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A review by kez91
The French Photographer by Natasha Lester
5.0
I love Natasha's books because not only are they beautifully written and full of well rounded characters, but I also learn so much reading them! All the research that went into creating this story is evident in the little details, the locations, the descriptions of hotels and chateaux and photographs. The character of Jessica May is inspired by the life of Lee Miller, and some of the things that Jess (and in reality also Lee) has to endure in this book is astounding. The fact that appearing in a Kotex ad could be career-ending just speaks volumes of the way women were perceived and of the expectations placed on them in society. Throughout the French Photographer Jess struggles time and time again to be considered equal to the men performing the same jobs as her, and to rise above their perceptions of her as "just a model" and "just a woman". Her determination to be more than society expects is one of the things I loved most about Jessica.
I've read a fair few WW2 novels, but this one is unique for me in the way it is approached from the perspective of correspondents trying to report from the front line, and being censored and restricted in how honestly they can really portray the war. I think that this created such a huge divide between the realities of war and the way those people back home perceived it. The people that lived through the war, such as Jess in the book, had such a different outlook on the world as a result. The character of Amelia really illustrates this divide, as she has so little idea of the real dangers and atrocities when she arrives in Europe towards the end of the war- made up and in her stockings to find a handsome husband- and doesn't seem to really grasp what happened there.
As well as loving Jess and her determination and strength, I loved Dan. He was so kind and compassionate and caring, not only to Jess and to Victorine, but to his men, and he was all these things despite the things he had seen and done and experienced that could have hardened him. I also liked D'Arcy and Josh and the way they helped each other break down the walls they had each created and start to heal.
And the way all of these stories came together was beautiful and bittersweet and heartbreaking, and Natasha once again made me smile and sob and wish that everything could always work out even though I know it can't.
I was never a big reader of romance, but I picked up one of Natasha's books a few years ago and just loved it, as I have every book since. I love the historical settings, all the details that add so much to the story, the characters and the ways they are flawed and the ways they come together. Natasha is definitely a favourite author of mine, and I 100% recommend The French Photographer, and all of her other books.
I've read a fair few WW2 novels, but this one is unique for me in the way it is approached from the perspective of correspondents trying to report from the front line, and being censored and restricted in how honestly they can really portray the war. I think that this created such a huge divide between the realities of war and the way those people back home perceived it. The people that lived through the war, such as Jess in the book, had such a different outlook on the world as a result. The character of Amelia really illustrates this divide, as she has so little idea of the real dangers and atrocities when she arrives in Europe towards the end of the war- made up and in her stockings to find a handsome husband- and doesn't seem to really grasp what happened there.
As well as loving Jess and her determination and strength, I loved Dan. He was so kind and compassionate and caring, not only to Jess and to Victorine, but to his men, and he was all these things despite the things he had seen and done and experienced that could have hardened him. I also liked D'Arcy and Josh and the way they helped each other break down the walls they had each created and start to heal.
And the way all of these stories came together was beautiful and bittersweet and heartbreaking, and Natasha once again made me smile and sob and wish that everything could always work out even though I know it can't.
I was never a big reader of romance, but I picked up one of Natasha's books a few years ago and just loved it, as I have every book since. I love the historical settings, all the details that add so much to the story, the characters and the ways they are flawed and the ways they come together. Natasha is definitely a favourite author of mine, and I 100% recommend The French Photographer, and all of her other books.