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Pont Neuf
Listening time = 6h 25m
In the summer of 1944, Annabella “Annie” March, a young American woman, arrives in France intending to write about the war. But when she finds herself overshadowed by her sometimes-mentor, sometimes-rival Martha Gellhorn - and Gellhorn’s troublesome husband, the novelist Ernest Hemingway - Annie turns to photography in search of the professional gratification she’s looking for.
In the summer of 1944, Annabella “Annie” March, a young American woman, arrives in France intending to write about the war. But when she finds herself overshadowed by her sometimes-mentor, sometimes-rival Martha Gellhorn - and Gellhorn’s troublesome husband, the novelist Ernest Hemingway - Annie turns to photography in search of the professional gratification she’s looking for.
7 pages, Audible Audio
First published December 5, 2019
95 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
Max Byrd
31 books20 followersMay Byrd is the author of a number of scholarly books on 18th century English literature, including Visits to Bedlam and London Transformed. Winner of the Shamus Award for best paperback private detective novel, his oeuvre of detective novels include the Book-of-the-Month Club selection Target of Opportunity. Byrd is also the author of four historical novels: Grant: A Novel, Jefferson: A Novel, Jackson: A Novel, and Shooting the Sun. He currently serves as the president of the board of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers.
Max Byrd has taught English at Yale and UC Davis, has been a visiting professor at Stanford, and has lectured at UC Berkeley, Warwick University, the Sorbonne, and Monticello. Among the many publications featuring Byrd’s articles and book reviews are the Yale Review, New York Times Book Review, New Republic, and Woodrow Wilson Quarterly. He has served as editor of the scholarly journal Eighteenth-Century Studies.
Max Byrd has taught English at Yale and UC Davis, has been a visiting professor at Stanford, and has lectured at UC Berkeley, Warwick University, the Sorbonne, and Monticello. Among the many publications featuring Byrd’s articles and book reviews are the Yale Review, New York Times Book Review, New Republic, and Woodrow Wilson Quarterly. He has served as editor of the scholarly journal Eighteenth-Century Studies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews
December 9, 2019
Pont Neuf has all the elements of a great story--interesting characters with personal perspective of World War II, a love triangle (sort of), Ernest Hemingway as a side character, descriptions of Paris, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Germany, and a backdrop of the Second World War...
But, unfortunately, the elements don't matter if they don't go anywhere--the plot was lacking a clear path, some of the vignettes seemed to have nothing to do with the larger picture, and there wasn't a clear resolution (I could have accepted--possibly even appreciated--the ending if the rest of the story had had more of a path).
Ms. Soudek does a nice job as the narrator; I always appreciate a narrator that can naturally properly pronounce foreign words/names.
It's unfortunate that a good narrator, a good backdrop, and a few well-developed characters aren't enough to pull this story off.
But, unfortunately, the elements don't matter if they don't go anywhere--the plot was lacking a clear path, some of the vignettes seemed to have nothing to do with the larger picture, and there wasn't a clear resolution (I could have accepted--possibly even appreciated--the ending if the rest of the story had had more of a path).
Ms. Soudek does a nice job as the narrator; I always appreciate a narrator that can naturally properly pronounce foreign words/names.
It's unfortunate that a good narrator, a good backdrop, and a few well-developed characters aren't enough to pull this story off.
December 31, 2019
VERY MISLEADING COVER. Not a historical romance novel. This is a war tactic/strategy novel that happens to have some elements of (random and unexplained) encounters between a woman and a captain in a few chapters.
There was almost no character development and I kept waiting for something to happen.... then it was just over. The book was not long enough for anything to really happen and the author spent way too much time describing the ins-and-outs of battle tactics than making the reader feel any actual connection with the characters.
I rated the overall novel 3 stars because Max Byrd is a great writer and his research about the time and place was impeccable. But I think I went into this book with way different expectations (I was under the impression that this would be more of a historical romance set in WWII - given the cover literally saying "One woman, two soldiers, the end of the war" - but that was entirely misleading given the aforementioned reasons.
