What I’m Reading: The Game of Love and Death

Posted on 22 May 2015

Today we take a look inside Fi’s bag to see what book she’s got on the go. Fi has the envious job of marketing all the wonderful Scholastic children’s books, which means if she’s not plotting new websites, briefing in TV ads, making plans with retailers or faffing on social media then she’ll be reading the latest manuscripts from editorial. It’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it!

Now that the weather’s looking up and summer seems to be stopping by to say hello, there’s only one place to be at lunchtime, and it’s not at your desk working away as you shelter from the rain, rather it’s a trip to the park for some vitamin D.

To spend the most perfect hour in the park you will need just a few things:

• Sunshine. This goes without saying, am I right?!
• A clear patch of grass in the park. Let’s be honest none of us want to be right next to another human being (one we don’t know of course, friends is another matter!) as we’re relaxing at lunch, so a little patch of park that’s all yours is vital!
• Yummy food. Something that’s easy to eat with one hand holding your book – so no complicated pasta or runny sauces. A sandwich and a banana win every time.
• An iced coffee. When the sun is out and you’re in the park then the only option is iced coffee – it’s refreshing and scrumptious all in one. Oh and it will prevent you from having a post lunch doze (that can’t just be me).
• Good music. Essential for ensuring you stay in your book and don’t get distracted by other people’s natterings. Don’t get me wrong I’m incredibly nosey and I’m not adverse to a bit of eavesdropping. Just not at lunchtime when I’ve only got an hour away from my desk! For that hour I want background music that won’t have me singing along and will stop me hearing exactly what plans people have for the weekend!
• Sunglasses. Vital for stopping the sun and hiding your tears when things start to get emotional in your latest read.
• And most importantly…a very good book. An hour spent reading in the park is one of the best ways of breaking up the working day, especially when the book you’re reading is as good as Martha Brockenbrough’s The Game of Love and Death . It’s a book that you get pulled in to within moments and to be honest you’ll struggle to find a good place to pause so you can head back to work!

The Game of Love and Death tells the tale of Flora and Henry, a black girl and a white boy growing up in 1930’s Seattle during the Great Depression. As they fall in love thanks to a mutual love of music little do they realise that they’re pawns in a game between eternal adversaries Love and Death.

This is the second time I’ve read this book as it’s a riveting read and unputdownable. To put it simply I just had to read it again. Within just a few pages you feel like you’ve been transported to an era of jazz clubs and shiny cars, but as the story unfolds you realise there’s so much more to the story than this, with racial struggles and the oppression of so many during this time, there are much bigger themes at play here. And with Henry and Flora you see this – both characters are struggling with what they have to do in life compared to what they want to do. Flora’s strength and Henry’s duty are so brilliantly written and you can’t help but feel for them. Martha Brockenbrough has created two characters that you can’t help but love, so much so that you need to know what will happen to this pair, will they overcome everything that’s being thrown at them?

My absolute favourite thing about The Game of Love and Death is the characters of Love and Death themselves. These two characters are fascinating, not only can they inhabit the bodies of anyone they want, causing all sorts of mischief (and pain) along the way, but they are also so reliant on each other. They have played this game again and again in the past and as the story unfolds and you find out more about this pair you realise that they aren’t quite as they seem.