Frankie Bard: Character Connection

Frankie Bard is one of three main characters in The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, a World War II novel that I loved and which inspired my favorite personal review. Man, I impressed myself with that one!

Anyway, this is what I had to say about Frankie then: “I am going to be haunted by Frankie’s story for a long time. I should perhaps relate more to the wife than the reporter, but Frankie’s stories have left a mark on my soul. She’s in London, and then she’s in Europe in the refugee trains, and all the time she is beating against the world’s indifference, shouting, “This is happening, and it’s happening in numbers you can’t imagine. And it’s getting worse every day. Pay attention! Please, just pay attention.” And the world doesn’t pay attention, and the horror worsens.”

That gets to the heart of Frankie and why I loved her. Her life is never going to be easy. World War II was still very much a man’s world, although it gave women the opening we needed for bigger changes. Female reporters were expected to write only society pages or an etiquette column. Frankie knows there is more to her talent than that. She works hard, pays more than her share of dues, and fights for what she believes in. She more than earns her chance to go to Europe and report on the war in person.

Her heart is so big though. When faced with such widespread atrocity, it seems to be a normal human reaction to develop a sense of gallows humor and to try not to care anymore; it’s the easiest way to cope. But Frankie feels the stories of everyone she meets, the last as much as the first. She genuinely wants to help them, and though it hurts her and hurts her and hurts her, she keeps giving and trying and doing the best she can to help them any way she can. How can you not love a character like that?

Who did you connect with this week? Link your post on Mr. Linky, then be sure to go check out the other Character Connections!

Who do ya love?

Or love to hate?

You know you’ve got a lot to say about some larger-than-life characters, and this is the place to say it. Write a straightforward post. Draw a picture. Vlog, write poetry, write fiction, cast the role, be as creative as you want!

Be sure to post the book’s title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters.

Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday.