What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tiger Claw
Shauna Singh Baldwin first heard of the mysterious story of Noor Inayat Khan (codename Madeleine ) at The Safe House, an espionage-themed restaurant in Milwaukee. A former Dutch spy told her of the brave and beautiful Indo-American woman who left her family in London, England to become a spy in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War.
The story immediately intrigued Baldwin, inspiring her to travel to Europe, seek out the places where Noor lived, interview the people who knew her and discover more about the enigmatic woman. The Giller Prize finalist The Tiger Claw — Baldwin’ s follow-up novel to her award-winning What The Body Remembers — was born from the silences, conflicting stories and significant gaps she discovered along the way.
As the novel begins, we’re thrown into a bleak German prison cell with Noor, where she is shackled hand and foot and freezing from the winter’s cold. It is December 1943, the turning point in the war raging in Europe. Noor’s captor, Herr Vogel, allows her onionskin paper on which he directs her to write children’s stories. She does so, but also secretly writes letters to someone she addresses as “ma petite,” the spirit of the child she had conceived with Armand Rivkin, a French Jewish musician and the love of her life. Although she must keep the letters hidden from her captor, it is through these words to her unborn child, alternating with a thrilling third-person narrative, that we learn Noor’s courageous and heartbreaking story.
Noor’s mother is an American from Boston who married a Sufi musician and teacher from India. Growing up in France, Noor is extremely close with her liberal Muslim father, but when he dies, Noor’s conservative uncle Tajuddin and her brother Kabir govern the family.
Uncle Tajuddin and Kabir disapprove of Noor’s love for Armand, and as the men of the family in 1930s France, they have the legal right to stop her engagement. Noor is faced then with the choice between defying her family and turning against her heart. She stops seeing Armand, but is devastated and lonely. Once the war begins, Noor’s family heads to England while Armand’s family stays.
When Germany invades France, Noor despairs of ever seeing Armand again, until Kabir unwittingly introduces her to his new friend who is recruiting bilingual women for the resistance. Noor is offered training, and she accepts. She will help defeat the Germans, but her true purpose will be to find and reunite with Armand.
As a resistance agent, Noor trains to be a radio operator, taking on a second identity — Nora Baker — one of many names she will eventually assume. When she arrives in France, she plays Anne-Marie Régnier — a woman caring for her sick aunt — and to other spies in her resistance network, she is known as “Madeleine.”
She has secret rendezvous with other agents, transmits messages from various safe houses, and risks capture at every turn. She rents an apartment across the street from Drancy, the concentration camp where she knows Armand is being held. At great peril, she sends him a message — the tiger claw pendant she always wears for luck and courage.
Noor must wade her way through oppression and hypocrisy from all h her beloved Armand could be killed by the Germans at any time; her French and British colleagues fight the occupation of France while Britain still occupies India; she learns of dark family secrets; and, one by one, members of the spy network are being ratted out by a double agent. Betrayal can come from anyone.
We know from the beginning that Noor will end up imprisoned, but who betrays her? Will she ever be released? Will Kabir find her? Will she and Armand be reunited? Baldwin paces the story like a nail-biting thriller, revealing only a little bit at a time.
The Tiger Claw is packed with complex characters riding the line between good and evil. In the end, it is the reader who must be the judge, and decide where he or she stands.
The story immediately intrigued Baldwin, inspiring her to travel to Europe, seek out the places where Noor lived, interview the people who knew her and discover more about the enigmatic woman. The Giller Prize finalist The Tiger Claw — Baldwin’ s follow-up novel to her award-winning What The Body Remembers — was born from the silences, conflicting stories and significant gaps she discovered along the way.
As the novel begins, we’re thrown into a bleak German prison cell with Noor, where she is shackled hand and foot and freezing from the winter’s cold. It is December 1943, the turning point in the war raging in Europe. Noor’s captor, Herr Vogel, allows her onionskin paper on which he directs her to write children’s stories. She does so, but also secretly writes letters to someone she addresses as “ma petite,” the spirit of the child she had conceived with Armand Rivkin, a French Jewish musician and the love of her life. Although she must keep the letters hidden from her captor, it is through these words to her unborn child, alternating with a thrilling third-person narrative, that we learn Noor’s courageous and heartbreaking story.
Noor’s mother is an American from Boston who married a Sufi musician and teacher from India. Growing up in France, Noor is extremely close with her liberal Muslim father, but when he dies, Noor’s conservative uncle Tajuddin and her brother Kabir govern the family.
