofziger 12:55pm March 26, 2012)
Love historical fiction,
(Jettie Parrish 12:58pm March 26, 2012)
I grew up hearing so many stories of WWII, but not many of WWI. This book should be a very interesting Amish twist on that earlier war.
(Sue Farrell 1:05pm March 26, 2012)
This is one of the books I have on my wish list, it would be nice if I won it, lol! Thank you for the chance.
(Wendy Newcomb 1:09pm March 26, 2012)
Have to say after reading books upon books I have never read a story
about the Hamish community, I am intrigued. This sounds a very romantic
story and I would like to see how it pans out.
(Sheila Eyre 3:21pm March 26, 2012)
Sounds lovely! congratulations!!
(Christy Comstock 3:55pm March 26, 2012)
sounds like as good read..
(Mal Kaplan 4:33pm March 26, 2012)
I'd love to read more early 20th century stories!
(Cheryl McEwen 4:52pm March 26, 2012)
Book sound like a great story. Thanks for giving me a chance to win it.
(Linda Hall 5:16pm March 26, 2012)
What an interesting post. I hadn't realized that the Amish refused to fight and that they were punished for it.
(Maureen Emmons 5:41pm March 26, 2012)
This book sounds exceptionally good. I love Amish-themed stories and set during WWI makes it even more interesting. Loved the post!
(Linda Luinstra 5:49pm March 26, 2012)
Sounds great. Would love to win this.
(Grace Irelan 5:59pm March 26, 2012)
I just Love Amish books and this won sounds like a GREAT ONE hope I am lucky
enough to win it
(Shelly Itkin 6:09pm March 26, 2012)
Sounds like a book I'd enjoy reading with the era in which it takes place and the history.
(Rich Cook 6:18pm March 26, 2012)
Wow, after reading your intro I really started to think of how it was back in the day. All the new inventions and the way of life that was changing and it happened so fast really. It was like the closet opened and it was a door of discovery. I'm sure it changed peoples attitude, their perspective on life and where they wanted to be in this new changing world. It opened doors to new adventures and a whole new way of adapting and living. While all this was going on , the people that believed they had what they needed already in the land and what they could make of it without all this newness probably did get pushes and nudges to go with it even though it wasn't their belief. This is good, it really made me sit back and think of the past without AND with the changes that really did come rather fast. I've not really read books like this but it sure did catch me. It is a time I never really thought about but I now will definitely check it out. This book sounds fantastic and something to give thought to.
Thank You
(Margie Gagarin 7:12pm March 26, 2012)
I would love to read THE WINGS OF MORNING thank you. It looks wonderful.
(Mary Preston 8:27pm March 26, 2012)
Amish books hold my interest, because I've been through a few towns where they reside. Also I know in small towns, the people at auctions tend to let things go cheaper for the Amish because of being neighborly and showing concern for hardworkers.
(Alyson Widen 8:40pm March 26, 2012)
This is right before my Father was born. He was born in 1922, and currently is in a rehabilitation facility, after suffering from a fall. For some reason, it has affected his memory to a degree, and he comes and goes from past to present, talking about his childhood. This book would be such a wonderful sense of comfort to me during this time to fill in some time and perhaps be able to read to him during his "grumpy" times. I enjoy reading Historical books anyway, and am currently reading a book about WWII. This book sounds wonderful, and I can't wait to get my hands on it!!
(Peggy Roberson 9:05pm March 26, 2012)
Would love to win a copy of this book
(Johnda Scott 12:03pm March 27, 2012)
Sounds interesting.
(Shirley Nienkark 1:34pm March 27, 2012)
I would love to win a copy of Wings of Morning, it sounds like an awesome read.
(Pat Howard 2:02pm March 27, 2012)
The Amish are interesting people. I didn't realize they did not fight in the war, but I am facinated by their lifestyle.
(Gladys Paradowski 5:25pm March 27, 2012)
I would really love 2 win a copy of this book. i love your books take care god bless
(Lois Sausedo 2:01pm March 29, 2012)
Hi Murray. This is a HUGE stretch but did you take a drama
course from Frederick Edell when you went to Acadia Divinity
School? I happened to find one of your books and when I read
your bio and saw your pic I thought you looked really
familiar...I attended Acadia from 1980-83 and took a few of
Edell's courses...was curious if you were the tall blonde Div
student with the hearty deep voice. 😊
(Ellen Smith 6:48pm September 18, 2016)
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