From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, a sweeping bestseller of love and loss, deftly weaving two journeys from World War I France to present day London. Paris, World War I. Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From … every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born.
Almost a century later in London, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.
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Do you know the moment when you discover and author’s voice that you really click with? Well, that. 😀 Jojo Moyes storytelling really attaches you to the characters, and draws you deep into their story. I loved this book, and now I am going to do what I see people doing with my books and buy everything else that Jojo has written, becuase I love her writting not just the story. This was brilliant, a beautiful, heart wrenching story.
Do you know the moment when you discover and author’s voice that you really click with? Well, that. 😀 Jojo Moyes storytelling really attaches you to the characters, and draws you deep into their story. I loved this book, and now I am going to do what I see people doing with my books and buy everything else that Jojo has written, becuase I love her writting not just the story. This was brilliant, a beautiful, heart wrenching story.
From the title, you’d think it was a romance, but it’s not.
The Girl You Left Behind, by JoJo Moyes. (2012. Historical Fiction.) I bought it at B&N on vacation back in January. (Before our current quarantine .) The back cover sounded intriguing and I didn’t realize until I started reading it a couple weeks later that the twists and turns to this plot were very familiar for a reason. I’d read it when it was released eight years ago! I loved it even more as I read it the second time. The research is spot-on and the characters are wonderful. It starts out in German occupied France during WW1. And ends in London in 2012. Two sisters survive under duress while their husbands are off in the French army. Stolen French art, wartime sacrifices, orphaned children, widowhood are weaved together with empathy and skill by this gifted writer.
Really good
I devour everything Moyes produces.
What an amazing author and this book s exceptional. A bit of mystery, curiosity, stubbornness, love and current and past history presenting a different persoective on a difficult time in history. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it. Wonderful.
A really great read.
good story with well developed characters–well written in mostly complete sentences–happy ending
Wonderfully written. I found myself so connected to such a horrible time in history.
Good story and good writing.
An enjoyable read.The story line kept my interest right to the end.
First book by jojo Moues but it won’t be my last! Great book!
What people had to live with during WW II is amazing. That fight over this painting just goes on and on with new little bits of facts appearing. A great read!
If you enjoy historical fiction books, you will definitely want to read this book. Jojo Moyes does an excellent job of developing the characters and the story. The first half of the book takes place during World War I in occupied France. The second half jumps to 2006 in London. For me, the best part of the book was the first half because of the historical aspects. Overall, however, I truly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.
Awesome book, recommend to everyone I know
The characters were beautifully drawn and I loved the interweaving of the two stories. Another great book by this author!
Wonderful and clearly sign-posted immersion of two worlds – WW1 and the present through an object of art. Very good dialogues and interesting, original style. Also, realistically set the rise of hate speech against everything that can offer the opportunity.
I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I really had to take a step back and think about how to review this book. I loved the historical component to this book about WWII, however, it seems that WWII is a hot topic these days in this genre or maybe for some reason I keep selecting books about it. This was my third book this year with a WWII story in it. So, I am completely wrapped up in the story about Sophie and next thing I know we are whisked to the present and meet new characters who are in no way associated to Sophie and her family and it feels like the WWII story just kind of dies…. However, later in the book pieces of Sophie’s life do emerge. I had a hard time with Liv not wanting to turn the painting over to the rightful owners and really disliked her for it, but again there is a twist to that story and my perspective changes. This book unlike the several others of Jojo Moyes I have read, was hard for me to stay interested in. Over time (after finishing the book) it has grown on me, but there just seems to be parts of it where it stalls out…. So, for me, I am going to give this author a rare 3. It was good just not as good as her others.
This novel definitely kept my attention – the characters and plot were compelling – and I was pleased with the ending. I was intrigued by the parts of the book that took place during World War I as I hadn’t really thought about what it would be like during that time. The hardships and atrocities of World War I get overshadowed by the terribleness of World War II and reading this book I’m reminded of the devastation that Europe faced not once but twice in a thirty year period.