Uncle Tajuddin and Kabir disapprove of Noor’s love for Armand, and as the men of the family in 1930s France, they have the legal right to stop her engagement. Noor is faced then with the choice between defying her family and turning against her heart. She stops seeing Armand, but is devastated and lonely. Once the war begins, Noor’s family heads to England while Armand’s family stays.
When Germany invades France, Noor despairs of ever seeing Armand again, until Kabir unwittingly introduces her to his new friend who is recruiting bilingual women for the resistance. Noor is offered training, and she accepts. She will help defeat the Germans, but her true purpose will be to find and reunite with Armand.
As a resistance agent, Noor trains to be a radio operator, taking on a second identity — Nora Baker — one of many names she will eventually assume. When she arrives in France, she plays Anne-Marie Régnier — a woman caring for her sick aunt — and to other spies in her resistance network, she is known as “Madeleine.”
She has secret rendezvous with other agents, transmits messages from various safe houses, and risks capture at every turn. She rents an apartment across the street from Drancy, the concentration camp where she knows Armand is being held. At great peril, she sends him a message — the tiger claw pendant she always wears for luck and courage.
Noor must wade her way through oppression and hypocrisy from all h her beloved Armand could be killed by the Germans at any time; her French and British colleagues fight the occupation of France while Britain still occupies India; she learns of dark family secrets; and, one by one, members of the spy network are being ratted out by a double agent. Betrayal can come from anyone.
We know from the beginning that Noor will end up imprisoned, but who betrays her? Will she ever be released? Will Kabir find her? Will she and Armand be reunited? Baldwin paces the story like a nail-biting thriller, revealing only a little bit at a time.
The Tiger Claw is packed with complex characters riding the line between good and evil. In the end, it is the reader who must be the judge, and decide where he or she stands.
592 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2004
24 people are currently reading
698 people want to read
About the author
Shauna Singh Baldwin
22 books64 followersShauna Singh Baldwin is a Canadian-American novelist of Indian descent. Her 2000 novel What the Body Remembers won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Canadian/Caribbean Region), and her 2004 novel The Tiger Claw was nominated for the Giller Prize. She currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Baldwin and her husband own the Safe House, an espionage themed restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
September 11, 2010
I first learned about Noor Khan while reading A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. When I was in Montreal earlier this year, I saw this book and picked it up.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the writing is both compelling and at the same time, the book could've been a little shorter. There are places where part of your mind will suggest coldly, perhaps, that the editing could've been tighter, that there is no need to repeat that. Despite this, however, the story is compelling.
I haven't, yet, read a biography of Khan, yet I found her story as told in A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII to be compelling and inspiring. They thought she couldn't do it, and it seems she was the bravest one. I'm not quite convinced that Baldwin's novel lives up to this image I have of Khan.
Part of the problem is that towards the end of the book I realized that I was really fed up with stories about women in World War II who becomes spies not for love of country, but because they want to find thier lost lover. Every single female spy had a lost lover she was looking for? How come male spies never have lost lovers they're looking for? Does it have something to do with the cliche plot of male pilot seducing the French farm girl who hides him? In some ways, such a plot, cheapens the women.
Yet to level that criticism at this book isn't entirely fair. Baldwin's Khan does become a spy in part so she can find out what happened to her lover, the man she wants to marry (and boy, do they have backstory). This overused cliche works here because Khan has conflicting ideas about the British rule of India. Considering that Baldwin's Khan is thinking about imperial rule, religion and politics during the novel, she would need a second excuse besides love of England, when she only went to England after fleeing France. (Why it couldn't be simple love of France, though?).
Baldwin's book is not perhaps the best book ever, but there is much to like about. Her protrayal of Khan is wonderful. As one reviewer has pointed out, some of the plot points sound a bit far fetched, but the character is believable. At times, you admire her; at times you want to smack her (and isn't that true of most people you meet)? The ending is real and how Baldwin plays out the love plot is far less cliche than the idea of the plot itself.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the writing is both compelling and at the same time, the book could've been a little shorter. There are places where part of your mind will suggest coldly, perhaps, that the editing could've been tighter, that there is no need to repeat that. Despite this, however, the story is compelling.