You can skip this one because you won't be missing much...
There was almost no character development and I kept waiting for something to happen.... then it was just over. The book was not long enough for anything to really happen and the author spent way too much time describing the ins-and-outs of battle tactics than making the reader feel any actual connection with the characters.
I rated the overall novel 3 stars because Max Byrd is a great writer and his research about the time and place was impeccable. But I think I went into this book with way different expectations (I was under the impression that this would be more of a historical romance set in WWII - given the cover literally saying "One woman, two soldiers, the end of the war" - but that was entirely misleading given the aforementioned reasons.
You can skip this one because you won't be missing much...
December 15, 2019
Blinked and Missed the Turn or Definitely Not Affirmative
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (Dec. 2019)
The bit in the first part of the lede is to alert you that you need to pay very close attention to what is happening in the audiobook from about 6:11:00 to 6:15:10 in order to understand the ending in the epilogue section that immediately follows. I'm afraid that my mind was drifting and I found myself totally baffled by the events in the epilogue. I had to go back and re-listen to the previous half hour of the book in order to better understand the situation.
That is one way of saying that the problem with this book is that, although some very dramatic events at the end of World War II are being portrayed, it is all somewhat monotonous and there is hardly any display of enthusiasm or excitement in the narrator's delivery to help capture your interest.
Despite the historical research, which does seem to get the major points correct about the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and the cameo appearances of real-life feuding wife and husband war reporters Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, the whole package just feels flat. Historical minutiae such as Gellhorn's repertoire of curse words are at least true to life (but will offend some listeners) and the increased number of war atrocities referenced will also be disturbing. Some good trivia such as General McAuliffe's response of "Nuts!" to the German request for his surrender after the encirclement of the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium are recalled, but the comedic possibilities of the German reaction of "What does that mean?" are ignored*.
One good thing that came about from this was that the Goodreads algorithm or bot or whatever flagged to me that a new biography/letters collection of Martha Gellhorn by Janet Somerville was recently released as Yours, for Probably Always: Martha Gellhorn's Letters of Love and War 1930-1949 (Sept. 2019). It is bound to be more exciting than this historical fiction was.
Pont Neuf was one of the free Audible Originals for members in the month of December 2019.
Trivia and Link
* According to Wikiquote: the full exchange was something like:
American negotiator: [presents written response to surrender request which reads]: "NUTS!"
German negotiator: "What does that mean? Is it affirmative or negative?"
American negotiator: "Definitely not affirmative."
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (Dec. 2019)
The bit in the first part of the lede is to alert you that you need to pay very close attention to what is happening in the audiobook from about 6:11:00 to 6:15:10 in order to understand the ending in the epilogue section that immediately follows. I'm afraid that my mind was drifting and I found myself totally baffled by the events in the epilogue. I had to go back and re-listen to the previous half hour of the book in order to better understand the situation.
That is one way of saying that the problem with this book is that, although some very dramatic events at the end of World War II are being portrayed, it is all somewhat monotonous and there is hardly any display of enthusiasm or excitement in the narrator's delivery to help capture your interest.
Despite the historical research, which does seem to get the major points correct about the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and the cameo appearances of real-life feuding wife and husband war reporters Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, the whole package just feels flat. Historical minutiae such as Gellhorn's repertoire of curse words are at least true to life (but will offend some listeners) and the increased number of war atrocities referenced will also be disturbing. Some good trivia such as General McAuliffe's response of "Nuts!" to the German request for his surrender after the encirclement of the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium are recalled, but the comedic possibilities of the German reaction of "What does that mean?" are ignored*.
One good thing that came about from this was that the Goodreads algorithm or bot or whatever flagged to me that a new biography/letters collection of Martha Gellhorn by Janet Somerville was recently released as Yours, for Probably Always: Martha Gellhorn's Letters of Love and War 1930-1949 (Sept. 2019). It is bound to be more exciting than this historical fiction was.
Pont Neuf was one of the free Audible Originals for members in the month of December 2019.
