Summary: More character-focused than plot-driven, this book was fascinating, but not the best fit for me right now.
This is the story of a WWII heroineSummary: More character-focused than plot-driven, this book was fascinating, but not the best fit for me right now.
This is the story of a WWII heroine, Noor Inayat Khan. As a quiet children's author, given a luxurious childhood by followers of her father's spiritual teachings, Noor wasn't an obvious candidate for the French resistance. After an escape from France to Britain, she was persistent about being sent back and then staying to operate a radio as operatives were captured around her. This self-sacrifice was in keeping with the compassionate and applied teachings Noor absorbed from her father at an early age. I will share with you how her story ends, since that info is revealed in the publisher summary. I'll also make reference to the spoiler throughout the following review, so if you wish to know less than the blurb reveals, best to skip this review. Alright, on to the summary spoiler... After crucial months operating in France, Noor was captured and eventually killed at Dachau, months before the end of the war.
I thought the author did an incredible job showing who Noor was. We spend one chapter getting to know her father and his teachings. Then several subsequent chapters show how he influenced Noor. The author was also fair about showing Noor's flaws, including breaches of security protocols she committed while in France. Despite being an imperfect agent, Noor's bravery and skill with a radio meant she was invaluable to the war effort. It doesn't seem out of the question that D-Day would have gone differently without her. She was an almost unbelievably impresive person. I enjoyed getting to know her and was particularly moved by ongoing celebrations of her life today.
While not everyone might want to know how Noor's story ended in advance, I was glad that I did. It made it less shocking and depressing to have known what was coming. I think it also added a certain poignancy to the story. It may have taken away from some of the narrative tension the book would have had if I was unsure what would happen though. In fact, one problem I had with the book is that it didn't feel particularly fast paced to me. There were brief sections that felt like I was reading a tense spy story. The bulk of the book was more introspective and character driven. We spend a lot of time on Noor's childhood and on her imprisonment. I think I might have enjoyed this more at another time. Unfortunately, life in the time of Covid has to led to highs and lows in my reading life. Right now, I'm finding that I need a book to grip me a bit more than usual in order to really get into it. I suspect at another time this book would have gotten another star from me. I'd recommend checking out some goodreads reviews if you're interested in this one.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey...more
Summary: This was everything I look for in historical fiction - two gripping stories about incredible women, loosely based on a true story.
I love dualSummary: This was everything I look for in historical fiction - two gripping stories about incredible women, loosely based on a true story.
I love dual narrative historical fiction and this was one of the best representatives of that genre that I've read. Our story starts in the aftermath of WWII, as pregnant, unmarried Charlie St. Clair struggles to gain some control over life. When her parents send her "to Europe to have her 'little problem' taken care of,"(source), she instead sets off to find out whether her missing cousin Rose might still be alive. The only cluse she has leads her to Eve Gardiner, whose time as a spy during WWI turns out to connect to Charlie's search in surprising ways.
This story won me over within the first page. Even as a reader who sometimes feels like an outlier for not wanting to write, I still wanted to figure out how the author managed to pull me in so quickly. I think part of it had to do with her choice of details. The writing wasn't overdone, but the author provided enough little details that each scene was convincing. It felt true. I also fell for Charlie right away. She's clearly dazed by her circumstances, but hasn't lost her willingness to defy convention for a good cause. She's also unconventionally into math, which I related to.
The author used the first conversation Charlie has with her mother to establish the historical context and the personal context naturally. Between the conversation and Charlie's thoughts, we got a clear picture of the times and Charlie's situation without it ever feeling like an info dump. When we meet Eve a little later, she's certainly not immediately endearing, but she's just as intriguing as Charlie. So that's setting and characters mostly taken care of - both were fantastic. The last thing I want to mention is that there was a great found family component to this story, which I loved.
Last but not least, the plot kept me hooked all the way through. There were several mysteries that made this book nearly impossible to put down. I also enjoyed watching the different characters' relationships develop. Of course, I was only more excited about this gripping story when I got to the author's note at the end. It turns out far more of this story was rooted in fact than I would have guessed. The author notes where she's speculating and where she's compressed the timeline, always nice to know.
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