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In This Hospitable Land
At the onset of WWII, André Severin, a sophisticated scientist and professor at the University of Brussels, prepares his family to emigrate to the south of France. With a staunch belief that the only way to survive a war is on a farm, Severin ignores the criticism of his friends and neighbors to move his family as far from the Belgian border as possible, knowing that the Germans will easily invade the tiny country. Given a Buick for the trip by his father-in-law, André, his family, his brother's family and his parents, pile in the car and flee across the border to France just days ahead of the Nazi invasion of Belgium. Seeking survival and a meaningful God, André leads his family deep into the Cévennes Mountains of the south of France. Non-practicing but part of a large Jewish family, they find protection among the Protestant Huguenots. When the Gestapo orders the arrest of the Severins, the French Marquis hides the family as Andr? joins the Resistance. In This Hospitable Land is a tale of simple courage and the depths of human compassion in a time of horror.
607 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 10, 2013
Three stars, but I certainly don't love the book! I recommend it to those curious about a Jewish Belgian family's experiences during WW2. It reads as a book for young adults. It begins with the German occupation of Belgium, the initial bombing in Brussels and then it follows two families' flight to southern France. They are hidden by Huguenots in Languedoc, France. This is a novel, but is based on the author's family.
The book is interesting, filled with all sorts of diverse details. It is about life in rural southern France during the war years. Historical war facts are related, but the emphasis is on how these events played out in France. How the French people helped the refugees, how the villagers and the hidden Jews survived on a day to day basis, what they ate, how they were clothed, the harvesting of chestnuts, the French Resistance, all these topics are covered by following the two Belgian families. The main emphasis is the little things of daily life. I found it interesting because I currently live in Belgium and spend much time in France. I have visited the villages spoken of. I believe this has increased my appreciation; a person who has not visited the towns of southern France may be less enthused.Yes,there are diverse tidbits that are interesting, at least for me!
The writing is simplistic. It reads as YA literature. There are four children in the families. The children's perspectives are covered as well as the adults'.
The narration by David Baker wasn't fantastic. The story is simple to follow in the audio format, the characters remain constant. Each chapter has both a title and a date, one event following the next in chronological order. Nothing is confusing. Baker did add voice intonations for the different characters and even one had a lisp that you could always recognize. What was wrong was that some of the words were either incorrectly written or incorrectly pronounced. For example, the French word "merveilleux" was pronounced "marveilleux". Was it written wrong or incorrectly pronounced? Some words were just not correct!
Yeah, the book was interesting, but no big winner. Maybe more interesting to me since I live in Belgium and love France!
The book is interesting, filled with all sorts of diverse details. It is about life in rural southern France during the war years. Historical war facts are related, but the emphasis is on how these events played out in France. How the French people helped the refugees, how the villagers and the hidden Jews survived on a day to day basis, what they ate, how they were clothed, the harvesting of chestnuts, the French Resistance, all these topics are covered by following the two Belgian families. The main emphasis is the little things of daily life. I found it interesting because I currently live in Belgium and spend much time in France. I have visited the villages spoken of. I believe this has increased my appreciation; a person who has not visited the towns of southern France may be less enthused.Yes,there are diverse tidbits that are interesting, at least for me!
The writing is simplistic. It reads as YA literature. There are four children in the families. The children's perspectives are covered as well as the adults'.
The narration by David Baker wasn't fantastic. The story is simple to follow in the audio format, the characters remain constant. Each chapter has both a title and a date, one event following the next in chronological order. Nothing is confusing. Baker did add voice intonations for the different characters and even one had a lisp that you could always recognize. What was wrong was that some of the words were either incorrectly written or incorrectly pronounced. For example, the French word "merveilleux" was pronounced "marveilleux". Was it written wrong or incorrectly pronounced? Some words were just not correct!
Yeah, the book was interesting, but no big winner. Maybe more interesting to me since I live in Belgium and love France!
