The Paris Children: A Novel of World War 2 by Gloria GoldreichMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I won this book through a Fall Preview giveaway at bookreporter.com.
I enjoy WWII fiction so it was a good bet that I would enjoy this one. A plus is that it is based on the stories of real people. I felt like a got a good look into the lives of the French people, and especially the French Jews, during the Nazi occupation. I also felt like a got a better appreciation for what those that joined the Resistance went through — the planning, the dedication, the risks of daily life as a member of the Resistance. This book met one of my key wants in historical fiction; it inspired me to read and learn more. I spent time on Wikipedia reading about Madeleine Levy’s grandfather, Alfred Dreyfus, and his trials. Sadly, there is at this time no entry for Madeleine Levy.
While I enjoyed this story and found it very readable, I also found it repetitive at times. The fact that they were living in dangerous times and that Madeleine and Claude might not survive the war to have a future was mentioned every time they got together. There were similar repetitive lines. I wish some of this could have been cut. The book would have been shorter and the story flowed a little more quickly without the repetition.
I also felt that the story didn’t have the emotional impact it might have, had the author not included a spoiler in her author notes on the very first page—before the story even started!. Once she did, I read between the lines and knew what was going to happen. The only questions were when and how. But the time it did happen, I was resigned to it. My suggestion is that you save the author notes for the end!
I did enjoy the book and learned some history from it. I think readers of WWII historical fiction, and particularly fans of Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Nightingale’ will enjoy this one!
My rating: ✭✭✭½
View all my reviews
While I enjoyed this story and found it very readable, I also found it repetitive at times. The fact that they were living in dangerous times and that Madeleine and Claude might not survive the war to have a future was mentioned every time they got together. There were similar repetitive lines. I wish some of this could have been cut. The book would have been shorter and the story flowed a little more quickly without the repetition.
I also felt that the story didn’t have the emotional impact it might have, had the author not included a spoiler in her author notes on the very first page—before the story even started!. Once she did, I read between the lines and knew what was going to happen. The only questions were when and how. But the time it did happen, I was resigned to it. My suggestion is that you save the author notes for the end!
I did enjoy the book and learned some history from it. I think readers of WWII historical fiction, and particularly fans of Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Nightingale’ will enjoy this one!
My rating: ✭✭✭½
View all my reviews
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