Helpful Score: 5
This is a love story set in the horrific days of World War II. It is very sad. It displays the brutal realities of war...the ability to destroy lives not only physically, but emotionally as well. The ending does give hope to the human spirit and power of love. A good read. It will touch your heart.
Helpful Score: 2
One thing about Anita Shreve, much like her contemporary, Ken Follet, is her ability to place the reader in any place at any time in history. And while many of her books center on the East Coast area she calls home, this one is the exception. It is a tale of love, deception and the horrors of World War II as experienced by those under Nazi occupation. It also shows how one single event can alter forever the lives of the people it touches. And how not even love can overcome the forces set in motion by this event. As with all of her books, no matter the time or setting, Shreve does not fail to deliver a book that is impossible to put down.
Helpful Score: 2
Great book!
Helpful Score: 2
This book held true to all of Anita Shreve's writings. It kept you turning those pages to see how it ended.
Helpful Score: 1
This is horrible. It is so boring I stopped after 33 pages, I couldn't stand it another minute. It may pick up but I couldn't take the chance that it didn't. I have never been a huge fan of Anita Shreve mostly because her books to me seem overated and wordy. This is the worst I have read, I think it will be the last that I try as well, there is just too much out there to read to waste my time with this author.
Helpful Score: 1
In a Nazi-occupied Belgain village, the wife of a resistance worker shelters a wounded Amercian bomber pilot.
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this. I wanted it to end differently than it did (I'm not disappointed though) but as with most war stories--they don't usually end in a happy way.
Helpful Score: 1
The bits of crudity and language in here honestly made me think it was written by a man. The writing style was choppy and sometimes hard to follow. Occasionally the narrative slips into a flashback without warning, which can get confusing. Many sections start out with "He did this" or "She did that" and go on for paragraphs without telling us who he or she is. Since the story jumps around a lot, 'he' and 'she' could refer to anyone. However, it was not so bad I put the book down; I finished it in 2-3 days.
Helpful Score: 1
Very slow in the beginning. Not my favorite Anita Shreeve by far.
Helpful Score: 1
I an understand why the book is not 5 stars. It is truly a sad story and, hard to digest. The book itself is wonderfully written, WW2 era. I definitely recommend this book.
Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. If you enjoyed The Weight of Water and The Pilot's Wife you'll enjoy this too.
This was a great book. Have read most of her novels, this is an older one and very fine one.
People in the Belgian resistance, during WW2
People in the Belgian resistance, during WW2
Great love story that takes place during WWII.
Great book. Well written but at times brutal, graphic and heartbreaking. I am still wishing this book ended better. Nothing worse then a sad ending but this book is still worth the read.
In Resistance, Anita Shreve takes us into a world of war. Claire is a member of the Resistance, a group of people dedicated to fighting the war from their kitchens and attics by funneling the injured and endangered to safety in France.
When a bomber crashes in a field near her village, Claire risks her life to care for the pilot. All seems to be going well, and the pilot will soon be headed to the next safe haven - but when someone rashly murders three German guards, all bets are off. The questions of who can be trusted, who might be working for the other side, and who will live or die are as common as taking a breath.
Resistance is the story of love against all odds, a tale of survival in the direst of circumstances, and doing what has to be done, no matter the cost.
I read this book in one sitting - I didn't want to put it down. My only complaint is that it didn't last longer!
When a bomber crashes in a field near her village, Claire risks her life to care for the pilot. All seems to be going well, and the pilot will soon be headed to the next safe haven - but when someone rashly murders three German guards, all bets are off. The questions of who can be trusted, who might be working for the other side, and who will live or die are as common as taking a breath.
Resistance is the story of love against all odds, a tale of survival in the direst of circumstances, and doing what has to be done, no matter the cost.
I read this book in one sitting - I didn't want to put it down. My only complaint is that it didn't last longer!
I really liked this book. If you have read other Anita Shreve's novels you will probably like this one as well. It is very realistic fiction set during WW2 Belgian. I found it to be a little slow and boring in parts where she was describing all the pilots issues and all the technical stuff about the airplane. It certainlly isn't a boring love story though. If you like books about the concentration camps you will like this one because it touches on that at the end. On a scale of 1- 10; 10 being the best I'd give it an 8.
Anita Shreve writes wonderful love stories and this is another example of her work! This novel is set in WWII Belgium - it is the love story of a resistance worker's wife and a wounded American bomber.
Wonderful writing....I couldn't wait to see how it ended...
This tale of impossible love unfolds in a Nazi-occupied Belgian village where the wife of a resistance worker shelters a wounded American bomber pilot in a secret hideaway. As she nurses him back to health, Claire is drawn into a passionate love affair that seems capable of conquering all - until the brutal realities of war shatter every idea she ever held about love, trust, and betrayal.
The tale of impossible love-told with the same narrative grace and keen eye for human emotion that have distinguished all of Anita Shreve's beloved bestellers-leads us into a harrowing world where forbidden passions have catastrophic consequences. (publisher)
From the cover:
In Resistance, Anita Shreve uses a wartime setting to sharpen the themes she has explored in previous novels - and leads us into a harrowing world where forbidden passions have catastrophic consequences. In a Nazi-occupied Belgian village, Claire Daussois, the wife of a resistance worker, shelters a wounded American bomber pilot in a secret attic hideaway. As she nurses him back to health, Claire falls in love and is soon locked in a passionate affair that seems strong enough to conquer all - until the brute realities of war intrude, shattering every idea she ever had about love, trust, and betrayal.
Resistance is a powerful exploration of emotion at odds with commitment. No reader who has loved - or resisted love - will forget this lucid and moving tale.
In Resistance, Anita Shreve uses a wartime setting to sharpen the themes she has explored in previous novels - and leads us into a harrowing world where forbidden passions have catastrophic consequences. In a Nazi-occupied Belgian village, Claire Daussois, the wife of a resistance worker, shelters a wounded American bomber pilot in a secret attic hideaway. As she nurses him back to health, Claire falls in love and is soon locked in a passionate affair that seems strong enough to conquer all - until the brute realities of war intrude, shattering every idea she ever had about love, trust, and betrayal.
Resistance is a powerful exploration of emotion at odds with commitment. No reader who has loved - or resisted love - will forget this lucid and moving tale.
This is one of Shreve's better novels. Like all of her books, I am never completely satisfied with the ending. This book is a great page turner and a definite must read.
Another terrific novel by a prolific author.
War, loss, love, commitment, betrayal. It's all here, and it's wonderful.
Anita Shreve at her best! I loved this book!
Just okay for me.....guess I am not really into Wartime books......to me it was not one of her best.
THis book is an amazing story of love and bravery. It is set in Belgium during WWII and tells of the courage of the resistance. anita Shreve writes another winner.
Passion and betrayal and good historical setting--but not good writing.
Great reading..
When I started reading this I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it, but thankfully I stuck with it. Once I hit the middle I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I surprisingly liked it very much.
Slow reading but interesting love story.
it was a simple story, could have been more indepth, but thought provoking none the less.
From Publishers Weekly
As in her earlier novels, Shreve (Eden Close) affectingly explores themes of love and loss with piercing clarity, once again capturing the fragile emotions of those in pain. Here, however, she moves from her customary domestic, contemporary milieu to WWII Europe?to the Belgian village of Delahaut, where young Claire Daussois and her husband, Henri, are members of an underground resistance movement. When a British plane goes down outside the town in December 1943, the plucky 10-year-old Jean Benoit finds a survivor, Ted Brice, hides him in his father's barn and then summons the aid of Mme. Daussois. As she has done with other refugees, Claire shelters the 22-year-old captain in her attic. When it becomes necessary for Henri to go into hiding, Claire and Ted embark on a brief affair, a passionate liaison made more poignant by its simultaneous inevitability and futility. With deceptive simplicity and superb control, Shreve evokes the impersonal horrors of wartime and its heartbreaking personal tragedies?often combining those elements to almost overwhelming effect, as when Jean witnesses the execution of several townspeople as reprisal for their resistance activities.
As in her earlier novels, Shreve (Eden Close) affectingly explores themes of love and loss with piercing clarity, once again capturing the fragile emotions of those in pain. Here, however, she moves from her customary domestic, contemporary milieu to WWII Europe?to the Belgian village of Delahaut, where young Claire Daussois and her husband, Henri, are members of an underground resistance movement. When a British plane goes down outside the town in December 1943, the plucky 10-year-old Jean Benoit finds a survivor, Ted Brice, hides him in his father's barn and then summons the aid of Mme. Daussois. As she has done with other refugees, Claire shelters the 22-year-old captain in her attic. When it becomes necessary for Henri to go into hiding, Claire and Ted embark on a brief affair, a passionate liaison made more poignant by its simultaneous inevitability and futility. With deceptive simplicity and superb control, Shreve evokes the impersonal horrors of wartime and its heartbreaking personal tragedies?often combining those elements to almost overwhelming effect, as when Jean witnesses the execution of several townspeople as reprisal for their resistance activities.