April 28, 2011
Lynmar Brock, Jr. creates an intimate portrait of a family's history during WWII. In This Hospitable Land details the hardships experienced by the Severin family. The expansive time they suffered is astounding and their determination to survive, memorable. Historians and those readers with a particular interested in WWII (1940's) will find this a good read. However, the casual historical reading audience might discover the length grueling, daily life repetitive and despite the events, lacking in anticipation. I compare the experience to thumbing through someone else's family photo album or watching home movies. The past is interesting and you get to know the characters, but I felt kept at an arms length and was unable to fully invest. It seemed as if the author was still protecting the privacy of the family and by doing so, I became merely an observer during the journey. For example, when a terrible violation happens to the young girls at school, the matter is given a few sentences and the reaction of parents even less. It was greatly 'breezed' over and took me a bit by surprise. It is an unpleasant topic to dwell on and most families would wish not to discuss. I found myself wondering why more type space was given to describing the slaughter of an animal than to the trauma of these little girls? Perhaps by attempting to be sensitive to private matters, the author was insensitive to revealing a true horror that might have provided a deeper intimacy.
Note: My copy was an ARC and contained 604 pages.
Note: My copy was an ARC and contained 604 pages.
March 27, 2012
This self-published book, historical fiction by category, is an interesting look into the plight/flight of a Jewish family at the beginning of WW II. Apparently the characters are based on relatives of the author's wife. The removal of a university professor and his immediate and extended family from Brussels to the south of France and a mountain farm with no plumbing was interesting on several levels. The adaptation of this urban, educated family to a farming life and participation in the French Resistance was pivotal to the plot. The deficiencies in the book were in the editing, or lack thereof, which could have taken this book to a much higher level--something the story merited.
August 4, 2013
This was an interesting story, but poorly written. I found I had no emotional connection to any of the characters. The story was written matter of factly - they did this, then they that, then they went here etc. At one point, the main character's two young daughters were raped at school, and though they went to speak to the school teacher, there was no expression of horror, disgust, or any emotion. Overall it could have been a great book, but the writing limits it to 3 stars.
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April 29, 2012I made it 20% of the way through, but the story was neither engaging nor able to keep my attention. Usually, I cannot stand to not finish a book, but I just could not bring myself to keep reading this one.
February 1, 2021
This gentle yet unwavering view of the last years of World War II allowed me a greater understanding of the effects of Hitler’s mania to take over eastern and western Europe and exterminate the Jews and others that didn’t fit the Nazi worldview. Reading this right after the 2021 attack on the US Capitol and subsequent peaceful inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris, made me realize how dangerously close the USA had come to being taken over by a despotic regime due to the efforts of Trump and his misguided followers. Reading “in this hospitable land“ I learned through the lens of one family what it was like to choose to leave home and profession and property and trust to an unknown spirit for safe guidance. Learning the history of resistance and intellectual freedom in the mountains of southern France as it became entwined with the recent refugee family of the story was a heartening experience for me. I hope to visit Belgium and France when the future allows, and possibly Germany, to bear witness to those whose courage and sacrifice is exemplified in this book.
June 2, 2018
This is a true account of the author’s wife and her family who had to flee Belgium during WW II. It is beautifully written and I enjoyed all the day to day activities portrayed.
The family endured so many hardships while they were in hiding. It brought the futility of war and the cruelty of some people into perspective.
The way I came to read this book, was that I met the author’s son and got to talking about Anne Frank and he told me about the book. When I arrived home, I was delighted that I had previously purchased it but not read it yet. So, of course I immediately started it. I also met the author’s wife who is one of the children in the story. So, for me, I was fascinated and horrified by what they had to endure and the strength they possessed.
The family endured so many hardships while they were in hiding. It brought the futility of war and the cruelty of some people into perspective.
The way I came to read this book, was that I met the author’s son and got to talking about Anne Frank and he told me about the book. When I arrived home, I was delighted that I had previously purchased it but not read it yet. So, of course I immediately started it. I also met the author’s wife who is one of the children in the story. So, for me, I was fascinated and horrified by what they had to endure and the strength they possessed.
