a book promising to give us a storyline combining past and present, love and courage. Shall we keep that Kleenex box handy this time, too? Without a doubt.... thinking the timing of this book couldn't be better after that last one! Oh yeah.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The Girl You Left Behind
We had such good luck with our first Fall 2013 read by Jojo Moyes that we absolutely must investigate another of this fantastic author's books. So here we go with The Girl You Left Behind,a book promising to give us a storyline combining past and present, love and courage. Shall we keep that Kleenex box handy this time, too? Without a doubt.
... thinking the timing of this book couldn't be better after that last one! Oh yeah.
a book promising to give us a storyline combining past and present, love and courage. Shall we keep that Kleenex box handy this time, too? Without a doubt.... thinking the timing of this book couldn't be better after that last one! Oh yeah.
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Finished this book last night!
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, this is a 5 star book for me!
Will remember it for a very long time
It starts with the horrors of WW1 and then abruptly moves to 2006.
It all starts with a girl in a painting. And it ends with the story of a love that survived and thrived in the days after WW1. And promises, kept, and broken. Families made stronger, and torn apart, by things imagined and real.
It really did surprise me that the Kommendant kept his word. I was surprised when Paul went to the reporters daughter and got the note books. I was surprised the lengths that he went to in order to get to the old woman and bring her to the court to testify.
It did sadden me, the vulture, voyueristic society that the press and sometimes people in general, have become. To so villianize someone for something that she had no control over.
I am so glad that she fought for what she believed in.
I would recommend this book to anyone. Very worth the read!
... and I finished it just after you, Becca giving it 5 stars, as well. It is definitely a book that will be ingrained in my mind for years to come - it was THAT amazing!
ReplyDeleteThe time shift from WWI to 2006 seemed a little unnerving at first, but Moyes made the transition smoother than expected. Past and present collided seamlessly and with surprising twists. I liked how she did that.
The Kommendant keeping his word was also a HUGE surprise, as the author kept us guessing deep into the book. By his actions, Moyes gave us the impression that the Germans might have actually been human, after all. Not something we read about in history books today, that's for sure.
What disappointed me a tad was Paul and Liv's relationship, which seemed shallow, if not contrived. I really wanted to see them grow as a couple, but the author's focus seemed to be mainly on the painting and its background story.
The "vulture, voyeuristic society" image did spring loud and clear from past and present, an unfortunate fact of life. Seems inescapable, whether in the early 1900's in Germany or 2000's in USA or Europe, sadly. But at least in this story, Sophie and Liv held strong in their beliefs. If only we could all follow their lead.
Anyone looking for a truly great book should pick this one up in a heartbeat!