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pussreboots's review against another edition
3.0
Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks is another of the many historical fictions I've been reading this summer. It follows a young British woman's trek through occupied France to find her RAF pilot boy friend after he's shot down during a mission. She is sent on a mission for a fictional "G Section" but chooses to stay after she complete her mission so that she can find the pilot.
Besides following Charlotte's path from receptionist to hero, Faulks includes a few members of the French resistance. They are probably there to round out the novel and perhaps flesh it out but I found these extra scenes distracting. It would have been more suspenseful to not know about Gregory's whereabouts during Charlotte's search.
On a side note, the book won the 1998 Bad Sex Award.
Besides following Charlotte's path from receptionist to hero, Faulks includes a few members of the French resistance. They are probably there to round out the novel and perhaps flesh it out but I found these extra scenes distracting. It would have been more suspenseful to not know about Gregory's whereabouts during Charlotte's search.
On a side note, the book won the 1998 Bad Sex Award.
laura_dreams_of_literature's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, it was a good story and quite well researched.
I don't really have too much to say about this book, it's similar to other WWII literature out there. Despite the title this book does switch between several different perspectives which I enjoyed and didn't "smooth over" the more painful parts of that era too much. It can however get a bit long-winded so be prepared to dedicate some time to finishing it, or in my case, put it down and pick it back up again at a later date.
I don't really have too much to say about this book, it's similar to other WWII literature out there. Despite the title this book does switch between several different perspectives which I enjoyed and didn't "smooth over" the more painful parts of that era too much. It can however get a bit long-winded so be prepared to dedicate some time to finishing it, or in my case, put it down and pick it back up again at a later date.
gemmabelle's review against another edition
5.0
I could not put this down. I enjoyed the writing so much that I just wanted to stay in that world. There is some uncomfortable reading in this book though but the reality is that war was uncomfortable and parts of this really made me cry. Just throw yourself into the book, be entertained and possibly (as I did) learn something or want to learn more. I am also quite keen to read many more books by Faulks.
jsnyder's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
libraryjunkie's review
2.0
The novel was very slow moving, it took me a while to get through. While the author tried to give the main character some complexity, she lacked depth, as did the supporting characters. The story line was appealing, but the pace was just too slow to keep my interest.
kayjay_slee's review
I read about 5 chapters and didn’t emotionally connect with the main character.
shereadstales's review against another edition
DNF around page 50 but read the end to see if was the same as the movie. It wasn't. Can't really rate, because I read so little, but I really enjoyed the movie and I could tell after a few pages, I wouldn't enjoy the book nearly as much.
I had reservations going in as I do not usually have great luck with men who tell women's stories, but I wanted to like this. It didn't take long to realize I'd be miserably disappointed if I put myself through the entire 393 pages.
I felt that the movie portrayed the romance(s) as secondary to how war changes people and the importance of doing everything you can even when it's not enough. I loved how what happened to Charlotte while she was looking for Peter shaped her as a human and thus, affected their relationship, but from what little I read of the book's ending, it seems to be about trying to remain true to ideals even as something as drastic as war has fundamentally changed you. Also, based on other reviews and my own skimming, it seemed the romance wasn't as secondary as the movie seemed. Boring. Women are more than what they do for the men they love, and what Charlotte does in the Resistance for the community she finds in France is far more interesting than her search for Peter, just saying.
I had reservations going in as I do not usually have great luck with men who tell women's stories, but I wanted to like this. It didn't take long to realize I'd be miserably disappointed if I put myself through the entire 393 pages.
I felt that the movie portrayed the romance(s) as secondary to how war changes people and the importance of doing everything you can even when it's not enough. I loved how what happened to Charlotte while she was looking for Peter shaped her as a human and thus, affected their relationship, but from what little I read of the book's ending, it seems to be about trying to remain true to ideals even as something as drastic as war has fundamentally changed you. Also, based on other reviews and my own skimming, it seemed the romance wasn't as secondary as the movie seemed. Boring. Women are more than what they do for the men they love, and what Charlotte does in the Resistance for the community she finds in France is far more interesting than her search for Peter, just saying.
lorrainelowereads's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not ashamed to say I sobbed my way through the last 60 pages of this book. I hadn’t got high expectations for it when I started; the previous Faulks novel I had read didn't do much for me and I haven’t seen the movie version of Charlotte Gray. The book is the story of Charlotte, who is one of the most interesting and best written characters I have come across in a while, as she moves to London from Edinburgh in 1942, so the height of WW2. Her life changes quickly when she falls in love with an RAF pilot who then goes missing in France, and at the same time she gets employed by the secret service to go to France as a messenger and courier. Her plan is to try to find her pilot while she is there but instead she gets swept up in the resistance activities in the small town she is based in. I found Charlotte’s story itself really interesting and the book opened my eyes to Vichy France, which I had never heard of. But the reason I was so traumatised at the end was the secondary story of two young Jewish boys (exactly the same age as my two boys) who were being hidden in the town where Charlotte was living, and whose parents had already been taken by the Gendarmes.....I knew from the beginning these two boys were doomed, and they were, but it was the description of how these two children, plus the hundreds like them without their parents, were treated while in the camps that devastated me........a really tough, but worthwhile read.
srenee213's review
3.0
I thought that I would love this book. The plot sounded wonderful. Just the sort of thing that I would normally like. It takes place in WWII, in France, with a Scottish girl playing spy in a little village. But once her duties are over, she decided to stay in the village to try and seek out information about her lost lover, an English pilot who is MIA somewhere in France.
But something about the book just didn't click with me.
Charlotte's character seemed remote and rather boring. I didn't find myself caring for her as much as I cared for the other characters, especially Julien. And something about all the exciting and dramatic bits just seemed amateur to me, though I can't say why exactly. Especially since I know that Mr. Faulks is a well-respected author (and I've still got his "Birdsong" on my list, despite not caring much for "Charlotte Gray"). At times, too, the writing just felt overly long and dramatic. I almost bowed out at the very beginning, reading for pages and pages about a pilot performing his duties. All the excess description and detail was terribly boring.
But still, I won't say that it was all bad. Julien was a wonderful, endearing character. The history of France in WWII was well-done, especially with the way Faulks showed how differently all the French people reacted to the Germans running their country. I liked the book well enough, but I can't say any more for it than that. Not bad, but still rather simple and generic.
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
But something about the book just didn't click with me.
Charlotte's character seemed remote and rather boring. I didn't find myself caring for her as much as I cared for the other characters, especially Julien. And something about all the exciting and dramatic bits just seemed amateur to me, though I can't say why exactly. Especially since I know that Mr. Faulks is a well-respected author (and I've still got his "Birdsong" on my list, despite not caring much for "Charlotte Gray"). At times, too, the writing just felt overly long and dramatic. I almost bowed out at the very beginning, reading for pages and pages about a pilot performing his duties. All the excess description and detail was terribly boring.
But still, I won't say that it was all bad. Julien was a wonderful, endearing character. The history of France in WWII was well-done, especially with the way Faulks showed how differently all the French people reacted to the Germans running their country. I liked the book well enough, but I can't say any more for it than that. Not bad, but still rather simple and generic.
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
balancinghistorybooks's review
3.0
I read this some years ago and wasn't overly enamoured with it, but I think it could certainly be time to pick it back up and challenge my younger self.