The Girl You Left Behind By Jojo Moyes

 

"I was dreaming of food.  Crisp baguettes,, the flesh of the bread a virginal white, still steaming from the oven, and ripe cheese, its borders creeping toward the edge of the plate."  Food is the stuff dreams are made of if you are living in occupied France in 1916, which is exactly the case for Sophie LeFèvre and her family, a ragtag group of women and children left alone to face the Germans who occupy their town, St Péronne. 

 

The reader will be drawn into the deprivation Sophie and her family experience at the hands of the enemy. Jojo Moyes' writing is so vividly visual one can't help, but feel the pangs of hunger and cold felt by this suffering family.  Their life will sound eerily familiar to anyone who has read other novels set in German occupied countries during WWII.  In fact, at times, I had to remind myself this was WWI not WWII.  There is even an "evil" German Kommandant who commandeers the family's restaurant/bar, Le Coq Rouge, for his officers meals, and places Sophie in a compromising situation reminiscent of a "Sophie's Choice" quandary.

 

A word of caution is needed here, don't be fooled into believing this is a novel from the historical fiction genre, because The Girl You Left Behind is two stories told in different time periods almost a century apart.  After being taken down the WWI path the story switches over to London, England, 2006.  Where you will encounter the story of Liv Halston, a thirty-something widow.  Liv's story takes center-stage, and only when needed will the reader be drawn back into Sophie's WWI world.  Sophie's story becomes a tool to fill in the missing pieces needed for the present day story.  In less apt hands this dual narrative technique could be disasters, not to worry, Jojo Moyes expertly plays one story off the other.

 

The Girl You Left Behind implied in the title is the name of a painting by Edouard LeFèvre, Sophie's artist husband.  The painting is key to how these women's stories connect.  Ironically, the title can also be applied on a figurative level to both Sophie and to Liv, which makes for some interesting parallels.  Rest assured, both women are "left behind" and suffer for it.  They suffer in the name of love, just in different ways, yet both women also survive their suffering.  The details of how they survive is what will keep you, the reader, reading into the wee hours of the morning to find out how all the loose ends are expertly tied together in a nice neat bow.
 

I handout five star reviews sparingly, and this novel is most definitely a five star read.  If you missed Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, don't make the same mistake twice.  Make sure you read The Girl You Left Behind.

I would like to thank Penguin Publishing and Net Galley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes, which is to be published September 27th 2012 by Penguin.

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:

The Girl You Left Behind
by Jojo Moyes

What happened to the girl you left behind?

In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and...What happened to the girl you left behind?

In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie's portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting's dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened...

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most - whatever the cost.

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