Author / Writer / Book
Lover - which are you? I admit I have many friends who are book lovers, even though they are not
authors or writers--and thank goodness, or we wouldn’t have enough book clubs,
right? But I have yet to meet an author or writer who didn’t read extensively,
books especially. I have loved books since learning to read at age four. I’ve
been a writer in various professional capacities for 15 years, and am working
on my first novel. Hoping to claim the “author” tag soon!
Title of Fiction book
and year THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND, published in 2012
Author name ~ Jojo Moyes
Type of book ~ CA ~ One would think this would be a straightforward question, but in this case, it’s not. The book starts out historical, in France during WWI, then moves into contemporary London. I would classify it as “Women’s Fiction times two”, because it is about the emotional journey of two separate women, one in each of these time periods.
Type of book ~ CA ~ One would think this would be a straightforward question, but in this case, it’s not. The book starts out historical, in France during WWI, then moves into contemporary London. I would classify it as “Women’s Fiction times two”, because it is about the emotional journey of two separate women, one in each of these time periods.
What is it about this
book that pulled you in?
CA ~ A friend who knows I
am writing a novel about the painter Renoir and his model recommended this book
to me. Because it starts out historical (like mine) and involves a painter, his
model/wife and a specific painting (like mine), it was immediately intriguing.
But once I started it, the language, the characters and the setting all grabbed
me from the first page. I lost a lot of sleep with this book because I couldn’t
put it down at night.
Is there a relationship in
the story that resonated with you?
CA ~ The relationships in the book are drawn so beautifully that it’s hard to pinpoint just one. Husbands and wives, enemies and allies, siblings and neighbors all play vital roles in shaping the stories and lives of the characters. But I think the complicated relationship between Sophie Lefèvre and the German Kommandant who comes into her town, inn and life was the most vivid and stirring.
CA ~ The relationships in the book are drawn so beautifully that it’s hard to pinpoint just one. Husbands and wives, enemies and allies, siblings and neighbors all play vital roles in shaping the stories and lives of the characters. But I think the complicated relationship between Sophie Lefèvre and the German Kommandant who comes into her town, inn and life was the most vivid and stirring.
Do you think that
relationship was portrayed realistically?
CA ~ I do. It’s easy to think of the enemy as evil, foreign and inhuman when you consider what the German soldiers did to people in WWI. This is what Sophie feels for the Kommandant when he takes over her inn for his soldiers. But over time, he reveals himself to be intelligent, an art scholar, and familiar with her husband’s work and the work of other artists at the time. He has a wife and children, he is a gentleman. Sophie has great difficulty maintaining her hatred for him when he seems so human, so similar to her, almost respectable. Except, that is, for his uniform and what it represents. She struggles, and it is an evocative relationship that made me question my own feelings for both characters as a result.
CA ~ I do. It’s easy to think of the enemy as evil, foreign and inhuman when you consider what the German soldiers did to people in WWI. This is what Sophie feels for the Kommandant when he takes over her inn for his soldiers. But over time, he reveals himself to be intelligent, an art scholar, and familiar with her husband’s work and the work of other artists at the time. He has a wife and children, he is a gentleman. Sophie has great difficulty maintaining her hatred for him when he seems so human, so similar to her, almost respectable. Except, that is, for his uniform and what it represents. She struggles, and it is an evocative relationship that made me question my own feelings for both characters as a result.
Anything else you want
to tell us about the book without giving away too much of the plot?
CA ~ I was upset when I was reading
because I became very attached to and involved with the historical characters.
Suddenly, in Part Two, I was in modern day London and didn’t know why! But when
I complained to my friend, she told me, “Jojo Moyes is sneaky. She gets you to
care about the characters, but the book is really about the painting.” I had to
think on that for a day or so before I could pick it up again. But I’m very
glad I did. It was a great book.
JHA ~ Thank you so much, Christine for taking the time to recommend a great book for everyone to read! I absolutely loved this book and hope you, the reader, do too!
If you'd like to connect with Christine, you can find here here:
If you'd like to connect with Christine, you can find here here:
Twitter:
@ChristineAdler
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/WriterCAAttention readers ~ Have YOU read this book? If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!
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Thanks for the recommendation, Christine and Jill. Loved Jojo Moyes's ME BEFORE YOU, and have wanted to read this one, too. Thanks for the nudge!
ReplyDeleteIf you loved ME BEFORE YOU, you'll love this book, Lori! They are both two of my all time favorites!
DeleteYou're welcome, Lori! ME BEFORE YOU is on my TBR list, as well as Moyes' other books. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAnd many thanks to my WFWA friend Brigitte Doss-Johnson for recommending this book to me. It's a new favorite!
ReplyDeleteThat Brigitte Doss-Johnson is so smart, Christine! ;) Oh yes, you'll love ME BEFORE YOU, too. Totally different type of book, still very Jojo-awesome!
DeleteThis looks great, Jill. Good luck with a great project.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth! I love hearing about what others are reading and am always looking for great books to read, so this will hopefully be a good fit for all book lovers!
DeleteEvocative. I liked that word in your review. Well done, Christine and Jill.
ReplyDeleteHi Brigitte, Christine gave a great review, didn't she? She mentioned you pointed her to the book. I read it last year and it's a book I'll reread again, I loved it so much!
DeleteI've only ever read ME BEFORE YOU, so I'm happy to get a glimpse into another of Moyes's novels.(I also appreciate the fair warning with the 2 parts!)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christine that I felt the same way initially, only wanting to read the WWI part, but Jojo Moyes has a way of weaving everything together, and for me, the part I was surprised to read about was all the art stolen back then.
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