Trivia and Link
* According to Wikiquote: the full exchange was something like:
American negotiator: [presents written response to surrender request which reads]: "NUTS!"
German negotiator: "What does that mean? Is it affirmative or negative?"
American negotiator: "Definitely not affirmative."
Read
December 19, 2019I sort of got the love story, but wasn't particularly moved. I know it stands as the heart of the book and the narrative pulse, but once some of the war stories started emerging, I honestly didn't care much about the love stuff--and I am a romantic soul. What is unforgettable about the novel is the war sequences--from Market Garden to the Battle of the Bulge I was tranfixed. It ain't pretty, and I'm not necessarily happy to listen to what comes into the ear pieces, but the descriptive power of some of those scenes simply took my breath away. It may not be a great book, but there are passages in this novel that will stay with me, that help me to see what was going on in Belgium and Holland 75 years ago.
March 12, 2020
“Two men, one woman, the End of the War”
This story was mostly WWII military history then as an after thought threw in a few sprinkles of the so called two men one woman portion of the story.
Too bad because the characters intrigued me enough to stick with it in hopes more of their story came to the forefront.
Don’t bother unless you are feeling the need for a history lesson.
This story was mostly WWII military history then as an after thought threw in a few sprinkles of the so called two men one woman portion of the story.
Too bad because the characters intrigued me enough to stick with it in hopes more of their story came to the forefront.
Don’t bother unless you are feeling the need for a history lesson.
January 13, 2020
Weak plot and structure, but the worst part was the abrasive, annoying voice of the narrator. All the men's voices were gritty and gravelly, and it was difficult to tell them apart. The narrator mispronounced " Bulova watch" 3 times in quick succession, and I laughed out loud. The only reason - and I emphasize the ONLY reason - I finished listening to this book was because the listen was approx. 6 hours (after I put the speed on 1.25), and I wanted to get a good start on meeting my Goodreads reading goal for the year. By Chapter 26 the action picked up a bit, but, for me, the story was already a lost cause.
December 11, 2019
Had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. At the end I didn't feel like anything was resolved or that I'd felt anything of significance other than revulsion at what I thought was slightly gratuitous gore. (I'm not generally bothered by gore, but it didn't seem to serve much purpose here other than shock value.)
December 12, 2019
This isn’t the type of book I usually read, but the description intrigued me, and it was one of my Audible free reads this month. I’m so glad it was one of my choices. The story of the end of the war through an accidental war reporter’s eyes offers a great historical perspective. The build up to the Battle of the Bulge is filled with tension. We know what’s going on, but none of the characters do. I’m glad I listened to this novel and will find more Max Byrd novels to read.
August 18, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The author presents a different point of view of World War II. We see the soldiers presented in a more earthy manner, in their way of thinking and speaking like real soldiers, than are usually portrayed in these types of war novels. I love learning new facts about WWII when I read these historical novels. In fact, I think this is the first novel I have read that includes General Eisenhower as a character.
We see the action mainly through the perspective of Annabella (Annie) Sidonie March. We see Annie strike up a friendship with Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway’s wife. Not surprisingly, we learn why Martha eventually divorces Ernest. We really don’t get too much new insight into the character of Ernest beyond what most readers already know. However, Ernest is only a minor character in the story.
The story livens up when we meet the “twins” B.T. (Bennet Templeton) Adams and John Michael Shaw. They’re not actually biological twins, just friends from their college days. Annie gets to know them during the war and their lives become intertwined. Of course, this results in a love triangle.
I felt the title Pont Neuf was a little misleading because it doesn’t form a major part of the storyline. Pont Neuf only serves to frame the story, but is never mentioned even once throughout the book. Ironically, Pont Neuf means new bridge in French, but is actually the oldest bridge over the Seine River in Paris, France. Without spoiling the end (I hope), the old bridge does present new possibilities for the characters. I believed the eponymous title would play a larger role in the novel.
We see the action mainly through the perspective of Annabella (Annie) Sidonie March. We see Annie strike up a friendship with Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway’s wife. Not surprisingly, we learn why Martha eventually divorces Ernest. We really don’t get too much new insight into the character of Ernest beyond what most readers already know. However, Ernest is only a minor character in the story.
