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jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Elise Landau is a Jew living in Vienna before World War II. Her parents realize the danger they are facing and make plans for the family to leave the country. They must all go separate ways and Elise ends up working as a housemaid on an estate in England.
Being from an artistic family in the upper middle class, Elise finds it hard to adapt to life as a housemaid. It doesn't help that she desperately misses her family and barely speaks English. But things start to change when the master's son, Kit, comes home from college and starts tutoring her.
3.5 Stars
The book was charming and delightful but there were some things that just weren't perfect for me.
I felt that there was a bit too much of an influence from Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I love both books, but I don't want new books to feel like them; the new books will only suffer in the comparison. "When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." Compare that to, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." It wasn't just language, it was faint echoes in the scenes as well. It's hard to explain but it's there.
I also saw exactly where the book was going from very early on. I had moments where I thought I might be wrong but I wasn't. I wish it had been more of a surprise.
Otherwise, I did like this story of a house in World War II. I enjoyed seeing Elise go from an immature nineteen-year-old to a formidable woman. Her growth felt very natural. As she grew into her potential, I liked her more and more. Tyneford is loosely based on a real village called Tyneham. The things that happen to Tyneford closely shadow events at Tyneham. I had never heard of this place but it's a sad story. I never knew what life was like on the coast for British people during WWII either. Watching German planes and the RAF fighting air battles, sending out fishing boats to evacuate soldiers from France--life must have felt chaotic but it seems that the British people faced it with grace.
Having discovered Downton Abbey in the past six months or so, I was delighted to read about life among the servants. Inevitably, Wrexham the butler looked and sounded like Mr. Carson and Mrs. Ellsworth was Mrs. Hughes. It just added to the draw of the book for me.
I do recommend this book. It's a bittersweet romance with some very serious undertones. Fans of Downton Abbey should enjoy it as well.
Being from an artistic family in the upper middle class, Elise finds it hard to adapt to life as a housemaid. It doesn't help that she desperately misses her family and barely speaks English. But things start to change when the master's son, Kit, comes home from college and starts tutoring her.
3.5 Stars
The book was charming and delightful but there were some things that just weren't perfect for me.
I felt that there was a bit too much of an influence from Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I love both books, but I don't want new books to feel like them; the new books will only suffer in the comparison. "When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." Compare that to, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." It wasn't just language, it was faint echoes in the scenes as well. It's hard to explain but it's there.
I also saw exactly where the book was going from very early on. I had moments where I thought I might be wrong but I wasn't. I wish it had been more of a surprise.
Otherwise, I did like this story of a house in World War II. I enjoyed seeing Elise go from an immature nineteen-year-old to a formidable woman. Her growth felt very natural. As she grew into her potential, I liked her more and more. Tyneford is loosely based on a real village called Tyneham. The things that happen to Tyneford closely shadow events at Tyneham. I had never heard of this place but it's a sad story. I never knew what life was like on the coast for British people during WWII either. Watching German planes and the RAF fighting air battles, sending out fishing boats to evacuate soldiers from France--life must have felt chaotic but it seems that the British people faced it with grace.
Having discovered Downton Abbey in the past six months or so, I was delighted to read about life among the servants. Inevitably, Wrexham the butler looked and sounded like Mr. Carson and Mrs. Ellsworth was Mrs. Hughes. It just added to the draw of the book for me.
I do recommend this book. It's a bittersweet romance with some very serious undertones. Fans of Downton Abbey should enjoy it as well.
lauriestein's review against another edition
2.0
This book did not draw me in, at all. In fact, I was so little engaged that I did something that I almost never do, to wit, I skimmed the last couple hundred pages just to see how it turned out. Without certain redeeming qualities in the plot (The Hunger Games, e.g.), I have little patience for first-person female narrators with only the flaws that one would cop to in a job interview.
The comparisons to Downton Abbey are shallow at best. None of the supporting characters are given any depth, as Julian Fellowes does well; they never become more than caricatures. Really none of the principals, either, save Mr. Rivers, had enough depth for me to care two straws about them, which is something I regret to say about a World War II novel that should really be very touching.
I would read (and not skim) this book were it written from the perspective of Mr. Rivers, though, if only because he must (must!) have a more nuanced worldview than Elise. She seriously bugged.
The comparisons to Downton Abbey are shallow at best. None of the supporting characters are given any depth, as Julian Fellowes does well; they never become more than caricatures. Really none of the principals, either, save Mr. Rivers, had enough depth for me to care two straws about them, which is something I regret to say about a World War II novel that should really be very touching.
