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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Another great book from Jojo Moyes. I loved the 2 stories in this book - WWI Sophie and present day Liv. I found the ending a little confusing as Sophie's fate was revealed, had to re-read it a couple of times, but a great ending nonetheless.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was such a wonderful read.
I would give it a 5 stars, but there were some things I wish she had done different. Specifically when Liv “tried” to investigate what had happened to Sophie.
I recommend it! If you like historical fiction, with some mystery, romance, and well written characters, this book is for you.
I would give it a 5 stars, but there were some things I wish she had done different. Specifically when Liv “tried” to investigate what had happened to Sophie.
I recommend it! If you like historical fiction, with some mystery, romance, and well written characters, this book is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“Conned any other women out of their valuables lately ?" she says quietly, so quietly that only he will hear it.
"Nope. I've been too busy stealing handbags and seducing the vulnerable."
Her head shoots up and his eyes lock on hers. He is, she sees with some shock, as furious as she is.”
As well-written and compelling as some parts of this book were, it took me well over a month to get through it. I chose to do other things rather than return to it. I looked at a lot of movies and some TV series. Plus Christmas. But the main reason was that I was just so utterly disgusted by the behavior and choices of the present-day main character in the novel, Liv. And her travails take up most of the book. I just wanted to avoid her because she just made me mad. The story of the WWI character, Sophie, was very tense and involving throughout her story. But I felt like she was on a path that was as disastrous as it was inevitable. So I can't say I enjoyed it, exactly. I cared about her greatly, and we leave her at a cliffhanger in her life to begin the modern-day half of the story. Not my favorite device. On the whole, I can recommend the book because although the last part of the book was dragged out, it ended well and with a surprising game-changing appearance at the end. The unsurprising long-suspected truth about the provenance of a painting that links the past with the present is dramatically and touchingly revealed.
In this dual timeframe plot, we begin in a small village in France during WWI. We follow Sophie LeFevre who, with her family, runs an inn that has been taken over by the German occupiers. Her beloved husband, a talented artist is a prisoner of war. The powerful Kommandant is a refined gentleman and art lover who covets Sophie’s husband's painting of her that hangs in the Inn. And it becomes evident that he also covets Sophie.
Part two is set in 2006 London. The painting,The Girl You Left Behind, now hangs in a young widow’s house which was designed by her husband, a brilliant and famous young architect. Liv cherishes the beautiful painting for its own sake but also because her husband David gave it to her on their honeymoon. Reclusive Liv is still grieving David after 4 years and knows she must get on with her life, but seems incapable of doing so. We also are introduced to Paul, who is a lawyer specializing in returning stolen Nazi art to their rightful heirs. Liv meets Paul, also a single father, when he chivalrously rescues her from an embarrassing situation. They are attracted to each other and Liv sees what a kind and good man he is. Thanks to Paul, Liv starts to come out of her shell and live again. On Paul and Liv’s first night together he sees her painting hanging in her bedroom and is shocked to the core. It is the same painting he and his company have been trying to locate for their clients, the descendants of the artist, Sophie’s husband. What follows is a court case with Paul and the heirs on one side and Liv on the other. Her lawyers are non-entities who we don't get to know. This was one reason that the courtroom drama which should have been compelling, wasn’t.
As I mentioned, Liv all but ruined the book for me. She is determined to keep the painting because it's hers, god damn it. Her husband bought it in good faith and she loves it. She doesn’t care that all signs indicate that it had been stolen from the artist’s family during World War I and was probably also caught up in the Nazi’s evil web of stolen art during WWII. The family understandably wants the painting, now worth millions, back. Liv irrationally blames Paul treating him like a criminal who is trying to rob her of her painting instead a good guy trying to do an honorable job. Her behavior to him was just shabby. Until near the end of the book, that is, when she decides she needs a booty call. That over, she turns on him again. She will not see reason from anyone who has her best interests at heart and in fighting the family’s claim, loses her house, her friends, her reputation, and most sadly, her dead husband's legacy and reputation. I kept hoping for growth, change, and wisdom to descend on her from the blue, but was continually disappointed.
When she finally has somewhat of an epiphany (pretty much out of nowhere), it is too little too late. When the true story of the painting comes out thanks only to noble Paul's heroic efforts, it leads to the revelation that Liv has been in the right all along. Not in her actions and decisions, but only by happenstance and luck. In the end, she gets her undeserved happy ending.
What rescues the book plot-wise is that we finally learn what became of Sophie and her adored Edouard. But it's kind of like a bone the reader is thrown. Even the most potentially fascinating detective work at the end is skipped over even while the mystery leading up to the climax is drawn out way too long. The positives were just not outweighed by the pain, injustice, and sadness in the story. **2 1/2 stars**
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/books/
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I preferred the 1917 story to the modern but enjoyed as a whole
It’s the winter of 1916 and the small French town of St Péronne is occupied by the Germans. With their husbands away at war, sisters Sophie and Hélène are running the family hotel, Le Coq Rouge, the best they can, considering they have no guests, barely any furniture and meagre rations of food and drink. So when the new Kommandant requests that she prepares the evening meals for his men, Sophie has little choice but to say yes. She must be careful, for he seems much more intelligent than his predecessor yet she is bold enough not to hide her prized possession; a painting by her husband, Édouard. It’s a portrait of Sophie from when she was at her happiest and the Kommandant is rather taken with it…if not maybe her as well.
