The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

I was so disappointed by this book. I really anticipated liking it because I usually like books set in the 1930's and 1940's. The World War II era home front of Britain and America is usually of great interest to me. So what went wrong? I was willing to overlook the general wordiness of the book--you know, painting a scene with a hundred words when a skillful use of five words would have been better. But what a just couldn't deal with was the unremitting depression of the story and the lack of a clear conclusion. (I realize that part of what the book is about is the lack of clarity in wartime but I still want a story to have a beginning, middle, and conclusion.) The depressing aspect is that the author spends a great deal of time getting you to know and care about the characters but you know that every one of them is either going to die or be bereaved. I was thoroughly put out with the doctor who decides to leave his practice and go to London because he lost a patient during childbirth. Then there was the doctor's wimpy wife; maybe there will be a sequel where she grows up. Anyway, it was a disappointment. Others may like it but I give it a thumbs down.