Reasons For Reading This Book:
While visiting my sister-in-law, who is also a reader, I was telling her about Looking For Jane by Heather Marshall and she recommended The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. She had a copy so when I visited a couple weeks later and was ready to start a new book, I borrowed her copy. When she was telling me about the book she told me it was about a female spy network during the war. Other than that I had not idea what else the book was about.
Content of This Book:
Its 1947 Charlie St. Clair is a pregnant, unmarried, American college student living in the chaotic aftermath of World War II. Due to her situation her parents have threatened to throw her out of their proper family. Charlie is desperately hoping that her cousin Rose is still alive after disappearing in Nazi-occupied France during the war. Her parent's plan is to send her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, while there Charlie breaks free and heads to London, on a mission to find out what happened to Rose who she loved liked a sister.
Its 1915, a year into the Great War, and Eve Gardiner desires to join the fight against the Germans. This desire unexpectedly gets her there through chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. She is sent into enemy-occupied France where she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies". Lili manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.
What I Liked About This Book:
I absolutely loved the opposing narration. I enjoyed both narrators for different reasons, but will say at times I would favor one over the other, but that was constantly switching throughout the book. Kate Quinn was able to create differentiating tones, word choice, and other characteristics that made the two narrations distinctly different from one another. Not only were the plots in the two narrations very different, but the way each narrator recalled or described events was different from the other. Another aspect of this book that I favored was how the author was able include education or teachable moments effortlessly into the narration. As someone who is a science major and not a history major I know very little about the war, but went into this book wanting to know more, and this author was able to satisfy that need of mine. Probably one of my favorite parts of this book was how fantastic the character development was. The author gave a well-rounded description of each narrator's childhood and how that played a part in who they were. I also look for the character's to grow/mature as a result of the things that happen in the plot and that was something that occurred on multiple levels throughout this book. There were many different parts of the plot that were happening simultaneously, but it never felt overwhelming and the focus was evenly split amongst them all. I will commend the author for the level of detail that they go into in this book, I will also mention it in the dislike section. For certain aspects I found it helpful and at other times I felt it was unnecessary. One part that I felt it was helpful was giving the visual description of the communities affected by the war, these descriptions have stuck with me even weeks after having finished reading the book. One last compliment I will give Kate Quinn is their ability for me to feel every possible emotion while reading this book. At times I was smiling ear-to-ear, other times I teary eyed, and other times my heart was aching. While reading this book I truly empathetic for these characters and very much enjoyed my time with them.
What I Disliked About This Book:
I will say that this book is long in length and that is due to the amount of detail that Kate Quinn goes into. At times it became too much but at other times it was necessary. For me this book required more focus at some parts than others so I recommend reading this book when you know you have the time and concentration to do so. This is more of a trigger warning, I am someone who can no longer tolerate violence or gore. There is some in this book so be aware of that if you chose to read it, as you should.
Would I Recommend This Book?
Without a doubt, yes I would recommend this book. I was intrigued by the plot, characters, and writing style. I thank my sister-in-law for recommending it and also letting me borrow her copy. I can't wait to see her soon and discuss my thoughts in person.
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Check out my book reviews for 2019!!
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July Book Review: The Husband Hour
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December Book Review: Presumed Innocent
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August Book Review: Sharp Objects
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June Book Review: Allegedly
May Book Review: Wonder
April Book Review: Columbine
March Book Review: Gone Girl
February Book Review: The Woman in the Window
January Book Review: The Worst Hard Time
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