December 28, 2016
Suspenseful, engaging, historical novel
I really loved this book and the way that key aspects of the Nazi occupation of France were woven through the experience of a particular Belgian family seeking refuge in the rugged French countryside. It made me appreciate how people came together in such a time of inhumanity
I really loved this book and the way that key aspects of the Nazi occupation of France were woven through the experience of a particular Belgian family seeking refuge in the rugged French countryside. It made me appreciate how people came together in such a time of inhumanity
June 13, 2022
Not well written but absorbing
June 18, 2022
A wonderful story with such a beautiful sense of the Cévennes countryside.
May 17, 2012
Lynmar Brock unveils the story of his wife's family's survival during WWII. Of Jewish ancestry, the Sauverin family flees Belgium just ahead of the Nazi occupation. The family drives to France, where they are initially welcomed. However, France soon becomes occupied by the German army forcing the family to flee further to the south of France. They settle in a mountainous, rugged farming community living among the descendants of the French Huguenots. Amid the turmoil for their survival, the family transitions from city dwellers to farmers working well with neighbors in the struggle for daily survival. The strong resilient French resistance welcomes and accepts the family, sheltering the children and parents among their neighbors, at great risk of their own lives.
What makes this book compelling is the French Resistance movement, which both Sauverin brothers, Alex and Andre, become members. The courage of the resistance members at all levels, amid what may appear to be invincible odds, was inspiring. This book was very enlightening and a testament to the courage of those who resist oppression at the expense of their own lives.
As a novel however, the characters developed very slowly, exhibiting flat conversations for the first third of the book. Careful editing could have eliminated redundant information or helped the writer fully develop his characters early on. From midway through the book, the characters become real and you feel as if you cannot put the book down until you see what happens to them. Following the book, the author tells what happened to Alex's family, but does not tell the reader what happened to the descendants of Andre, who remains in France. This book is an interesting read for those who like detailed historical fiction. It reveals the strength and courage of the French people in the face of insurmountable odds. With careful editing, this book could be a best seller of 5 star rank in the lines of Sarah's Key.
January 16, 2016
3.5 ★
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In This Hospitable Land is a moving WW2 adventure that begins in Brussels, Belgium on May 10, 1940 and ends in Brussels on October 9, 1944.
Based on one family's harrowing true survival story,we find factual account of a Jewish family (Severin), forced from their home in Belgium during the Nazi invasion of Europe in World War II.
"Members of the Severin family fled the Wehrmacht’s invasion and ultimately settled in the Cevennes area of rural southern France only to find themselves caught between occupied German soldiers, suspicious townsfolk, and the local pro-Nazi Vichy government.
The family, trapped in the middle of this chaos, is forced to depend upon already wary neighbors to hide them from possible capture by the Nazis."
The grateful Severin brothers join up with the resistance fighters of the Maquis and the story evolves.
-----------------
Biography reveals that Lynmar Brock, Jr. married one of the little girls.
"Having married a girl from Belgium who arrived in the US in 1950 I was really interested in her family for my own sake and as much as for our two sons.
I wanted them to know of their mother's story.
....getting married in 1963, Claudie and I sat down with her father and aunt and uncle and recorded five hours of conversation about the war years."
Events depicted are real.
Dialog reflects family and other French residents who engaged in the events discussed.
(quoted material is from overview and the author's biographical information.)
---
In This Hospitable Land is a moving WW2 adventure that begins in Brussels, Belgium on May 10, 1940 and ends in Brussels on October 9, 1944.
Based on one family's harrowing true survival story,we find factual account of a Jewish family (Severin), forced from their home in Belgium during the Nazi invasion of Europe in World War II.
"Members of the Severin family fled the Wehrmacht’s invasion and ultimately settled in the Cevennes area of rural southern France only to find themselves caught between occupied German soldiers, suspicious townsfolk, and the local pro-Nazi Vichy government.
The family, trapped in the middle of this chaos, is forced to depend upon already wary neighbors to hide them from possible capture by the Nazis."
The grateful Severin brothers join up with the resistance fighters of the Maquis and the story evolves.
-----------------
Biography reveals that Lynmar Brock, Jr. married one of the little girls.
"Having married a girl from Belgium who arrived in the US in 1950 I was really interested in her family for my own sake and as much as for our two sons.
I wanted them to know of their mother's story.
....getting married in 1963, Claudie and I sat down with her father and aunt and uncle and recorded five hours of conversation about the war years."
Events depicted are real.
Dialog reflects family and other French residents who engaged in the events discussed.
(quoted material is from overview and the author's biographical information.)
August 18, 2011
Very interesting read. The story is a WWII survival story of one non-practicing Jewish family from Belgium and how they are protected in the south of France by various locals. The writing style is interesting, as large gaps of time are passed from chapter to chapter to carry the story from approximately 1940 to 1945; and much of the dialogue can be randomly intense and deep, and almost seems like someone's more internal thoughts. As the story was based on real history, with some name changes, it almost seemed like some of the dialogue was really from an individual's diary and the author incorporated into the story. I point this out because I found it unique, and somewhat surprisingly, not at all frustrating or annoying; rather, on the contrary, I felt it gave the book an extra quality for appreciating the seriousness and intensity of the time being portrayed. As with so many of stories involving the Jewish experience during WWII, and books involving Wars in general, it is easy to become disgusted at the depravity of what humans will do to one another, and dismayed at the terrible choices one must make to survive and protect one's family. However, it also reveals great strength and courage on the part of many individuals, who sacrificed much and risked more to protect innocent people from evil. Excellent read, and like so much good historical fiction, helps brings the raw emotion and the reality of the time period to the reader.
February 14, 2015
This novel reads like a true story and it is based on one. It tells of two Belgium Jewish brothers Andre and Alex and their families as they escape from Belgium and pursuit by Nazi Germany throughout WWII. The brothers and their families end up in occumpied France and hide in the rural outposts by making a living as farmers - a much different life from their intellectual, middle class lives in Brussels. At first they are able to keep their families together (parents, wives, children) but as the war goes on they need to split up as they are hiddent by French resisters in Southern France. The brothers end up joining the Resistance and using their skills to help fight but at a cost to their beliefs and their families. Alex's family basically disappears from the narrative about half way through (which was a little disconcerting) but Andre's story and family is more developed. Amazing that they are protected by virtual strangers and are able to survive which most of the family left behind did not. The writing gets bogged down in spots and the story sometimes is a little too mundane but the book does speak to the atrocities of the war (on both sides) as the war progresses. A large theme is Andre's pacifism and interesting to note in the epilogue that the families move to the US and become Quakers. Not many books on these small stories of resistance and protection inside Vichy France and the life is described well with a large cast of ordinary people as characters.
March 30, 2011
I was debating whether to give this book three or four stars, but I really think it deserves praise for its subject. This is a captivating aspect of WWII, featuring Belgian refugees exiled to Nazi occupied France, the hospitality they encounter in the remote mountain villages of the southern country, and their role in the Resistance. I was previously unaware of the political upheaval in France during Germany’s control, the complacency of the Vichy government, and the role of simple peasants in harboring fugitives and supporting the defiant rebels.
I wanted to give this book more praise because of the rich historical detail, the realistic and sympathetic characters, and the great atmosphere. However, the writing was pedestrian, the dialogue bordered on absurd, and there were so many mundane details that could have been omitted to make the book shorter and more fast-paced. Although, another reason I opted for four stars is because Amazon Encore plays a pivotal role in giving authors good exposure, which I think this book deserves. Sure, it had its flaws, but it was decent historical fiction (though based on true events) and its positives outweighed the negatives.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
I wanted to give this book more praise because of the rich historical detail, the realistic and sympathetic characters, and the great atmosphere. However, the writing was pedestrian, the dialogue bordered on absurd, and there were so many mundane details that could have been omitted to make the book shorter and more fast-paced. Although, another reason I opted for four stars is because Amazon Encore plays a pivotal role in giving authors good exposure, which I think this book deserves. Sure, it had its flaws, but it was decent historical fiction (though based on true events) and its positives outweighed the negatives.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
May 26, 2016
Inspired by real events, Brock attempts to tell the true story of the Juliard family. Two brothers married two sisters and led a middle class life in Brussels until Hitler's bombs made life unbearable.
Andre, a chemistry professor helped his family realize that they must leave for France. Through a set of luck and good instincts, the families ended up in the Cevennes, a mountainous area in south central France. The region was a refuge for the Protestant Huguenots, a group who suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church for several hundred years. This background made the people tolerant of individual beliefs. Though Jewish by heritage, the Juliards did not practice their faith. This made no difference in the Nazi racial laws.
Andre's brother Alex was good with farming and the two were able to offer their talents to help others in the small hamlets in which they hid. Ultimately the brothers who tended toward passive beliefs became part of the French resistance.
The book is a day-by-day, year-by-year account of their efforts to survive but presented rather dryly. This is not a literary masterpiece. If one wants a simple account of one family's experience than Brock succeeds on that account.
Andre, a chemistry professor helped his family realize that they must leave for France. Through a set of luck and good instincts, the families ended up in the Cevennes, a mountainous area in south central France. The region was a refuge for the Protestant Huguenots, a group who suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church for several hundred years. This background made the people tolerant of individual beliefs. Though Jewish by heritage, the Juliards did not practice their faith. This made no difference in the Nazi racial laws.
Andre's brother Alex was good with farming and the two were able to offer their talents to help others in the small hamlets in which they hid. Ultimately the brothers who tended toward passive beliefs became part of the French resistance.
The book is a day-by-day, year-by-year account of their efforts to survive but presented rather dryly. This is not a literary masterpiece. If one wants a simple account of one family's experience than Brock succeeds on that account.
February 15, 2017
Thrilling history
This is an excellent book, with quite detailed accounts of a family's struggles in France and Belgium during WWII. Very thought provoking and an enjoyable read.
This is an excellent book, with quite detailed accounts of a family's struggles in France and Belgium during WWII. Very thought provoking and an enjoyable read.
April 27, 2011
This is a compelling story of World War II about 2 brothers from Brussels who flee to France to outrun the Germans. Andre and Alex Sauverin are Jewish by birth but don’t practice their faith traditions. This does not mean however that they are safe from Hitler’s army when it conquers Belgian. They take their family, 10 people altogether including children and parents to southern France to wait out the war so they can return to their lives. Andre, a professor and Alex, a stamp trader live a quiet, urban, civilized life until war comes knocking at their door.
Their flight to France for safety leads them to small, rural villages in southern France where they encounter a Protestant pastor working with the French resistance. The story of how the French people in these remote villages risk their lives to protect the strangers in their midst is heartwarming as well as heartbreaking and suspenseful. The Sauverin family is running for their life to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo while trying to blend in with the farming community that has taken them in. The story was so fascinating that I overlooked some of the stilted writing.
Their flight to France for safety leads them to small, rural villages in southern France where they encounter a Protestant pastor working with the French resistance. The story of how the French people in these remote villages risk their lives to protect the strangers in their midst is heartwarming as well as heartbreaking and suspenseful. The Sauverin family is running for their life to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo while trying to blend in with the farming community that has taken them in. The story was so fascinating that I overlooked some of the stilted writing.
July 8, 2015
I loved this book. I was surprised at how many people did not like it as much.
I appreciate learning more about WWII, The French Resistance, The Huguenots, and the countryside and people of that region. It moved me to read more about the Huguenots and the type of caring people they were and what they went through. I was unfamiliar with what happened in this region during WWII.
The faith story of Andre is interesting. How he struggled with being a pacifist and yet fighting for his family and people of the region. Coming to terms with ideas and ways of life for the family. Alex and the wives adjusted and changed for the better. Their openness to work hard and become farmers of the land, to become members of that community. They loved that land. They were opened minded and strived to do the right and loving thing, the humane acts. I had hoped they would choose to stay in southern France after the war.
