Published: October 8, 2015
Pages: 440
Genre(s): Fiction, Historical Fiction, WWII
In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her lifetime and again to save others. - Goodreads
I had never heard of Kristen Hannah until this book came across as the next read in a book club I was in. However, I left said book club before reading it, but taking on this years’ reading challenge, I decided to go forward with reading, especially since I had already purchased a paperback copy. It was a decision worthwhile.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Set in the time of the Holocaust (WWII), Hannah maps out this horrific event beginning in Paris. At first, I had a hard time attaching to the characters and the story line itself, but it picked up. I appreciated the writing style and the narrative voices. I found it easy to keep up with. Although there were some inconsistencies, this was an excellent read – it pulled at my emotions and kept me wanting more. The resilience, the heroism, the real and raw truth of the time were revealed within the pages. I am a woman who is all about the ending and how we get there, so there was a bit a downfall here for me – a gaping hole that left me with many questions. After 500 pages of reading, I felt like I was owed a little bit more when it came to the ending, yet I'd still recommend.
I rated this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads!
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