I haven't, yet, read a biography of Khan, yet I found her story as told in A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII to be compelling and inspiring. They thought she couldn't do it, and it seems she was the bravest one. I'm not quite convinced that Baldwin's novel lives up to this image I have of Khan.
Part of the problem is that towards the end of the book I realized that I was really fed up with stories about women in World War II who becomes spies not for love of country, but because they want to find thier lost lover. Every single female spy had a lost lover she was looking for? How come male spies never have lost lovers they're looking for? Does it have something to do with the cliche plot of male pilot seducing the French farm girl who hides him? In some ways, such a plot, cheapens the women.
Yet to level that criticism at this book isn't entirely fair. Baldwin's Khan does become a spy in part so she can find out what happened to her lover, the man she wants to marry (and boy, do they have backstory). This overused cliche works here because Khan has conflicting ideas about the British rule of India. Considering that Baldwin's Khan is thinking about imperial rule, religion and politics during the novel, she would need a second excuse besides love of England, when she only went to England after fleeing France. (Why it couldn't be simple love of France, though?).
Baldwin's book is not perhaps the best book ever, but there is much to like about. Her protrayal of Khan is wonderful. As one reviewer has pointed out, some of the plot points sound a bit far fetched, but the character is believable. At times, you admire her; at times you want to smack her (and isn't that true of most people you meet)? The ending is real and how Baldwin plays out the love plot is far less cliche than the idea of the plot itself.
November 5, 2012
It’s been two weeks since I finished The Tiger Claw and I sat down to update and couldn’t at all remember what I had read since Galveston, which can’t be a good sign (whether of my memory or of the texts, I can’t be sure).
I took The Tiger Claw on a week’s holiday with my family, which always means ample time to read. Even with all kinds of opportunity, I struggled to motivate myself to keep reading. I suppose there’s only one way to put it: The Tiger Claw was boring. And it has no right to be! It’s set during World War Two (always a scintillating period) and features Noor Khan - an Indian-British-French resistance fighter. There should be intrigue! action! fast-paced… anything! Alas, even with occasional moments of action the heavy-handed imagery and aspiring-epic scenery descriptions makes it feels like nothing happens for four hundred pages. I do admit I found the last hundred or so to be engaging, but really, not enough of a payoff to make up for the sluggish first 4/5ths.
I’m glad I’ve written this, as maybe it will mean I’ll remember having read this book. Maybe.
I took The Tiger Claw on a week’s holiday with my family, which always means ample time to read. Even with all kinds of opportunity, I struggled to motivate myself to keep reading. I suppose there’s only one way to put it: The Tiger Claw was boring. And it has no right to be! It’s set during World War Two (always a scintillating period) and features Noor Khan - an Indian-British-French resistance fighter. There should be intrigue! action! fast-paced… anything! Alas, even with occasional moments of action the heavy-handed imagery and aspiring-epic scenery descriptions makes it feels like nothing happens for four hundred pages. I do admit I found the last hundred or so to be engaging, but really, not enough of a payoff to make up for the sluggish first 4/5ths.
I’m glad I’ve written this, as maybe it will mean I’ll remember having read this book. Maybe.
June 19, 2016
This book was a very big disappointment. The synopsis of the book is incredibly interesting but the author did a horrible job in execution. Like many people said, this book was boring. I really struggled to finish this book and I seriously thought I wouldn't be able to finish it because reading it was so frustrating. I didn't really like any of the characters and the descriptions of everything are so tediously long that I felt like I should have just passed over them. This book is set during World War 2 yet somehow the author finds a way to make the war seem dull. Towards the end of the novel there were some good parts but that couldn't make me forget the agony of reading the first 3/4 of the book.
I also disliked the way the author wrote. The way she articulated her sentences seemed unnatural, the words didn't flow, which made it hard to read for long periods of time. Also towards the end of the book the author starts to describe things in short, cut sentences that last a whole page, which I had to read with a lot of patience.
Overall, this book lacked in detail about the interesting things and gave too much detail on the mundane things.
I also disliked the way the author wrote. The way she articulated her sentences seemed unnatural, the words didn't flow, which made it hard to read for long periods of time. Also towards the end of the book the author starts to describe things in short, cut sentences that last a whole page, which I had to read with a lot of patience.
Overall, this book lacked in detail about the interesting things and gave too much detail on the mundane things.
March 17, 2013
I never got into this book, even after 130 pages. I didn't care about the characters and every description was so so winded. I felt I gave it a chance, but I had to put it down.
