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As the storyline progresses you find yourself torn between Jean Luc and Sarah and the terrible dilemma that confronts them. A book that takes a look at the round-ups and how some people had no choice to work for the Nazi regime, and that hope did not die, even when tested. En la tercera, cuando Sarah y David Laffitte, así como Samuel, su hijo recién nacido, entran en escena, el libro cambia y cobra interés. The first part of the story begins in 1944 with Jean Luc and Charlotte living their separate lives in Paris both trying to make a difference as they grapple with the Nazi Occupation of France; Jean Luc working on the railway next to a transit camp and Charlotte as a nurse. Ten years ago, I completed a Masters in International Education, focusing on Third Culture Kids and their sense of belonging; a theme which runs through my first novel, While Paris Slept, set during the occupation of Paris.
Each of the characters perspectives are conveyed with varying degrees of success including that of nine-year-old Sam which feels like a cheap shot to pull on the emotional heartstrings and contributes little to the ethical debate.This book was beautiful – a book on love and courage demonstrated in different ways, showing that there is no one way to love or be brave. Jews are being transported to concentration camps, but that is something that locals believe, without being totally certain, as the trains depart overnight, and Jean-Luc has not actually seen any of them leave. There's a tangible tension that runs throughout this novel, I was often at the edge of my seat, desperate to know what would happen next.
Set in several time frames, While Paris Slept opens a sequence of doors as new aspects of the story emerge and converge.Su añoranza y sufrimiento, hasta el punto de enfermarle, son tan desgarradores como la tristeza de Sarah. The story originates in Paris during the Second World War, moving on to both Paris and California in the 1950s. Life under Nazi rule is clearly depicted especially the atmosphere in Paris with periods of tension and danger.
This was such a great read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and that tugged at my heartstrings in a million ways.A heartrending story told from the perspectives of two families living very different lives, it is also one of hope amid tragedy. Perfect for readers of EARLY ONE MORNING and THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, this is a gripping, moving debut novel of courage, survival and the endurance of hope. The story feels rather drawn out and despite the situation being clear throughout the second half of the book I was frustrated that the emotional heft and meaningful nitty-gritty of the impossible situation was limited to the final ten percent. Jean-Luc has been forced to work at Drancy the station and railway yard that the Nazi’s had chosen as the departure point for the rounded-up Jews to be sent east on the cattle trucks.
What if one of them is your son or daughter, your father or mother, a more distant relation, your mate, a co-worker, a classmate, a friend, a neighbor?
They don't know exactly where the Germans are taking people they've arrested but no-one ecer comes back. A wonderful, heartbreaking story told in two timeframes and in varying voices, the power of love stands out strongly. Prepare to question yourself and the characters in the novel, to wonder what you might have done in their place; in short, prepare to be thoroughly engrossed in this compelling book in which four adults and one child grapple with the true meaning of love and family. At times it felt over written and ‘cheesy’ but I had to listen to the end … else I’d feel complicit in their suffering. Often when Historical Fictions jump around I find the timelines confusing, but this one was plotted and written in a way that kept it simple and understandable.
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