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ishanigs12's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Classism
ashdawn's review against another edition
- 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
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).
Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Antisemitism, Abandonment, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Grief
thereadingzombie's review against another edition
- 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.
Graphic: Antisemitism and Religious bigotry
Moderate: War
abeavs's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Torture
born_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Murder
caitlinhoman's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and War
sarahbstrickland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Antisemitism, and War
steenmies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Lesbophobia
sariereads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
noel_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War