Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is set in France during World War II and tells the story of two sisters - Viann and Isabelle and their lives during this period. Viann Mauriac says goodbye to her husband as he heads to the front to fight for France and she settles into their countryside home in Carriveau with their young daughter to endure wartime and wait for her husband's return. Meanwhile, Isabelle, always a rebel, finds herself working for the Resistance and  risking her life to fight the enemy. Through each of their stories, the reader is transported to France during the war and witnesses the sacrifice and endurance of French women during WWII. Sacrifice and endurance are wrapped in a love story and family drama which captivates the reader.

Viann and Isabelle have a fractured relationship; after the death of their mother when they were both young girls, they were left with their father who was ill-equipped emotionally following the death of his wife to deal with raising his young daughters. Viann, ten years older than Isabelle, was left to care for her younger sister but when Viann marries Antoine, Isabelle is shipped off to boarding school. Feeling abandoned, Isabelle resents Viann and acts out at boarding school and is expelled from school after school. Early on in the war, Isabelle arrives at Viann's home in Carriveau and they must work on their relationship in order to coexist and face the difficulties of Nazi occupation of their town.

Isabelle's rebellious streak persists and she is disgusted by Viann's inclination to do as she is told and to follow the orders of the occupiers. When German Captian Beck "billets" in Viann's home and lives side by side with her, Isabelle and Viann's young daughter, Viann is accommodating in an effort to keep from angering the soldier and in the hope that he will assist in contacting her husband who has been captured by the enemy.  Her approach to the war is to stoically accept the hardships and to try to endure; Isabelle, meanwhile joins the Resistance and distributes Anti-Nazi materials undercover throughout the town. This evolves into her shepherding British and American soldiers that have been shot down across the Pyrenees into Spain - her code name is Nightingale. Two sisters take very different paths during the war but ultimately gain an understanding and a respect for each other.

My Thoughts
This book captured my attention and had me hungrily reading for more - beyond the story of the sister's relationship, I was drawn into the hardship endured by those in the French countryside during the war. The author expertly describes the effects of draconian food rationing and intimidation meted out by the occupying German forces.  There were scenes, reminiscent of those in another Hannah novel, Winter Garden, where Viann broke down furniture to  burn and provide a little heat for her and her daughter through the long, cold winter. I cried twice during this novel - both times during scenes which involved children facing the atrocities of war while their parents plead for mercy for them. Hannah perfectly crafted these scenes  - she made them moving without being overly sentimental.

Ultimately, the appeal of this book lies in how humanity triumphed over the unthinkable horrors of war.

Isabelle's character is based on a Belgian woman, Andree de Jongh who set up an escape route for captured Allied soldiers during WWII.

Review: Land of Dreams by Kate Kerrigan

Land of Dreams by Kate Kerrigan is the third book in the series which features Ellie Hogan who leaves Ireland and starts her life anew in New York. In this installment, Ellie ends up in LA after her oldest son takes off there to pursue a career in acting. While in LA, Ellie, now almost 50, reflects on her life to date and has some important revelations about how she has arrived in this point in life and what matters to her most.

When Ellie's son Leo runs away from his boarding school to follow an agent to LA to be part of the movies, Ellie's maternal instinct kicks in and she immediately packs up to travel across the country and bring her boy home. Recently widowed when her second husband is killed in Pearl Harbor, Ellie is alone again and her boys are all she has - they are her purpose and she must protect them. She intends to locate her son and immediately return to NY with him but when she sees her shy, reserved son come alive at the prospect of a career in acting she relents and decides to stay while Leo completes his contract with Paramount. Always one to gather a community around her, Ellie brings out the elderly Bridie, an Irish woman that has been like a mother to Ellie and a Nan to her sons, to live with her and the boys. She also takes in Freddie, Leo's down on his luck agent, and Freddie's vacuous girlfriend Crystal. Together they pass their days adjusting to life in sunny California at the fringes of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle.

