Maddy’s Wings is a heartwarming life tale of 92-year-old Maddy, a WW2 Air Auxiliary pilot. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's she is challenged to face painful memories of crashing a loaded B26 bomber that killed two female flight crew members.
The Wishing Book Awards - Finalist
Heart break and humour abounds, as she recalls growing up in the tiny northern Ontario community of Cedar Grove during the depression and adventurous crop dusting Jack trains Maddy to fly. After the crash and war, home settling with navy man Gordon, they are challenged to overcome war traumas while facing the death of their daughter and unborn granddaughter. Stoically facing the of end of her life, aging Maddy befriends a stuttering old woman as her estranged son-in-law returns from assignment in Afghanistan. New neighbours; a woman and her teenaged granddaughter offer womanly bonding, pet pig companionship and medicinal giggle brownies. As Maddy begins to live old age to its fullest, a ruthless elder care worker taunts her. As though surviving a plane crash, the atrocities of war is not enough and death of loved ones, once every eighty-eight years, all hell shakes loose. Truth and insights collide, as mysteries surface: Who killed the wolf in sheep’s clothing Pastor Jacob? What really caused the fateful plane crash and why was Gertie out of her seat? Why had she survived while so many had not? What really happened to little sister Rosie during and after the war? Maddy’s soul longs only to freely soar and live her last days having a blast, yet as her memory slips, she is confronted with one last nemesis; survivor guilt. Maddy may re-define what it means to be a hero.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvQsGBSH-4Q
Excerpt
“It was difficult to tell what was lightning, air fire or ground fire. It seemed we were trying to navigate a sky filled with fireworks within the middle of a storm. The plane shuddered, losing altitude in a dive that was too steep and too fast. Concerned that the stalling engine’s fire and tail rip may ignite the load of ammunition within, I instinctively banked, aiming offshore to the water below.”
Professional Reviews
BookViral.com 5 stars
"A timeless heart-rending story that will appeal to discerning lovers of literary fiction with a strong female lead Maddy's Wings is unreservedly recommended.
Absorbing and powerfully written, Maddy's Wings is a story about life and looking back on it with Porter ably managing to avoid the genre's many syrupy dangers. Sometimes flashbacks in fiction work, more often than not they don’t as far too many novels creep with unendurable inevitability to a foregone conclusion. But in Porter's capable hands plot structure proves a wonderful distraction and wholly unpredictable with its narrative charm stemming from vivid and unique characterizations along with her nuanced eye for period detail. Wandering through notes of longing, romantic angst, tragedy and deceit she takes these themes and turns them to full volume as momentum gathers pace. Readers can expect subtle touches of humour, poignant turns of phrase and the artifices of mystery as she weaves a narrative with an abundance of feeling. Using the devices of time, the decades fall away and secrets are unravelled as she draws us in with surprising ease and you can’t help but be impressed by the quality of execution. Take a moment to close your eyes and you can imagine events unfolding on celluloid, which invariably proves the mark of a good book."
Reviewed by: BookViral.com
http://www.bookviral.com/maddys-wings/4594424619
OnlineBookClub 4 of 4 stars
"Maddy is a former WWII pilot who has lived long enough to narrate the stories of WWII which she took part in. She recounts the stories to her son-in-law together with her new neighbors, Gloria and her granddaughter, Lizzy. Maddy's Wings by Jan Porte is a novel categorized under the genre other fiction. The reader gets a clear understanding of the dangers and atrocities the world faced then.
Maddy's husband, Gordon, aging with visible wrinkles, is suffering from cancer which has taken its toll on his body, not forgetting the Alzheimer's disease. His post War thoughts of things he should have done right or should not have done at all, including the disappearance of Pastor Jacob which he thinks he had a hand in, are quite traumatizing. While Maddy is constantly by his side offering all help, she cannot help thinking how life will be without Gordon.
Twenty years after her husband's death, Maddy finds herself facing close to similar problems especially when the Alzheimer's disease set in. When her doctor suggests her transfer to the nursing home for the elderly, Maddy finds herself fighting heard to avoid the transfer with the help of her son-in-law and only surviving relative, Robert. Her condition worsens when she starts having thoughts of how she could have protected her sister, Rosie, from Pastor Jacob's assault, and how she caused the plane crash that killed both her crews. On the other hand, her assigned care-worker, Gretchen, has selfish desires and would not rest till she has Maddy transferred to the nursing home.
Apart from giving an account of WWII, this book is an encouragement to all women. It shows that any woman can excel in a male-dominated field. It is easier today to recognize and award a woman's effort when she succeeds than before. Even though Maddy crush landed her plane on water surviving the incident, the only award she receives is "You did a helluva job landing that aircraft on water. If you were not civil service, you would be commended." If it were today, journalists would be killing one another for the best shot.
The author did not want the reader to dwell entirely on War atrocities but brought in the themes of family, integrity, and traditions. What I liked most about the book is the storytelling scenes with Maddy, Gloria, Lizzy, and Robert sitting outside at the fireplace. I loved how Maddy was keen to dissipate all information from her childhood. "Never grow up so much that you lose your child-like wonder." I found this headline fitting quite well with Maddy's character. Storytellers like Maddy are hard to find today especially with scenes from the fireplace.
The errors in the book were non-significant and could not deter my reading, therefore, I award it 4 out of 4 stars. The writing style and character development are also great, especially in the dialogues Maddy holds with other characters. I recommend this book to historians and documentarians. However, owing to the presence of strong language, the book is not good for young readers."
By Joseph 5 Stars
Maddy’s Wings, a great and meaningful story!
"War does not determine who is right: just who is left. Same concept about time. Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. These are two popular quotes by Henry Van Dyke and Bertrand Russel: I believe these two statements describe this book perfectly.
Maddy is nearing her time of death, not by cancer, but by old age. Having lived through atrocities like WWI, WWII, and countless other personal tragedies Maddy has grown old in the blink of an eye. The story is constructed like an autobiography, while problems arriving in the present. One thing I loved about the story, although I’m not sure if positive, is that she went through hell but that the world won’t give you a happy ending just because you already went through all types of tragedy: problems will never end. Legal, politically, societal, relationship, any type of problem won’t end till the day we die. Maddy is introduced to a single mother and her daughter and begins to form a bond with them. Through the book, we learn about each of the characters, which are genuinely likable, and basically, enjoy life with them. The eventual end, Maddy. The striving middle, Gloria, and Robert. And the beginning, Lizzy. The book has many real-world factors involving women and the history of aviation. Not just this but the book was obviously researched in depth. I guarantee that author put their heart and soul into the making of this book: it’s obvious through how she writes her characters, how the story progresses, and how it ends. . .
. . . A great and meaningful story.
In conclusion, Maddy’s Wings is a genuine coming of age story. Learning how people who deal with atrocities like war, rape, and other troubles can be eye-opening to some readers. A book that explains the problems of the past while addressing those of the present.
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