October 15, 2025
This felt excessively long and often frustrating to get through. The central idea, an Indian woman spy in Nazi-occupied France, is compelling, and I was somewhat interested in the part where she’s trying to figure out who betrayed her.
But the rest? The love story, the family drama, and all the philosophical reflections just dragged. I found most of it boring, and it took away from the tension and pacing the story could have had.
Overall, not for me.
But the rest? The love story, the family drama, and all the philosophical reflections just dragged. I found most of it boring, and it took away from the tension and pacing the story could have had.
Overall, not for me.
November 22, 2014
.5 STARS
"When Noor Khan’s father, a teacher of mystical Sufism, dies, Noor is forced to bow, along with her mother, sister and brother, to her uncle’s religious literalism and ideas on feminine propriety. While at the Sorbonne, Noor falls in love with Armand, a Jewish musician. Though her uncle forbids her to see him, they continue meeting in secret.
When the Germans invade in 1940, Armand persuades Noor to leave him for her own safety. She flees with her family to England, but volunteers to serve in a special intelligence agency. She is trained as a radio operator for the group that, in Churchill’s words, will “set Europe ablaze” with acts of sabotage. She is then sent back to Occupied France. Unwavering courage is what Noor requires for her assignment and her deeply personal mission — to re-unite with Armand. As her talisman, she carries her grandmother’s gift, an heirloom tiger claw encased in gold.
The novel opens in December 1943. Noor has been imprisoned. She begins writing in secret, tracing the events that led to her capture. When Germany surrenders in 1945, her brother Kabir begins his search through the chaos of Europe’s Displaced Persons camps to find her." (From Amazon)
This was a novel chosen for our book club. I could not really get into this novel. I made it just past 50 pages.
"When Noor Khan’s father, a teacher of mystical Sufism, dies, Noor is forced to bow, along with her mother, sister and brother, to her uncle’s religious literalism and ideas on feminine propriety. While at the Sorbonne, Noor falls in love with Armand, a Jewish musician. Though her uncle forbids her to see him, they continue meeting in secret.
When the Germans invade in 1940, Armand persuades Noor to leave him for her own safety. She flees with her family to England, but volunteers to serve in a special intelligence agency. She is trained as a radio operator for the group that, in Churchill’s words, will “set Europe ablaze” with acts of sabotage. She is then sent back to Occupied France. Unwavering courage is what Noor requires for her assignment and her deeply personal mission — to re-unite with Armand. As her talisman, she carries her grandmother’s gift, an heirloom tiger claw encased in gold.
The novel opens in December 1943. Noor has been imprisoned. She begins writing in secret, tracing the events that led to her capture. When Germany surrenders in 1945, her brother Kabir begins his search through the chaos of Europe’s Displaced Persons camps to find her." (From Amazon)
This was a novel chosen for our book club. I could not really get into this novel. I made it just past 50 pages.
July 28, 2012
I am not sure what to say about this novel. It is the fictionalized account of Noor Khan, an Indian/American/British woman who was a spy for the French Resistance during WWII. It was also a kind of love story, although the love story seemed be more of a sub-plot. The main story seemed to be about a woman who finds the strength to be the kind of woman that she has to be, if that makes any sense.
So here are the blah parts of the novel: 1) a bit slow to get into 2) the main character could have been developed a bit more, I think the author was a bit shy of developing a fully rounded character, mainly because she was a real person, 3) it seemed to drag a bit and took me a bit to become invested in the story.
The good: 1) it was like Romeo and Juliet, in that you know the ending, but you still hope that it will turn out differently. I have to admit, that at the end I did go "NOOOOOOO" as if I could really change history, 2) the bouncing around in time was a bit weird, but it added a meatiness to the story that was good, 3) Loved the character of Armand and Kabir and would love to read their story, although their story was Noor's story so....
Overall, a good read if you like historical fiction, although don't expect it to be a spy mystery, because it's not.
Cheers
So here are the blah parts of the novel: 1) a bit slow to get into 2) the main character could have been developed a bit more, I think the author was a bit shy of developing a fully rounded character, mainly because she was a real person, 3) it seemed to drag a bit and took me a bit to become invested in the story.
The good: 1) it was like Romeo and Juliet, in that you know the ending, but you still hope that it will turn out differently. I have to admit, that at the end I did go "NOOOOOOO" as if I could really change history, 2) the bouncing around in time was a bit weird, but it added a meatiness to the story that was good, 3) Loved the character of Armand and Kabir and would love to read their story, although their story was Noor's story so....
