La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith

La – short for Lavender – must deal with a broken heart and World War II in a quiet Suffolk village. She quickly realizes she needs more to do than gardening and helping to care for a neighbor’s chickens. Believing that music is soothing to the soul, La forms an orchestra, made up of local residents and military personnel from a nearby base. Rehearsals can only be held monthly, but participants soon find the time spent in playing together to be a highlight in their often tedious lives. Like many of his books, this one does not come close to the quality of McCall Smith’s “Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series. But it is a sweet, though sometimes rambling, look at those who were forced into isolation while still trying to “do their bit” during the war.