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jang 's review for:
The Girl You Left Behind
by Jojo Moyes
Here's the thing about Jojo's books: her amazingly plotted stories of melancholia and realistic love don't deserve her books' generic titles and covers. When I first saw the title of this book I almost cringed. I'm sure if I hadn't read Me Before You, I wouldn't even flip a page.
The title "The Girl You Left Behind" reads like a harboring story of a clingy girlfriend who has sick attachment and love-victim issues in print. But the truth is, The Girl You Left Behind is a painting that serves as a metaphor for two tremendously empowered women who stick to their guts and would give literally anything for love -- even all their hard-stashed money, even their dignity. It tells the parallel story of Sophie and Edouard and the German Herr Kommandant in 1917 France, and the story of Liv and Paul in 2006 London.
The history of the First World War was covered breathlessly in this novel but it was never dragging or boring. Stories about torture methods and imprisonment were as welcome as the stories of the do-or-die couple from the past. When Sophie chose to give her painting and herself to the Kommandant in exchange of her husband's freedom, it portrayed parts-vulnerability and parts-courage. Liv's story, while she proved to be ruthless in providing absolution to her ownership of the painting and proving her case, was draggy and could be shallow. One moment she was all "oh fuck Paul I'm gonna hammer his balls" then the next moment she's appearing at Paul's doorsteps and being all "tomorrow we will be battling our issues at the court so maybe we can have a pre-court hearing shag?!" I get that she was going through hell and she needed to find acceptance somehow but her hasty decisions left a lot of room for side-eyes.
I loved how the story was told tho. It was so typical Jojo to not be too dramatic on the dialogue and still manage to unleash feels. She provided laughs as much as she gave readers a useful historical backstory and a lot of frustration. She has a way of making readers go through hell then redeems herself by writing staggering resolutions. I really enjoyed it.
FYI Jojo, you just slayed me with your 'After You' news.
The title "The Girl You Left Behind" reads like a harboring story of a clingy girlfriend who has sick attachment and love-victim issues in print. But the truth is, The Girl You Left Behind is a painting that serves as a metaphor for two tremendously empowered women who stick to their guts and would give literally anything for love -- even all their hard-stashed money, even their dignity. It tells the parallel story of Sophie and Edouard and the German Herr Kommandant in 1917 France, and the story of Liv and Paul in 2006 London.
The history of the First World War was covered breathlessly in this novel but it was never dragging or boring. Stories about torture methods and imprisonment were as welcome as the stories of the do-or-die couple from the past. When Sophie chose to give her painting and herself to the Kommandant in exchange of her husband's freedom, it portrayed parts-vulnerability and parts-courage. Liv's story, while she proved to be ruthless in providing absolution to her ownership of the painting and proving her case, was draggy and could be shallow. One moment she was all "oh fuck Paul I'm gonna hammer his balls" then the next moment she's appearing at Paul's doorsteps and being all "tomorrow we will be battling our issues at the court so maybe we can have a pre-court hearing shag?!" I get that she was going through hell and she needed to find acceptance somehow but her hasty decisions left a lot of room for side-eyes.
I loved how the story was told tho. It was so typical Jojo to not be too dramatic on the dialogue and still manage to unleash feels. She provided laughs as much as she gave readers a useful historical backstory and a lot of frustration. She has a way of making readers go through hell then redeems herself by writing staggering resolutions. I really enjoyed it.
FYI Jojo, you just slayed me with your 'After You' news.