A review by bargainsleuth
Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen
2.0
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The title of the book should be something like The Netherlands during WWII, and Audrey Hepburn Was There, Too. I get putting a story in historical context, but there were chapters where Audrey wasn't even mentioned. Most chapters started out with a quote from Audrey about the war, then details about what was going on with the German occupation of the Netherlands. It's all very interesting, but not a lot of Audrey in here.
One other beef I have is the style of writing. When Audrey's Uncle Otto is hauled off to be executed, the author interjects stuff like "They picked their way through the woodland bottom over sandy ground spritzed with morning dew." A couple of paragraphs later, "Above, the birds of morning sang on, songs about summer and sun and bugs to be eaten." Sounds more like historical fiction than real history.
I'm glad that an attempt was made to tell Audrey's story and her children allowed the use of personal photos, both black and white and in color, never seen by the public before, but this book falls short.
The title of the book should be something like The Netherlands during WWII, and Audrey Hepburn Was There, Too. I get putting a story in historical context, but there were chapters where Audrey wasn't even mentioned. Most chapters started out with a quote from Audrey about the war, then details about what was going on with the German occupation of the Netherlands. It's all very interesting, but not a lot of Audrey in here.
One other beef I have is the style of writing. When Audrey's Uncle Otto is hauled off to be executed, the author interjects stuff like "They picked their way through the woodland bottom over sandy ground spritzed with morning dew." A couple of paragraphs later, "Above, the birds of morning sang on, songs about summer and sun and bugs to be eaten." Sounds more like historical fiction than real history.
I'm glad that an attempt was made to tell Audrey's story and her children allowed the use of personal photos, both black and white and in color, never seen by the public before, but this book falls short.