The story livens up when we meet the “twins” B.T. (Bennet Templeton) Adams and John Michael Shaw. They’re not actually biological twins, just friends from their college days. Annie gets to know them during the war and their lives become intertwined. Of course, this results in a love triangle.
I felt the title Pont Neuf was a little misleading because it doesn’t form a major part of the storyline. Pont Neuf only serves to frame the story, but is never mentioned even once throughout the book. Ironically, Pont Neuf means new bridge in French, but is actually the oldest bridge over the Seine River in Paris, France. Without spoiling the end (I hope), the old bridge does present new possibilities for the characters. I believed the eponymous title would play a larger role in the novel.
January 7, 2020
Overall the story had potential, but I was a little disappointed with how it was carried out. While it was entertaining, I would have liked more interaction between the characters, and a less of each character giving long drawn out historical lectures of the locations. The short description of the book is "one woman, two soldiers, the end of the war" so I assume it was supposed to be a love triangle of sorts, but it didn't really deliver on that front. The "romance" portion felt rushed and barely noticeable. So it made it difficult to form a connection with the characters and their relationships. The rest of the story was interesting, but it jumped a lot which made me question if I missed things. But when I went back I realized that was just how the writing flowed. I was also disappointed with the end. There was a lot of potential for a great ending, however the author chose to go another direction with it, and it left me feeling like the story was unfulfilled and a little abrupt.
January 1, 2020
The whole story feels like a script for a Hollywood movie starring younger versions of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The characters aren't fleshed out enough to care about. The best thing about the story is the history lesson tucked inside of it.
December 17, 2019
This is not a short novella (at six and a half hours, it’s maybe close to 220 pages long) but it feels terribly long-winded. It is strangely paced, unevenly distributed (most of the novella is the run-up to December, 1944 and the start of the Battle of the Bulge, and suddenly, when the battle starts, the book is over), and, despite being set at the end of the Second World War, it simply doesn’t make you feel interested in the unfolding events. Surprisingly, despite literally featuring a “cameo” of sorts by Ernest Hemingway, you just never really care about the characters. This, despite having the basic requirements of an interesting romance: a love triangle of sorts, a world war, winter in Paris, constant danger, Nazis, independent and opinionated female characters, and the aforementioned Hemingway. Sure, it’s an Audible original gift. But I wouldn’t recommend getting the actual book or the audiofile when it becomes available.
December 16, 2019
Meh. Too much description, too little purpose.
April 13, 2021
An engaging WWII novel featuring a love triangle between three Americans in Europe towards the end of the conflict: young photojournalist Annie March, a Martha Gellhorn protege, and the two soldiers, fighting very different kinds of war, who love her. The men are friends who come from very different backgrounds but were roommates at Harvard: the scion of a wealthy family, who is now fighting an unrelentingly bloody war as a paratrooper, and the scholarship boy who is now an intelligence officer, gifted at analyzing data and almost entirely avoiding actual combat. They meet in Paris in 1944, shortly before the devastating losses of Operation Market Garden (it seems Field Marshall Montgomery has a lot to answer for, with his shoddy planning and execution; the novel claims more American lives were lost as part of this botched military operation than in the D-day landings in Normandy). And then the Battle of the Bulge, the last-stand German offensive that took Allied forces by complete surprise, launched as it was during the bitter cold of a snowy December. The author is particularly good at describing battle; I was completely enthralled, heart pounding as I rapidly turned pages. But he also describes wartime Paris brilliantly, evoking the mood as well as the sights and sounds. A good read.
January 17, 2020
This was a free audiobook for December, otherwise I probably would not have chosen it. 3/4 of the way through I would of abandoned it, however I didn’t have anything else on my phone to listen too.
I LOVE historical fiction, especially WW2, that is what originally drew this audiobook to my attention. It had the meanderings of a good plot but missed its mark. I really enjoyed learning little tid-bits here and there, I think there was a lot of good research that was added in.
However, the gruesomeness was truly disturbing for me. I understand there is war, I understand when shot there is bleeding-but to go on and on about the snow turning red and blah blah blah-no thank you.
I LOVE historical fiction, especially WW2, that is what originally drew this audiobook to my attention. It had the meanderings of a good plot but missed its mark. I really enjoyed learning little tid-bits here and there, I think there was a lot of good research that was added in.
However, the gruesomeness was truly disturbing for me. I understand there is war, I understand when shot there is bleeding-but to go on and on about the snow turning red and blah blah blah-no thank you.
December 21, 2019
2/5⭐️’s. The plot of this book was very thin. I’m not sure if the accuracy of the relationship and description of Gellhorn. It does have some amazing descriptions of the Battle of the Bulge. It was an extraordinary depiction of the Schnee Eifel on the German/Belgian border. The book is worth this section. I always try to read a book at this time of year, to commemorate the battle.
January 9, 2020
Got this for free on Audible. It's not really my cup of tea, but I decided to try it. I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't interesting. Didn't love the narrator, and she seemed to struggle a little bit with words that weren't in German (or English, of course), I think she pronounced them in ''English'' at some points.
March 3, 2020
A lot is packed in this story - oh, so much...death.
The love story is such a small part of the whole.
I love stories set during WWII, not because of the war itself, but because hope of a better world is often a promenant theme in these stories. That is not the case here.
You get a lot of descriptions of terrible war-time events. It seems to never end...I couldn't wait for something good to happen...it just wasn't here.
The author clearly knows a lot about this period. He writes well about the war.
The narrator sounds better when the story is sped up to x1.30. Her tone is solemn and very slow, which I understand. This is a heavy story. I would find animated narration insensitive...but I still struggled getting through this story.
The love story is such a small part of the whole.
I love stories set during WWII, not because of the war itself, but because hope of a better world is often a promenant theme in these stories. That is not the case here.
You get a lot of descriptions of terrible war-time events. It seems to never end...I couldn't wait for something good to happen...it just wasn't here.
The author clearly knows a lot about this period. He writes well about the war.
The narrator sounds better when the story is sped up to x1.30. Her tone is solemn and very slow, which I understand. This is a heavy story. I would find animated narration insensitive...but I still struggled getting through this story.
January 5, 2021
This book built and built, and then ended abruptly. It seemed the characters were all building toward something, but never got there. Maybe the abrupt end of story was a commentary on individual lives cut short in WWII. The book certainly didn't spare the reader any description on loss of life. The scene detail was excellently written, but filled with too many gory details. The gore distracted from the story more than it added. Despite the history and emotion given to them, I never found myself identifying with or rooting for any of the characters. I found Annie and Martha annoying and cliche. Adams and Shaw never really came into enough focus for me to decide one way or another. I just couldn't get into this story at all.
December 15, 2024
It's not so much that the storyline was bad... it was the narration. Her voice had too much vocal fry and was hard to understand at some points. There wasn't a lot of emotion put into it. It's so difficult to tell if I even like the book because of how much I disliked the narration.
December 19, 2019
Read via audiobook. Great story with wonderful turns of phrases. Excellent narration!
January 2, 2020
This wasn't a very fun read at all and was boring most of the time.
January 7, 2020
Terrific book. I listened to it as an Audible book and the narration was excellent. I recommend this book highly.
January 11, 2020
Oh my the horrors of war! Hero/deserter. This was very real. Good audible.
January 16, 2020
An average historical fiction of the time period. It wasn't very original with its characters or plot lines, but it was an enjoyable listen.
January 10, 2021
More like an unfinished book, or an installment. I can sure tell that the library I have left of unfinished books came from the sale selections, or the 4 free audible selections.
June 27, 2024
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית ואנגלית, קישור לבלוג שלי -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/pont...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/pont...
July 13, 2024
Not sure why reviews so low. I think this was a good book - made one think of things we have not had to endure. I give it 4.4 stars
January 1, 2020
I listened to this one. Definitely worth listening to while washing dishes and going for walks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews