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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
The Girl You Left Behind follows two stories. The book starts with the story of Sophie Lefevre, a woman in German-occupied France during WWI who is running her parents' inn and worrying over her husband, the artist Edouard Lefevre, who is fighting in the war. As Sophie, her sister, and her sister's children fight to survive, a painting Edouard made of Sophie when she was younger attracts the attention of the German Kommandant in charge of their small town. His attention and favor endangers Sophie and she attempts to use it to her advantage when she discovers her husband has been sent to a work camp.
The story then switches to the story of Liv Halston, a young widow who is mired by her grief and who just happens to have the old photo of Sophie Lefevre on her wall, a gift from mher late husband. Liv meets a man named Paul and starts to fall for him until he discovers that her painting of Sophie Lefevre is a stolen painting he's been searching for to return to Edouard Lefevre's family. What follows is a courtroom battle between Liv and Paul as they fight for possession of the painting and the truth of how the German Kommandant got it in the first place.
I loved the first part of the story--Sophie was an engaging and admirable main character and I haven't read many stories based in WWI France. I loved the realistic tension Sophie felt over the Kommandant and her battle to care for her family and protect her dignity at the same time. However, I didn't love Liv and Paul's story. While I enjoyed finding out what happened to Sophie, I could not have cared less about the caricature-esque courtroom battle or Paul and Liv's relationship. If the novel had focused more on Sophie and less on Liv, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
The story then switches to the story of Liv Halston, a young widow who is mired by her grief and who just happens to have the old photo of Sophie Lefevre on her wall, a gift from mher late husband. Liv meets a man named Paul and starts to fall for him until he discovers that her painting of Sophie Lefevre is a stolen painting he's been searching for to return to Edouard Lefevre's family. What follows is a courtroom battle between Liv and Paul as they fight for possession of the painting and the truth of how the German Kommandant got it in the first place.
I loved the first part of the story--Sophie was an engaging and admirable main character and I haven't read many stories based in WWI France. I loved the realistic tension Sophie felt over the Kommandant and her battle to care for her family and protect her dignity at the same time. However, I didn't love Liv and Paul's story. While I enjoyed finding out what happened to Sophie, I could not have cared less about the caricature-esque courtroom battle or Paul and Liv's relationship. If the novel had focused more on Sophie and less on Liv, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve never read Jojo Moyes, but have been aware of her general style. A coworker borrowed this book to me which is way outside my normal reading choices.
The storytelling is undoubtedly fantastic, wonderfully woven and intricately detailed to the last page. With a bit of a mystery element, I was also able to make some guesses as to what might happen, which was fun.
The themes and plot lines do get repetitive as the story goes on, but the past and current timelines do blend together well and bring a lot of richness to the book overall. The characters are very realistic and well-formed.
I was expecting a sentimental, happy ending, but it still disappointed me a bit that that’s what I got here. There was a sweet spot in the middle of the book where I was sure that all characters did deserve that kind of happiness, but the repetition and slowing of the plot made the end of the book drag.
Not sure I’d be running for another Moyes book, but I totally get the appeal.
Another amazing story by this author. I really enjoyed Sophie's story of her life in France during WWI, but I also liked how Liv's present day story intermingled with the past.
"A veces la vida es una serie de obstáculos, una cuestión de poner un pie delante del otro. A veces, te das cuenta de repente, que es simplemente una cuestión de fe ciega“.
Una historia ambientada en dos tiempos, la Primera Guerra mundial en la Francia ocupada por los alemanes, y en la actualidad, unidos por un cuadro y su historia, una historia de esas que se leen rapidito y se disfrutan, ries y te sale alguna lágrima.
Me ha gustado
Una historia ambientada en dos tiempos, la Primera Guerra mundial en la Francia ocupada por los alemanes, y en la actualidad, unidos por un cuadro y su historia, una historia de esas que se leen rapidito y se disfrutan, ries y te sale alguna lágrima.
Me ha gustado
I would give the Sophie/Eduoardo storyline a solid five stars. Great love story, vivid detail about life in France during WWI, and there was depth to all the characters. The second part of the book, the Liv/Paul storyline, was a generous three stars. It fell flat - the relationship didn't feel meaningful and the court drama dragged. Overall, I'm happy I read the book and would probably recommend it to others!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No