34) La's Orchestra Saves the World-Alexander McCall Smith

La is a girl from the country. A girl from the country who wanted the proper education and attended Cambridge University. It was here that she met a man named Richard who she would later marry. Sadly, it did not go the way she planned and she finds herself removed from London and back into the countryside. Suffolk is never where she assumed she would end up, but as World War II began, she was glad to be where she was. She attended to hens on a farm not too far from her home, plants vegetables for the war effort and enjoys the quiet of the country. It's not until a friend of a friend pays her a visit and suggests that maybe what they need is a morale booster. La suggests perhaps starting an orchestra but then quickly dismisses it as a silly idea. Tim disagrees and soon they have themselves a quiet little orchestra. They meet once a month and occasionally perform concerts with the promise of a victory concert once the war is over. But is music as healing as she believes it to be? Does her orchestra stand a chance at boosting morale? Will anything she does help at all?

This is another book I have had my eye on for awhile. It always sounded so interesting. I had read a few other books by AMS, but this is absolutely my favorite. I could not put it down. It was beautiful even if it was set in England during WWII. I thought that the story had soul, that it was uplifting and wonderful. I was mad when I had to stop reading and, despite being incredibly happy with the book as a whole, was upset when it was over. It made you remember that no matter what hardships we come across (and WWII was certainly a massive hardship for anyone at that time), the power of music and the necessity for love is important. 

While I understand that the shortened synopsis I gave hardly gives anything away, I want to give enough to entice someone in and then they can discover just how special this book really is. Everyone should read this book. Male, female, flying purple people eater. Whatever you may be. It's one of those books where you stop and think, "Wow, not all books these days are unsatisfactory. Some still blow you away."