In the present day, the portrait hangs in The Glass House, a modern architectural marvel built by Liv’s late husband. She lives there alone, treasuring the building as a memorial of him and the painting as a memory of their time together. He had always thought the woman in the portrait reminded him of her. But when the painting becomes the subject of a restitution case, Liv is forced to reconsider its heritage. It is rightfully hers, so what if it was stolen nearly 100 years ago? She must make the choice to give the painting up or risk losing everything in a legal fight that she just can’t afford.
From the very first page, I was pulled into Sophie’s world. She is dreaming about food, rich and delicious, yet when she wakes up, it is obvious her situation is quite the opposite. Whilst the story of occupied France is a struggle, there are some humorous and touching moments, such as the buried clock that starts to chime and the pantomime that ensues to try to keep it hidden from the Germans. Sophie’s an incredibly strong character in a hopeless position and she does so much for her family and the people of the town who might not even appreciate it. When she must feed the Germans, she becomes the victim of gossip and shunned by the people she thought were her friends.
Herr Kommandant is a wonderfully written character and illustrates that people were just people on both sides of the war, especially World War I which is looked back on as such a pointless loss of life. He ebbs back and forth from good to bad and back again, I was willing him not to be a villain throughout. He does bad things but also shows kindness and just as much as I wanted to know Sophie’s fate, I wanted to know that deep down there was good in him.
I guess the success of Sophie’s story makes it hard to be wrenched away from her and into the present day. I found the topic of restitution interesting and thought-provoking. Whilst there is the possibility that the painting, known as The Girl You Left Behind, was stolen during the war, it has such sentimental value for Liv whilst Édouard’s descendants merely see it a material object that they feel they have the right to claim. The narrative doesn’t flit about between timelines; there is a good solid chunk at the start to get acquainted with Sophie and her life and her story slowly becomes more and more involved in the present day as Liv uncovers the history of her painting.
The modern day romance seemed to pale in comparison to that of the past, relying an awful lot on coincidence. Enjoyable enough in itself, it’s a little predictable and there’s a chance those picking it up for the more serious elements may find it a little contrived. Initially, Liv’s old college friend, Mo, is the catalyst for her to realise she’s lonely and to go out and eventually meet Paul but after that she was a bit of a spare part who was never really developed. Yet despite this, it’s such an absorbing story, I just flew through the pages and didn’t care.
Of course, readers will want to compare it with the hugely successful Me Before You. Sophie’s story is incredibly moving but you’re much less likely to be reduced to a snotty, sobbing mess by the end. Maybe Moyes decided we needed time to recover from the heartbreak.
In the present day, the portrait hangs in The Glass House, a modern architectural marvel built by Liv’s late husband. She lives there alone, treasuring the building as a memorial of him and the painting as a memory of their time together. He had always thought the woman in the portrait reminded him of her. But when the painting becomes the subject of a restitution case, Liv is forced to reconsider its heritage. It is rightfully hers, so what if it was stolen nearly 100 years ago? She must make the choice to give the painting up or risk losing everything in a legal fight that she just can’t afford.
From the very first page, I was pulled into Sophie’s world. She is dreaming about food, rich and delicious, yet when she wakes up, it is obvious her situation is quite the opposite. Whilst the story of occupied France is a struggle, there are some humorous and touching moments, such as the buried clock that starts to chime and the pantomime that ensues to try to keep it hidden from the Germans. Sophie’s an incredibly strong character in a hopeless position and she does so much for her family and the people of the town who might not even appreciate it. When she must feed the Germans, she becomes the victim of gossip and shunned by the people she thought were her friends.
Herr Kommandant is a wonderfully written character and illustrates that people were just people on both sides of the war, especially World War I which is looked back on as such a pointless loss of life. He ebbs back and forth from good to bad and back again, I was willing him not to be a villain throughout. He does bad things but also shows kindness and just as much as I wanted to know Sophie’s fate, I wanted to know that deep down there was good in him.
I guess the success of Sophie’s story makes it hard to be wrenched away from her and into the present day. I found the topic of restitution interesting and thought-provoking. Whilst there is the possibility that the painting, known as The Girl You Left Behind, was stolen during the war, it has such sentimental value for Liv whilst Édouard’s descendants merely see it a material object that they feel they have the right to claim. The narrative doesn’t flit about between timelines; there is a good solid chunk at the start to get acquainted with Sophie and her life and her story slowly becomes more and more involved in the present day as Liv uncovers the history of her painting.
The modern day romance seemed to pale in comparison to that of the past, relying an awful lot on coincidence. Enjoyable enough in itself, it’s a little predictable and there’s a chance those picking it up for the more serious elements may find it a little contrived. Initially, Liv’s old college friend, Mo, is the catalyst for her to realise she’s lonely and to go out and eventually meet Paul but after that she was a bit of a spare part who was never really developed. Yet despite this, it’s such an absorbing story, I just flew through the pages and didn’t care.
Of course, readers will want to compare it with the hugely successful Me Before You. Sophie’s story is incredibly moving but you’re much less likely to be reduced to a snotty, sobbing mess by the end. Maybe Moyes decided we needed time to recover from the heartbreak.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes