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chiaradg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer
katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The content is hard to read, but the quality of the writing and the gripping plot made it very hard to put down.
We follow two sisters as they find very different ways to navigate their way through the Nazi occupation of France in World War 2. Vienne is a proud mother, wife, and rule follower living in the Loire Valley. She refuses to believe that there will be a war at all right up until her husband Pierre is called up. Isobelle, meanwhile, is eighteen and has just been chucked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools and is rebellious to her core. Just as she arrives back in Paris, she is ordered by her troubled and overbearing father straight back out again to join her sister. We also follow a 1990s timeline of an older woman remembering but wishing she didn’t have to.
Like I say, this is not an easy read as it does not shy away from the horrors of war waged far from the front line where women and children endured a different kind of hell. The book captures so well how a child's innocence can be so utterly shattered in a war.
Sadly, this novel is all relevant in 2024. When will the human race learn?
This is easily my book of the year so far, and Kristin Hannah is a new author to me, which is very exciting, and I can't wait to read more. I also recommend this for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratchiwili.
Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cancer
charlotterose13x's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I know now what matters, and it is not what I have lost, it is my memories.
Wounds heal, love lasts, we remain”
The most heartbreaking, beautiful book I have read in while and my favourite book of 2024 so far.
This story has me fully invested in these women’s lives and their stories. I was moved greatly by their relationship and sisters and their experiences throughout the war.
The way Hannah has written from both women’s perspectives is incredible. Both ladies living different lives but despite all odds brought closer by the outbreak of war in France. Vianne and Isabelle are both equally as strong and inspiring fighting their own battles against the Nazis.
Well worth a read and I will be recommending to all
Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Torture, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jeggert10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
jsanz22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and War
darianreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Trafficking, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Rape, and Blood
b00kishnurse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
raquellecollins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: War
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
harleyglynn's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, and War
Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
jack_skye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Cancer