Despite swearing off men following the loss of two husbands, Ellie finds herself captivated and pursued by Stan, a Polish composer who writes scores for Hollywood films. Ellie is her own worst enemy in her relationship with Stan and tries to sabotage it at every turn but she can't deny her feelings for him and constantly finds herself back with him. While coping with her relationship with Stan, she is also facing the decline of her dear friend, Bridie. Bridie's tough exterior can't hide the onset of dementia and Ellie must dedicate herself to keeping Bridie safe while maintaining the older woman's dignity.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series (my review of Ellis Island and my review of City of Hope) so I was happy to "meet" Ellie again in this final installment. She is as feisty as ever but her fire is tinged with self awareness - she is now fifty and spends much of the book reflecting on the choices that have gotten her to this point in her life and seeing patterns in her behavior. This maturity in Ellie is appealing and tempers some of her more impulsive schemes. Perhaps my favorite part of this book is the relationship between Ellie and Bridie - tough Bridie tells it like it us but also is vulnerable as old age begins to take its toll.  She is aware that she is failing but is also fiercely proud and fights to maintain her dignity.  Ellie rises to this challenge and takes care of Bridie as she would if Bridie were her mother.  Bridie provides continuity in Ellie's story as she has been with her since she first arrived in the US and she also creates an opportunity for Ellie to show her gentler side as she cares for the older woman.

Although it is the third book in a series, Land of Dreams can stand on his own - the author references what happened in the first two books enough to make the connections to this story. But I feel the real strength in the book is Ellie and you can appreciate her so much more if you have read the first two books.  If you read Land of Dreams first, go back and read the other two!

The Girl You Left Behind by Jo Jo Moyes

The Girl You Left Behind by Jo Jo Moyes: Sophie LeFevre's husband, Edouard, is fighting for France at the front of World War I; Sophie has been left behind in the small town of St. Peronne which has been occupied by the Germans. A Kommandant is taken by Sophie and the painting the artist  Edouard had made of her which hangs in her home and reminds her of life before the War. When that painting surfaces almost one hundred years later in the home of Liv Halston, an international scandal erupts and thrusts everyone into the limelight. Although long since deceased, Sophie also takes center stage and her story is told.

 Liv Halston was given the painting "The Girl You Left Behind" by her husband, David. When he dies suddenly, Liv is left as a young widow and she clutches everything that connects her to her late husband. She lives in the fantastic "Glass House" that was custom built by David, an architect. Each feature in the home reminds her of David, his brilliance and what she has lost. "The Girl You Left Behind" also reminds her of happy times with David and she develops a connection with its subject, Sophie. When the LeFevre family engages the services of a firm to recover the painting missing from Edouard's collection, they contact Liv and inform her she is in possession of a painting that was illegitimately obtained during the War. The family wants restitution but Liv cannot let go of one of her last connections to David - or to Sophie.

My Thoughts
I found this book completely engrossing. It is told alternately from Sophie and then Liv's point of view and I think the movement between contemporary and historical fiction was well balanced and served to keep the story moving. The author successfully creates two very sypathetic characters in Sophie and Liv - they are both dealing with tremendous grief and loss but they are also complicated and don't always make predictable, stereotypical choices. They are linked by the painting and they both hold on to it in an effort to connect to what they have lost.

The story extends much beyond just Liv and Sophie - each of their storylines are filled with interesting characters and subplots to make this a multilayered novel which pulls you in. In addition, there is the controversy over works of art with questionable provenace and what the current owners owe the descendants of the true owners. All of this together makes for a story I won't soon forget.

I received an e-ARC via netgalley. Shereads.org is currently offering a giveaway for a book bundle from the author - enter here. 

Review: City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan

City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan continues the story of Ellie Hogan which started in the novel Ellis Island (my review). When we leave Ellie in Ellis Island, she has returned home to Ireland following the death of her father and is reunited there with her husband, John. City of Hope picks up a number of years later, still in Ireland, and Ellie has made her mark on the rural village in which she and John live. She has a number of small business and is as independent as ever. When John dies suddenly, Ellie, despite her apparent strength, can't cope. She flees Ireland and arrives back in New York City, now in the throes of the Depression.

Ellie Hogan is strong-willed and relishes her independence. Beneath that hard exterior, however, Ellie has a strong love for her husband and even curtails some of her grand ideas to align to her husband's desire for a more humble lifestyle. She is devastated when John dies suddenly of a heart attack and feels some guilt since she had been more focused on getting to town to check in on one of her businesses on the day John died than on spending time with him. In a rash act, Ellie flees Ireland following the funeral and heads to NY - she can't bear her grief in Ireland and is desperate for distraction.  There is much to distract her in NY but it is not what she expected. The NY she left was glittering with parties, fashionable clothes and beautiful homes; she returns to NY in the Depression and she is surrounded by desperation with families living on the streets.

