3.8 out 4 stars.
Remarkable !!
A beautiful scene of Carriveau France is painted in the beginning of this book. Vianne Mauriac is introduced as a woman who lives a simple life with her husband, Antoine, and daughter, Sophie in the suburbs outside of Paris. She is a teacher and he is a post man. She has no relationship with other members of her family so she relies heavily on her husband and daughter for strength and support. She has always thought of her self as a weak person so you can imagine how her world comes crashing down when a war breaks out with Germany in her backyard. Antoine is demanded to volunteer and Vianne has absolutely no idea how she can ration out money for the time-being let alone be without Antoine’s love and attention. She has never been without him by her side since they fell in love so young.
While they two grew together growing up, Vianne’s sister, Isabelle was tossed to the side. She had no one to turn to because her mother had just passed and her father was an alcoholic mourning her loss in private. Vianne had love eyes for Antoine and turned her back on her sister’s pain. Isabelle was sent to boarding school and was repetitively expelled for undermining authority. It is quite obvious that these two sisters could not be further apart in personality. Julien, the girls’ father cannot come to grips of what to do with her once the war breaks out and Isabelle is expelled for the fourth time and seeking to live with him in the heart of the war zone. He finds it best she goes and lives with Vianne and they can lean on each other during this hard time.
The reader is given a look into the panorama that is World War II. Of course page after page is excruciating details of how the Germans who invaded France treated everyone. Most of the stories we hear about WWII is from the perspective of the man on the fighting lines or scenes described from Auschwitz. However, Hannah tells a story from the people’s perspective that are left behind. A majority are mothers or young children that are left with no food, no jobs, and harsh weather conditions because there is no money to pay the bills. The question is how can they fight the war without having to suit up as a soldier? The story is how Vianne and Isabelle find ways to stand proud and find alternative ways to undermine the German’s plan.
An absolute MUST to pick up if you haven’t already. I cried at the end because the story just provokes so much emotion and loss because Hannah does a wonderful job of describing the characters and feeling like you are apart of their life and heartache. Loved, loved, loved.