I would read (and not skim) this book were it written from the perspective of Mr. Rivers, though, if only because he must (must!) have a more nuanced worldview than Elise. She seriously bugged.
cris451's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciated the history shared in this story. The ending was a bit abrupt. For people who like this genera, they will most likely find this book appealing.
kyledog's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
marylong's review against another edition
2.0
there are so many things wrong with this books that i don’t even know where to begin. first of all, the first 80 pages are SO slow. like, i wanted to just give up after taking two hours to read that far. but, alas, i pushed through and it was worth it… for about 120 more pages. then it was downhill from there. it went from being too slow to feeling way too rushed, like the author didn’t know how to best get to the ending she wanted, so she just kind of threw it all together at once. i mean, let’s be honest, everything good about this book came from kit and elise so WHY did he have to die??? and, much more importantly, WHY DID SHE HAVE TO END UP WITH HIS FATHER????? i simply wanted to throw the book across the room when i read the line “daniel is the second man i have ever kissed” LIKE yeah girl and the first was HIS SON. why it feels so viscerally wrong to be idk but it def ruined the book for me. so yeah, there goes 24 hours i will never get back!
tangerine7199's review against another edition
3.0
blodeuedd's review against another edition
4.0
The book was both heartbreaking, breathtaking and lovely at the same time. You know it will be sad when the heroine is a Jew during WWII but I still cling to hope, it could happen. The ending itself is bittersweet and fitting and could have made me cry.
The story is about Elise who becomes a maid in England just before the start of the war. Her mother is a famous opera singer, her father an obscure novelist. She is not fit for service really, but does her best. her luck is the household she ends up in, good Mr Rivers who took a chance on her. Friends she meets and then there is Kit. It is a new era, but there are still things you just do not do, and a servant and the young master of the house is one of those things that can't be. Here comes the romance and friendship. But over all this is the shadow of war and him being young we all know what that means.
The war is looked at from the sidelines. A shortage of things, German planes in the sky, the army taking over more and more land for their own purpose. The house becoming more and more empty as men leave for war and women for factories. In that the book is rather silent in a way, it does not scream and shout that the war is here. Instead it breaks your heart a piece at a time. And my heart did feel like it was breaking a few times. There is this balance between happiness and hope. A balance that makes it impossible for me to put the book down. I just wanted to read, I just needed to know. Would everyone be happy in the end?
It was a truly lovely book that I just fell more and more for while reading. And I still think about it while writing this.
Downtown Abbey is popular at the moment so fans of that should definitely give it a go. Along with the rest of you.
The story is about Elise who becomes a maid in England just before the start of the war. Her mother is a famous opera singer, her father an obscure novelist. She is not fit for service really, but does her best. her luck is the household she ends up in, good Mr Rivers who took a chance on her. Friends she meets and then there is Kit. It is a new era, but there are still things you just do not do, and a servant and the young master of the house is one of those things that can't be. Here comes the romance and friendship. But over all this is the shadow of war and him being young we all know what that means.
The war is looked at from the sidelines. A shortage of things, German planes in the sky, the army taking over more and more land for their own purpose. The house becoming more and more empty as men leave for war and women for factories. In that the book is rather silent in a way, it does not scream and shout that the war is here. Instead it breaks your heart a piece at a time. And my heart did feel like it was breaking a few times. There is this balance between happiness and hope. A balance that makes it impossible for me to put the book down. I just wanted to read, I just needed to know. Would everyone be happy in the end?
It was a truly lovely book that I just fell more and more for while reading. And I still think about it while writing this.
Downtown Abbey is popular at the moment so fans of that should definitely give it a go. Along with the rest of you.
dancearh's review against another edition
4.0
It was nice to read a WWII novel that wasn't about the holocaust. The story is touching and shows the tragedy of the people that survived the war.
life_full_ofbooks's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is one of the most uniquely written WW2 books I’ve ever read. Taking place in the English countryside this is the story of Elise, a Jewish, privileged 19 year old Austrian from Vienna. In 1941, her family sends her to England to be part of the household staff at Tyneford, a mansion in the beautiful countryside belonging to Christopher Rivers. Between the culture shock, the language barrier, and being worried about her parents and sister, Elise is angry, frustrated, and sad- until she meets Mr. Rivers’ 20 year old son, Kit. Kit doesn’t care that Elise is the maid, nor does he care that she’s Jewish. The love between them is real and no one, not even a war, will come between them.
Natasha Solomon’s descriptions are stunningly beautiful. She wrote in such a way that at one point the house even feels like a character. I have never been to the English Countryside but I truly felt like I was there through Ms. Solomon’s words.
I read a lot of WW2 fiction and I greatly appreciated that the setting was on the outskirts of London. While the war was starting, Tyneford still carried on. It felt like Tyneford and the members of the house were side characters in the story of WW2, and it was refreshing to read about the war from a completely different vantage point than what one normally reads.
I found this to be so much sadder than most WW2 books. With Elise being in England and being able to communicate via letters only, it was really hard watching her worry about her family- never knowing what was happening to her parents. While it’s sad, it’s so beautifully written that it makes for a wonderful book.