About The Book
In Nazi-occupied Guernsey, the wrong decision can destroy a life…
Left profoundly deaf after an accident, Émile is no stranger to isolation – or heartbreak. Now, as Nazi planes loom over Guernsey, he senses life is about to change forever.
Trapped in a tense, fearful marriage, Isabelle doesn’t know what has become of Émile and the future she hoped for. But when she glimpses him from the window of the French House, their lives collide once more.
Leutnant Schreiber is more comfortable wielding a paintbrush than a pistol. But he has little choice in the role he is forced to play in the occupying forces – or in his own forbidden desires.
As their paths entwine, loyalties are blurred and dangerous secrets forged. But on an island under occupation, courage can have deadly consequences…
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I enjoy historical fiction and occasionally read books that are set during WW2 mostly when they concern the people who aren’t on the war front. This is the second book that I have read that takes place in Guernsey and I found it fascinating.
Émile is living in Guernsey at the start of WW2 after his dreams of a happier life in Canada was destroyed by a tragic accident that left him deaf. He has a family but not with Isabelle the woman he wanted to spend his life with. Instead he is married to Letty and they have two daughters Maud and Stella. It’s not a happy life but it is a lot better than what Isabelle has. A dream ruined by her parents and she is now married to Ron who is controlling and manipulative. When they have to take in a German lodger life changes for everybody.
I loved this novel, mainly because of how real if felt. Not just the relationships and the storyline but the way life changed for all of the islanders when their were under occupation. I’ve read about the struggles for food, evacuation and fear of bombing many times but never about having to give accommodation to the enemy forces, having to provide food or not being able to sing the anthem. What is also shown is the fear shown by the German officers who had their own secrets and what they could face if they were revealed.
A fantastic storyline which showed many believable if not always likeable characters.
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