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lydckerr's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it and it killed me, all at once and over and over again.
knittingjenni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, War, Violence, and Antisemitism
larok28's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much! If I had to use one word it would be heart wrenching but in both a happy and sad way. I never knew too much about what female journalists had to endure in WW2 and Ms Lester’s research was excellent. Looking forward to her next work! Her previous novel The Paris Seamstress was also wonderful.
embla_v's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
5.0
En OERHÖRT bra bok.
Jessica May är modell i usa under andra världskriget men får möjligheten att resa till krigshärjade Europa för att jobba som krigsfotograf. I Europa möter hon lycka och sorg, men framförallt Dan Hallworth och en föräldralös flicka. De nya relationerna förändrar allt i Jess liv och ska sätta spår in i framtiden.
60 år senare får D'Arcy Hallworth möjligheten att jobba med en fotograf vars identitet är dold. Detta blir början på att familjehemligheter förs ut i ljuset.
Wow, wow, wow!! Jag vet inte vad jag ska säga men wow. Oerhört fantastiskt skriven och boken förmedlar känslor på ett klockrent sätt. Rekommenderar starkt!!!
Jessica May är modell i usa under andra världskriget men får möjligheten att resa till krigshärjade Europa för att jobba som krigsfotograf. I Europa möter hon lycka och sorg, men framförallt Dan Hallworth och en föräldralös flicka. De nya relationerna förändrar allt i Jess liv och ska sätta spår in i framtiden.
60 år senare får D'Arcy Hallworth möjligheten att jobba med en fotograf vars identitet är dold. Detta blir början på att familjehemligheter förs ut i ljuset.
Wow, wow, wow!! Jag vet inte vad jag ska säga men wow. Oerhört fantastiskt skriven och boken förmedlar känslor på ett klockrent sätt. Rekommenderar starkt!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Rape, Sexual content, Death, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Antisemitism, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery
Minor: Infertility, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Abandonment, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Ableism, and Infidelity
tayparks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
lynda_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
noor18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
halkid2's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars is a bit of a gift. 3.5 would be more accurate.
For me, the best part of reading this book was learning what it was like for a solo woman photojournalist to cover World War II. Jessica May, a former model, must overcome restrictions, discrimination, harassment, and sexism -- yet still manages to provide exceptional photojournalism despite all those odds. But May's difficulties (experienced by other historical women journalists like Martha Gellhorn Margaret Bourke-White, and Lee Miller) provide just one of the book's story lines.
This was one captivating story. May witnessed battles, visited field hospitals, was present during the liberation of a concentration camp, and covered the Nuremberg Trials. But, not surprisingly, women journalists covered other important aspects of the war that male journalists generally ignored. Like the war's impact on the psyches of both soldiers and women, widespread rape by soldiers representing all armies, and the devastating effects of shortages, destruction, and violence on children. These women told the story of war from a vantage point far beyond dates, battles, and numbers of dead.
The second storyline, set in 2005, focuses on D'Arcy Hallworth, a thirtyish Australian art conservator whose job puts her in contact with the works of Jessica May, a journalism pioneer D'Arcy admires greatly. Natasha Lester alternates between these two stories -- until, not surprisingly, we figure out that there's a hidden and much closer connection between Hallworth and May.
My criticism of this novel centers around the last quarter of it. Plots became unbelievably convoluted and the author appeared to be overly determined to include happy endings for nearly EVERY character. For me, that turned this novel from a worthwhile examination of brave women trying to shed light on a brutal episode in history into something much more fluffy, romantic and way too contrived.
Strange coincidence, though. When I picked this book up to read I did not realize Lester based the story of Jessica May loosely on the experiences of World War II photojournalist Lee Miller. I had not heard of Miller until VERY recently, when I happened to read another novel based on her life, THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Sharer. Until I figured out the connection in the subject matter, I couldn't understand why THIS book was SO much like another I'd just finished.
For me, the best part of reading this book was learning what it was like for a solo woman photojournalist to cover World War II. Jessica May, a former model, must overcome restrictions, discrimination, harassment, and sexism -- yet still manages to provide exceptional photojournalism despite all those odds. But May's difficulties (experienced by other historical women journalists like Martha Gellhorn Margaret Bourke-White, and Lee Miller) provide just one of the book's story lines.
This was one captivating story. May witnessed battles, visited field hospitals, was present during the liberation of a concentration camp, and covered the Nuremberg Trials. But, not surprisingly, women journalists covered other important aspects of the war that male journalists generally ignored. Like the war's impact on the psyches of both soldiers and women, widespread rape by soldiers representing all armies, and the devastating effects of shortages, destruction, and violence on children. These women told the story of war from a vantage point far beyond dates, battles, and numbers of dead.
The second storyline, set in 2005, focuses on D'Arcy Hallworth, a thirtyish Australian art conservator whose job puts her in contact with the works of Jessica May, a journalism pioneer D'Arcy admires greatly. Natasha Lester alternates between these two stories -- until, not surprisingly, we figure out that there's a hidden and much closer connection between Hallworth and May.
My criticism of this novel centers around the last quarter of it. Plots became unbelievably convoluted and the author appeared to be overly determined to include happy endings for nearly EVERY character. For me, that turned this novel from a worthwhile examination of brave women trying to shed light on a brutal episode in history into something much more fluffy, romantic and way too contrived.
Strange coincidence, though. When I picked this book up to read I did not realize Lester based the story of Jessica May loosely on the experiences of World War II photojournalist Lee Miller. I had not heard of Miller until VERY recently, when I happened to read another novel based on her life, THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Sharer. Until I figured out the connection in the subject matter, I couldn't understand why THIS book was SO much like another I'd just finished.
mycriminalmind's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
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? No
3.75