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jvsaucceda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was too slow at the start. I had to ask my mother if it was worth finishing. She said it picks up and she wasn’t wrong. Great story with heartfelt characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Deportation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
ishanigs12's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This novel has broken me, utterly devastating, raw but powerful; moving but tender. The characters are as real as the history in it, their bravery transcends everything.
It is very easy to forget that there were really people like this. We need to remember, always, never forget.
I was especially impressed with the narrative, it transports you to the time effortlessly and straight to the brutality of war and conflict. The author is a master storyteller of epic proportions. I cannot wait to delve into more of her work.
It is very easy to forget that there were really people like this. We need to remember, always, never forget.
I was especially impressed with the narrative, it transports you to the time effortlessly and straight to the brutality of war and conflict. The author is a master storyteller of epic proportions. I cannot wait to delve into more of her work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Classism
dfrye626's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. This book is an absolute masterpiece. It was hard to read at times because of the horrible events that took place during WWII and because of the things the characters had to experience but it was a beautifully written book that was hard to put down.
It taught me so much about WWII and from a perspective you don't typically think or hear of in regards to WWII (women and France).
I would definitely recommend being in a good headspace before reading this book due to the difficult topics covered.
Heartbreaking yet beautifully written. I will likely read this book again and will be thinking of it in the years to come.
It taught me so much about WWII and from a perspective you don't typically think or hear of in regards to WWII (women and France).
I would definitely recommend being in a good headspace before reading this book due to the difficult topics covered.
Heartbreaking yet beautifully written. I will likely read this book again and will be thinking of it in the years to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage and Terminal illness
kbrooks11's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, and War
ashdawn's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This one was really hard to review. I general, it's one of the few books that I think would be better as a movie than the actual book was.
The book was very similar to looking at a pointillism painting. From a distance, it's actually a good story overall. It shares some of the women's work in war resistance and was enjoyable to read. The ending especially was heartbreaking but fantastic. There are much better historical fiction books with more accuracy though.
Also like a pointillism though, when looking at it closer though, details blur to oblivion, and that was part of what really bothered me about this one. Things like:
- Creating a fictional town to set the story in. Yes, it's historical fiction, so details can be made up, but it would have been so much more inspiring and interesting to have it take place during/in real bits of WW2.
- Not all of the characters get aged correctly. There are several scenes where a time frame has been mentioned, but a younger character is still the same age they were in a scene that was timeline wise 3ish years prior to current. This is especially problematic when one of them becomes a major plot point *because* of his age at the time of events.
- Struggles with scenery/time of year. Not only do some of the characters themselves not age, the landscape also struggles to fit into correct timelines. There were some scenes for example, that apples (fall), cucumbers (summer), and snow on the ground in Pairs (winter) were all happening at the same time. In the same vein, another scene made sure to note that there was knee-deep snow, yet a bike was able to be easily stolen, *ridden through the snow*, and not leave tracks.
- Character motivations sometimes made sense, but were sometimes just incredibly dumb choices.
- What happened with the Friedmans? Kinda should have been a *Major plot point* to hiding them, and we just....never hear anything else about hiding them, their survival, close calls, moving them somewhere else. Nothing.
Also, like most of the books I've read by this author, make sure to look up trigger warnings before reading. On top of everything you would expect from a book set in Nazi occupied France during WW2, there are also miscarriages, grief, a very large prejudice against refugees, etc (which seems like a common theme to this author).
The book was very similar to looking at a pointillism painting. From a distance, it's actually a good story overall. It shares some of the women's work in war resistance and was enjoyable to read. The ending especially was heartbreaking but fantastic. There are much better historical fiction books with more accuracy though.
Also like a pointillism though, when looking at it closer though, details blur to oblivion, and that was part of what really bothered me about this one. Things like:
- Creating a fictional town to set the story in. Yes, it's historical fiction, so details can be made up, but it would have been so much more inspiring and interesting to have it take place during/in real bits of WW2.
- Not all of the characters get aged correctly. There are several scenes where a time frame has been mentioned, but a younger character is still the same age they were in a scene that was timeline wise 3ish years prior to current. This is especially problematic when one of them becomes a major plot point *because* of his age at the time of events.
- Struggles with scenery/time of year. Not only do some of the characters themselves not age, the landscape also struggles to fit into correct timelines. There were some scenes for example, that apples (fall), cucumbers (summer), and snow on the ground in Pairs (winter) were all happening at the same time. In the same vein, another scene made sure to note that there was knee-deep snow, yet a bike was able to be easily stolen, *ridden through the snow*, and not leave tracks.
- Character motivations sometimes made sense, but were sometimes just incredibly dumb choices.
- What happened with the Friedmans? Kinda should have been a *Major plot point* to hiding them, and we just....never hear anything else about hiding them, their survival, close calls, moving them somewhere else. Nothing.
Also, like most of the books I've read by this author, make sure to look up trigger warnings before reading. On top of everything you would expect from a book set in Nazi occupied France during WW2, there are also miscarriages, grief, a very large prejudice against refugees, etc (which seems like a common theme to this author).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Antisemitism, Abandonment, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Grief
thereadingzombie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved the characters in this book and I thought they were really well-written. I saw myself in both of the sisters. Like Isabelle, I don't always think before I speak and have a hard time hiding my feelings. But like Vianne, I'm more cautious and a little more anxious. I had a lot of conflicted feelings about Herr Beck. First, he's a German soldier in the Wehrmacht, which makes him a literal Nazi, and he's billeting with Vianne as part of the German occupation of France. I can't tell if he genuinely didn't know what was going to happen with the list of Jews and communists or if he's a really good liar. I think he cares about Vianne because he goes out of his way to help her, even at great risk to himself. Ugh, I want to hate him and then he helps her.
While this probably isn't 100% historically accurate, I thought it was a good glimpse into life in Occupied France. It's not really a part of WWII that I learned much about. I went down several Wikipedia rabbit holes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Religious bigotry
Moderate: War
abeavs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The character development was *chefs kiss*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Torture
tiffy22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Can I give this book 100 stars!
I'm putting this incredible book in my 'favourite books of all time' pile.
This intense story showed me the side of WWII that isn't mentioned as much as it should be, the brave women. What an informative and inspiring story!
I'm putting this incredible book in my 'favourite books of all time' pile.
This intense story showed me the side of WWII that isn't mentioned as much as it should be, the brave women. What an informative and inspiring story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War
caitlinhoman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and War
niki1902's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Torture, Violence, and War