I thought it was beautiful, striking and honest. It is now one of my favorite WWII stories I read.
I appreciate learning more about WWII, The French Resistance, The Huguenots, and the countryside and people of that region. It moved me to read more about the Huguenots and the type of caring people they were and what they went through. I was unfamiliar with what happened in this region during WWII.
The faith story of Andre is interesting. How he struggled with being a pacifist and yet fighting for his family and people of the region. Coming to terms with ideas and ways of life for the family. Alex and the wives adjusted and changed for the better. Their openness to work hard and become farmers of the land, to become members of that community. They loved that land. They were opened minded and strived to do the right and loving thing, the humane acts. I had hoped they would choose to stay in southern France after the war.
I thought it was beautiful, striking and honest. It is now one of my favorite WWII stories I read.
August 2, 2011
http://hopewellmomschoolreborn.blogsp... link to my review on my blog
Half way point. Very, very compelling--I WANT to know what happens next. Still, has to be the worst dialogue ever! And how can a child be MOLESTED and it's dismissed in a sentence or two?? And, it happens TWICE. Still, It's holding me attention and then some so I'd call those two complaints nit-picking.
A professional editor could turn this into a great book. The French Resistance, the changes in the characters spiritual lives, etc, make a very interesting story, but it's very flawed from no editing.
Started this last night. I think it is "self published" but it's interesting so far. I'm not a snob about do-it-yourself publishing. I've read several decent ones. I've only read one other book that even MENTIONS Belgium, so that's more education for me anyway! [Other book was "A Nun's Story"]
Half way point. Very, very compelling--I WANT to know what happens next. Still, has to be the worst dialogue ever! And how can a child be MOLESTED and it's dismissed in a sentence or two?? And, it happens TWICE. Still, It's holding me attention and then some so I'd call those two complaints nit-picking.
A professional editor could turn this into a great book. The French Resistance, the changes in the characters spiritual lives, etc, make a very interesting story, but it's very flawed from no editing.
Started this last night. I think it is "self published" but it's interesting so far. I'm not a snob about do-it-yourself publishing. I've read several decent ones. I've only read one other book that even MENTIONS Belgium, so that's more education for me anyway! [Other book was "A Nun's Story"]
November 11, 2014
WWII and the Nazis are the backdrop for this beautiful book about a Jewish family in Belgium. Three generations—two proper and refined parents, sisters married to two brothers, their children—escape Belgium in the nick of time during the German Occupation. The story beautifully expressed—“Fascists were splitting the world. Physicists were splitting the atom. It was hard to guess which was more dangerous…” (page 25).
Brock takes us along for the harsh journey, and we see first-hand how these strong brothers rolled up their sleeves and did whatever it took to survive. Freemasonry, the Huguenots and “the philosophy of presence” were the ingredients to true character-building witnessed thruout the story, and much was based on true facts from Brock’s wife’s own family story.
Very good read.
Brock takes us along for the harsh journey, and we see first-hand how these strong brothers rolled up their sleeves and did whatever it took to survive. Freemasonry, the Huguenots and “the philosophy of presence” were the ingredients to true character-building witnessed thruout the story, and much was based on true facts from Brock’s wife’s own family story.
Very good read.
August 7, 2013
As seen in the first ten minutes of Inglorious Basterds, living in France during WWII was no picnic, especially if you were Jewish or harbored Jewish refugees. The protagonist family flees Belgium soon after war breaks out and spends most of the book traveling south through France, staying one step ahead of the authorities. But because they're always one (or two or three) steps ahead, there is little of the sense of imminent danger in Tarantino's opening scene, or for that matter, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Pianist, or Leon Uris' Mila 18. Instead, we mostly experience the daily struggle to make ends meet that all foreign subjects of the Reich went through. Not to diminish that struggle, but it didn't keep me riveted.