Ellie soon finds her purpose among the needy in NY and starts refurbishing derelict homes and taking in needy families. Ellie gets to further bury her grief while staying so busy and the families gain some dignity as they work for Ellie refurbishing and running the homes. Soon she has launched small businesses including a bakery and uses the profits to further her initiative of providing homes for the needy. Despite the satisfaction Ellie gets from her good works, she is running from her grief and it is always on the verge of catching up to her.

My Thoughts
As with Ellis Island, I was drawn into City of Hope and the story the author weaved. I found myself rooting for the families that Ellie "rescued" and enjoyed watching their redemption as they contributed to helping other families in need. Although baffled by Ellie's choices at times, I couldn't help but cheer for her too and admired her strength and willingness to "just get it done".  I felt sorry for Ellie, too, both for her loss and for her inability to be honest with herself and those around her about her grief. As a reader, I knew she could not outrun her grief and dreaded the moment at which it would catch up with her.

City of Hope is a fabulous follow-up to Ellis Island and I loved the continuation of Ellie's story. It does, however, stand on it's own. If you enjoy immigrant stories, historical fiction or stories of redemption, you will love City of Hope!

You can read other reviews of the book from those on the TLC Tour.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing an ARC as part of the tour.

Review: The Secret of Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace tells the story of Anna and her crusty, proper grandmother Goldie - their relationship and each of their pasts. They have had a special relationship since Anna was a young girl but have recently been estranged; Goldie is not one to hold her tongue and when she made it clear she did not feel Anna's husband was the best choice for her, Anna was deeply hurt and removed her grandmother from her life. Five years later and following the death of her husband from leukemia, Anna receives a call from Goldie asking if she will accompany her cross country from NY to San Francisco. Much to her own surprise, Anna decides to drive her grandmother cross country and the two set out on a trip where they each reveal a lot about themselves to the other but also learn a lot about themselves in the process. The reader is taken along for that ride and is treated to a bit of historical fiction in the process.

Goldie lives a well appointed life in New York City and in Palm Beach surrounded by beautiful artwork, fine meals at top restaurants and people to cater to all her needs. She seems born to this life. The truth is she was raised in Memphis, TN in a large, poor family and had to leave school in eighth grade. Her humble beginnings and an intense desire to leave them behind has driven many decisions throughout her life from her move from Memphis to San Francisco to choice of husband who eventually moved her to New York. Anna knows surprisingly little about her Grandmother's history - there have been references to how Goldie suffered as a young girl but she has been fairly circumspect about her life as a young adult in San Francisco.

In much the same way, Goldie doesn't really know her granddaughter - she especially doesn't fully appreciate Anna's suffering since the loss of her husband. She is a young widow and that is devastating but she is also haunted by the fact that she had begun to doubt whether she had made a mistake in marrying Ford before he became sick. Everyone views her as a grieving widow but she struggles with her conflicted feelings about Ford and it is a dark secret which she hides. Keeping this secret walls her off emotionally from friends and family and leaves Anna feeling misunderstood. The trip cross country with Goldie will test the wall she has built.

Much of the book is about Goldie and Anna and the book alternates between each of their stories and then their shared experience on the cross country trip. However, considering the cover and the title of the book, it seems incomplete not to mention another component of this book. While living in San Francisco, Goldie meets Mayumi, a Japanese American woman. Goldie and Mayumi become close friends and Goldie is welcomed by Mayumi's family. She is fascinated by their Japanese culture and is honored to take part in a tea ceremony with them. Mayumi and her brother, Henry, jokingly refer to their home as "Nightingale Palace" in reference to the nightingale floors in a Shogun's house which would make a noise like birds singing when people walked on the floor warning them on an intruder. Henry says:

 Mayumi and I started calling our house "The Nightingale Palace" because our parents are like that. They gave up everything to in order to leave Japan, but this beautiful life they have created here is completely focused on protecting our family, protecting our culture.

That beautiful life is shattered when the Nakamura's are moved to an internment camp during the war and the culture they have worked so hard to preserve and honor becomes a reason to strip the family of their rights and exile them.

My Thoughts
The Secret of the Nightingale Palace offers a sweeping tale with extremely well drawn characters. Goldie is especially memorable and I liked reading about her past and how it drove the many decisions she made throughout her life. Anna provides a counterpoint to Goldie - she is quiet and accommodating where Goldie is demanding and strong willed.  The Nakamura's bring the element of historical fiction to the book as the readers are transported to San Francisco during the war when Japantown was emptied and families moved into internment camps. They also introduce an immigrant theme and the feeling of being an outsider in the country in which you have chosen to live or which your parents have chosen to live. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - the characters are still with me.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.

