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mudder17's review
3.0
3-3.5 stars
I was browsing NetGalley and Goodreads for some historical fiction and although NetGalley denied me, I was able to find a copy in my library. The cover and the raving reviews drew me in, and while I agree with some of the reasons why people loved the book, overall, I may not have been the right audience for this book. To begin with, the structure of the book disrupted the story for me. Every time I felt myself getting drawn in, the book would shift point-of-view or time and I would have reorient myself. And the shift into French and German without translation meant I was either missing some of the meaning of the book or I was disrupting the flow of the book by looking up the meaning. I haven't taken French in a long time, so I just couldn't quite remember the words. And although I could see the presence of the Americans helping Sylvie to break out of her depression, I couldn't quite see what they were doing there in the first place. I feel like I was missing something.
There were some beautifully written paragraphs in this book and I thought the author did a good job bringing atmosphere to the story. But I just had a hard time keeping track of what was going on and bringing context to it all. One of the other books I can think of that covered this time in France was [b:All the Light We Cannot See|18143977|All the Light We Cannot See|Anthony Doerr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451445646l/18143977._SY75_.jpg|25491300], but that one grabbed ahold of my heart and wouldn't let go, even if the point of view shifted. I didn't have any trouble keeping track of timelines or characters with that one so I'm not sure why I kept getting lost with this one. I wish I loved this one more than I did, but I'm glad I did give it a try.
I was browsing NetGalley and Goodreads for some historical fiction and although NetGalley denied me, I was able to find a copy in my library. The cover and the raving reviews drew me in, and while I agree with some of the reasons why people loved the book, overall, I may not have been the right audience for this book. To begin with, the structure of the book disrupted the story for me. Every time I felt myself getting drawn in, the book would shift point-of-view or time and I would have reorient myself. And the shift into French and German without translation meant I was either missing some of the meaning of the book or I was disrupting the flow of the book by looking up the meaning. I haven't taken French in a long time, so I just couldn't quite remember the words. And although I could see the presence of the Americans helping Sylvie to break out of her depression, I couldn't quite see what they were doing there in the first place. I feel like I was missing something.
There were some beautifully written paragraphs in this book and I thought the author did a good job bringing atmosphere to the story. But I just had a hard time keeping track of what was going on and bringing context to it all. One of the other books I can think of that covered this time in France was [b:All the Light We Cannot See|18143977|All the Light We Cannot See|Anthony Doerr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451445646l/18143977._SY75_.jpg|25491300], but that one grabbed ahold of my heart and wouldn't let go, even if the point of view shifted. I didn't have any trouble keeping track of timelines or characters with that one so I'm not sure why I kept getting lost with this one. I wish I loved this one more than I did, but I'm glad I did give it a try.
jgr's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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