Two young women face the invasion of Belgium by Nazi forces, exploring friendship and the heartbreaking treatment of innocents by those with a cruel agenda.
Written in the first person, we see through the eyes of protagonist Simone, who has the fortune of being the daughter of a famous Belgium hero. Her close friend Hava has many fine traits, passion, artistic creativity, empathy for all. Hava being Jewish brought an edge to the narrative, which offsets the frivolity and sometimes twee behaviour of two young friends.
The wartime backdrop comes increasingly to the fore as the Germans march westwards. We see the naivety and escapism of youth balanced against oppression and death. The friendship of Simone and Hava is highly believable, impacting the reader when they come against hardships, the first person perspective works really well to elevate emotions such as fear/sadness. There are great supporting characters, I liked Hava’s family, learnt some Jewish culture.
The Nazi characters were not investigated too deeply, but they were three dimensional characters. Some factual text about their atrocities supported the significance of each part of the story. There were a few Hitler extracts, Churchill too, at times I found it difficult to tell which was which in relation to their similar styles, the content soon became obvious.
This book ranges between 3 and 4 stars, but the latter part of the book rises to 5 stars. Despite great engagement in frivolous aspects of their relationship, the increasingly serious issues come across really well. Don’t be hoodwinked by the easy reading style, it has real impact and there are times when you may wish to take a break to fully comprehend the content. I would recommend this book to everyone, but some should choose the right time to read it, it’s not a beach book.
Written in the first person, we see through the eyes of protagonist Simone, who has the fortune of being the daughter of a famous Belgium hero. Her close friend Hava has many fine traits, passion, artistic creativity, empathy for all. Hava being Jewish brought an edge to the narrative, which offsets the frivolity and sometimes twee behaviour of two young friends.
The wartime backdrop comes increasingly to the fore as the Germans march westwards. We see the naivety and escapism of youth balanced against oppression and death. The friendship of Simone and Hava is highly believable, impacting the reader when they come against hardships, the first person perspective works really well to elevate emotions such as fear/sadness. There are great supporting characters, I liked Hava’s family, learnt some Jewish culture.
The Nazi characters were not investigated too deeply, but they were three dimensional characters. Some factual text about their atrocities supported the significance of each part of the story. There were a few Hitler extracts, Churchill too, at times I found it difficult to tell which was which in relation to their similar styles, the content soon became obvious.
This book ranges between 3 and 4 stars, but the latter part of the book rises to 5 stars. Despite great engagement in frivolous aspects of their relationship, the increasingly serious issues come across really well. Don’t be hoodwinked by the easy reading style, it has real impact and there are times when you may wish to take a break to fully comprehend the content. I would recommend this book to everyone, but some should choose the right time to read it, it’s not a beach book.