Helpful Score: 1
Sweet and atmospheric, if you love Europe!
Interesting book; good story--from the view of the son and jumps from present to past events...main story line is just after WWII about the lives of a French woman who married and had a son by the occupying German officer--so she is viewed as a collaborator and is an outcast in the small town. As a woman, I found a number of times the male main character had actions that did not contribute to the story line . . . author mentions in the back of the book that she enjoyed writing from a male perspective and this was her first time -- might account for what I found as disconnects. Also found that after the detailed story the ending wrapped up too fast with some jumps to make it neat. Worth the read.
This book was an interesting read with some information about France shortly after WWII. The main character is a grown man now but much of the book is about his time as a 6-8 year old boy in the years after the war. He was mute after a traumatic experience at the end of the war; reading things from that view was interesting. I found the reflections of a 6 yr old boy to be a bit wise for his years but maybe that was because of his experiences. There was one point in the book where, as a teenager, he becomes a gang member and the language and behavior during that time is a bit crude and rough. Overall, the book ends okay and the mystery of the painting is finally solved!
Enjoyable
the character of Jack Magellan as a murderer was a little too much to be believed. Otherwise the book was good