September 20, 2014
Based on a true story. Andre S. Is a chemistry professor in Brussels when the war breaks out. He is also a non-practicing Jew but realizes that means little to the Nazi's. Together with his family, his brother and his family and their parents, they flee to Southern France to an area inhabited by descendants of Huguenots. There they try to blend in, working the land as the local farmers do. Andre with his background tries to discover crops that would grow and help feed them. They earn the respect of the local people. But then, the Nazi's come closer and they are forced to flee even further into the mountains. A captivating story of how this family survived, how they joined the French Resistance and how the local people worked to keep them safe.
January 25, 2015
a view of WWII from a new perspective
This family of non-practicing Jews, fled Brussels and lived worked and hid in the rugged mountains of Southern France for the duration of the war. This would not have been possible without the help, watchfulness and complete cooperation of the descendants of the Huguenots that populated this region hundreds of years before during their time of religious persecution. These are strong people with forceful personalities and clear views of right and wrong and moral strength to go with them hid refugees all over the region for the years of the war. A strong story of the triumph of individuals doing great deeds to make a difference.
This family of non-practicing Jews, fled Brussels and lived worked and hid in the rugged mountains of Southern France for the duration of the war. This would not have been possible without the help, watchfulness and complete cooperation of the descendants of the Huguenots that populated this region hundreds of years before during their time of religious persecution. These are strong people with forceful personalities and clear views of right and wrong and moral strength to go with them hid refugees all over the region for the years of the war. A strong story of the triumph of individuals doing great deeds to make a difference.
February 21, 2014
Agree totally with Charlie's comments. I Felt simplistically written, could have been written by a child or young adult. And ii just felt it wasn't going anywhere. Not that it needed to but was just flat. Good descriptions of times & hardships therein but somehow unrealistic at the same time. The family dimensions didn't ring true & how come every villager everywhere thought them so worthy of going overboard to help, protect & give so much of their very precious own. I do think they would have come across differing peoples.
April 25, 2015
While this book had a good premise, it falls flat. The beginning is a little boring. I kept reading simply because I hoped it would get more interesting. There were parts that were interesting to read, such as the parts about the French resistance. I never quite connected to the characters. they were almost so unlikable that I never really cared what happened to them. Alex was disagreeable for the most part; Genevieve and Andre both frequently acted like they were better than everyone else. I wish Denise had been developed more since she seemed to be the most agreeable of them all.
November 26, 2014
Fascinating reading
I learned a great many things from this book that I knew little or nothing about. The extent of the French resistence during WWII. The way the people lived in the mountains in the South of France. The people who collaborated with the Nazis. That this book is based on a true story and on real people who lived through those terrible times makes it particularly fascinating.
I learned a great many things from this book that I knew little or nothing about. The extent of the French resistence during WWII. The way the people lived in the mountains in the South of France. The people who collaborated with the Nazis. That this book is based on a true story and on real people who lived through those terrible times makes it particularly fascinating.
Read
July 15, 2011This was an enjoyable read: semi-fictional story about a Belgian Chemistry professor who hides with his family in the mountains of France during WW II, living as a farmer (including husking chestnuts and introducing the soybean to local agriculture) and then joining the Resistance. I am sympathetic to all of this!
January 4, 2014
A great story ranging from the start of the Nazi regime to the end of Hitler's reign and the struggle the Sovereigns go through to get away from the unknown terror that is the concentration camp. It really brings to light the French government and how the French resistance tried so desperately to overthrow it while fighting Hitler's army. A little slow at first but a great read none the less.
June 8, 2014
Courage in the Face of War
What do you do when you have no choices? The best you can. A whole family and community doing just that. Not always brave, not without qualms or fear but living day by day for over four years with a stress level that can reduce resolve to jelly. Many good characters and also good history.
What do you do when you have no choices? The best you can. A whole family and community doing just that. Not always brave, not without qualms or fear but living day by day for over four years with a stress level that can reduce resolve to jelly. Many good characters and also good history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews