I have enjoyed this book from the very first page. Accurate references to the history of WWII. Great for anyone with an interest in this era.

4.5★s
The Note Through The Wire is a fictionalised memoir by New Zealand author, Doug Gold. Gold’s in-laws were reticent regards their wartime experiences, and died before he could record their story, so the events and incidents in this tale are taken from press articles, military records, official war histories, eyewitness accounts and letters. Gold skilfully fills in the many blanks to produce a heart-warming wartime love story.

It is the arrest and torture by the Germans of her older sister and younger brother that makes it an easy decision for Josefine Lobnik to work for the partisans, to do whatever she can to get rid of the occupying force and keep Slovenia for the Slovenes. If that means helping the British and their allies, she is happy to do it, even if she is also terribly afraid.

After she watches twenty innocent Slovenes murdered in cold blood in the town square of Maribor that she realises this may have been the fate of her missing brother Polde. One of her friends suggests asking a British prisoner at the POW camp if anyone had heard about him, or if he is there.

When Kiwi, Bruce Murray first arrives at the POW camp, Stalag XVIIID, near Maribor, he vows two things: the first is that he will do whatever he can to sabotage German operations, and using his fertile imagination, Bruce comes up with a plethora of innovative ways to do this; the second is to escape, which he also eventually manages to do, after two unsuccessful attempts.

But while he’s there, taking his usual walk around the perimeter fence on a Sunday morning, an old crone comes to the wire with a request. Only it’s not an old crone, it’s a young woman, a beautiful green-eyed young woman, looking for information about her missing brother. She hands him a note.

The narrative alternates between Josefine and Bruce: at first, Josefine’s story sets the scene of civil unrest and food shortages leading up to the occupation by the Germans. The contrast between this and Bruce’s story of a stable and prosperous New Zealand is stark. While Josefine’s narrative then describes her work for the partisans, Bruce details his battle experiences and the horror of the enforced marches and camps as a POW.

Gold evokes the era well, both wartime Slovenia and 1930’s Wellington. While a wartime story is bound to include hardship and heartache, as well as disgust at certain atrocities, there is also triumph from this remarkable pair, and quite a bit of humour involved in the antics in which Bruce indulged. Obviously slivovitz must feature, but also leeches, semolina, a German greatcoat, a sidecar outfit, and a German general’s appropriated Savile Row suits. A map and a glossary of the Slovene terms commonly used in the text would certainly enhance the enjoyment of this moving true story.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.