You can read other reviews from those on the TLC Book Tour here

Audiobook Review: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife (17 hours, 51 minutes; narrated by Orlagh Cassidy) by Adriana Trigiani is the sweeping tale of Ciro and Enza and their journey from first love amid the Alps of Italy to the beginning of their lives together in the streets of Little Italy in New York City to the establishment of their own businesses a mining town in Minnesota. The book, loosely based on the author's grandparents' lives is a love story, an immigrant story and the story of dreaming big and making those dreams happens step by small step.

 Ciro Lazari lives in a small Italian village with his widowed mother and brother. When their mother can no longer care for them, she turns the boys over to the care of nuns in a nearby convent. The boys are well cared for and learn important life skills but they sorely miss their parents. Ciro meets Enza Raveneli from a nearby village and their young love is sparked - it is obviously not a mother's love but there is a sense that Enza fills a hole for Ciro and that, in part, fuels his attraction to her. Enza, the oldest in a large family, feels tremendous obligation to her family and despite her fears she knows her family's best chance for survival is for her to go to the US with her father and earn money. And so begins the first of a number of separations (and reunions) between Ciro and Enza.

 Ultimately Enza and Ciro meet again on the streets of NYC and reignite their romance. They both struggle to fit into their new country and work hard to earn a living but they share their sacrifice and are better able to weather the hardships of their immigrant experience and celebrate each success together. When an opportunity becomes available in Minnesota, the family heads West and truly lives the immigrant dream when they establish their own business there. This historical saga covers more than just a broad geography - it spans an entire generation - we travel with Enza and Ciro from their young adulthood through to the young adulthood of their own son.

  My Thoughts
Simply stated, I loved this book. I was completely captivated - by the setting of the Italian Alps and NYC, by the characters and by their story. The author's descriptions are rich and detailed which allow the reader to become immersed in the world she has created.  Even after 17 hours of audio, I did not want the book to end.  It is expertly narrated by Orlagh Cassidy who brings the characters to life.  Adriana Trigiani has raised the immigrant story to an art form with The Shoemaker's Wife.

Review: The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

In The Bungalow by Sarah Jio, readers are swept off to Bora Bora during World War II. Anne Calloway, a daughter of privilege living in Seattle, is bored with her well defined life and is looking for some excitement and the chance to step outside the expectations to which she has always lived up. So, despite her upcoming nuptials, she volunteers for the war with her friend Kitty. As they head off to Bora Bora, they don't know what they will find but are excited by the prospect of new experiences and a more exotic life than they had in Seattle. Of course, along with the exotic life, they also find heartache and experience loss. Now, almost seventy years later, Anne is reflecting on her time in Bora Bora and trying to unravel some lingering mysteries about her time there.

 Anne Calloway's granddaughter finds a postcard from Bora Bora in her grandmother's belongings and it prompts a conversation about her grandmother's war time service - it is a period about which Anne has spoken very little. Anne reflects on her time in the tropics and is surprised to see she still has feelings for Westry - the soldier she fell in love with while in Bora Bora. The two had discovered a bungalow on a beach near the base and made it into a love nest where they would sneak away from the prying eyes of their friends and co-workers as they tried to keep their relationship a secret. Anne's memories are filled with images of she and Westry together in the bungalow, leaving notes for each other in a hiding spot under the floorboards and tentatively making plans for after the war. Circumstances intervened, however, and now Anne wonders about Westry and where he is now. She also wonders about Kitty - she and Kitty had argued when they last saw each other and despite their once strong friendship, they had not spoken since the war.

  My Thoughts

 I started this book while on a plane and was immediately drawn into Anne's story and the beautifully described scenes from the tropics. I certainly felt swept away. The passion between Westry and Anne was palpable and I anxiously turned pages to see what would come to them next. I also appreciated the bit of murder mystery thrown in because that also kept the story moving and added another dimension to what would have otherwise been just a love story. There were some loose ends tied up in the end in a way that felt too pat and hard to believe but the criticism feels minor for a book that introduced me to great characters and the beautiful island of Bora Bora. I am looking forward to reading the author's other novels and being swept away once again.