Overall, a good read if you like historical fiction, although don't expect it to be a spy mystery, because it's not.
Cheers
February 4, 2009
Noor Khan parented by a teacher of mystical Sufism falls in love with Armand Rivkin a Jewish pianist but is forbidden to see him in the name of religion and propriety. When the Germans invade France in 1940, Noor and her family are forced to flee to England for their safety. Once there, due to Noors background she is recruited by the special intelligence agency and is sent to France to contribute to the underground resistance movement. With this mission she hopes to reunite with her true love...
This is the story of Noor Khan code name Madeleine who worked against the Nazi regime during the Occupation of France. It is a war story, a quest for love, a tale of espionage and resistance. The main character is Noor a woman of mixed parentage that had no roots in England, was not readily accepted in France or India and due to her language skills made her the perfect spy material. I find this novel excellent, the prose capture the essence of the time and immerses you immediately in the atmosphere of the Vichy era complete with its terror and prejudice. Ms Balwin tells a highly riveting and entertaining story, I thoroughly enjoy it.
This is the story of Noor Khan code name Madeleine who worked against the Nazi regime during the Occupation of France. It is a war story, a quest for love, a tale of espionage and resistance. The main character is Noor a woman of mixed parentage that had no roots in England, was not readily accepted in France or India and due to her language skills made her the perfect spy material. I find this novel excellent, the prose capture the essence of the time and immerses you immediately in the atmosphere of the Vichy era complete with its terror and prejudice. Ms Balwin tells a highly riveting and entertaining story, I thoroughly enjoy it.
April 24, 2018
‘The Tiger Claw’ by Shauna Singh Baldwin was one of those surprises. I started reading it because I couldn’t settle on anything else, and it happened to be available. Didn’t have high expectations - in fact, I barely had mediocre expectations.
Turns out, it’s wonderful.
The book is inspired by the life of Noor Inayat Kahn, and her work for British intelligence during WWII. It follows her behind enemy lines in France as she relays information between her fellow SOE agents and London. Being who she is - a Muslim Indian woman - she deals regularly with both racism and misogy, while still making herself an integral part of the resistance network.
Noor is philosophically opposed the Nazism, of course. But she has a more personal reason to accept dangerous assignments that bring her back to France. ‘The Tiger Claw’ moves back and forth in time, illuminating Noor’s past and linking it to her present. It might not be a creative technique, but Singh Baldwin uses it well. As the book progresses, we develop a more intricate understanding of Noor, and how her family, faith, and national loyalties have - for better or worse - made her.
The writing is gorgeous - elegant and descriptive and evocative. And the plot is inherently exciting. Nazis, spies, resistance fighters, traitors, executions, safe houses - it could hardly be anything but. And yet, somehow, the book dragged towards the end. Singh Baldwin indulges herself in elegiac passages about France and faith and love and patriotism to the detriment of momentum. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through, I was more than ready for the end. I’m not sure how that happens with such a naturally engaging plot.
Still, ‘The Tiger Claw’ was a fantastic read. I have no idea how much of it is real, and how much is fiction, but I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Second World War.
Turns out, it’s wonderful.
The book is inspired by the life of Noor Inayat Kahn, and her work for British intelligence during WWII. It follows her behind enemy lines in France as she relays information between her fellow SOE agents and London. Being who she is - a Muslim Indian woman - she deals regularly with both racism and misogy, while still making herself an integral part of the resistance network.
Noor is philosophically opposed the Nazism, of course. But she has a more personal reason to accept dangerous assignments that bring her back to France. ‘The Tiger Claw’ moves back and forth in time, illuminating Noor’s past and linking it to her present. It might not be a creative technique, but Singh Baldwin uses it well. As the book progresses, we develop a more intricate understanding of Noor, and how her family, faith, and national loyalties have - for better or worse - made her.
The writing is gorgeous - elegant and descriptive and evocative. And the plot is inherently exciting. Nazis, spies, resistance fighters, traitors, executions, safe houses - it could hardly be anything but. And yet, somehow, the book dragged towards the end. Singh Baldwin indulges herself in elegiac passages about France and faith and love and patriotism to the detriment of momentum. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through, I was more than ready for the end. I’m not sure how that happens with such a naturally engaging plot.
Still, ‘The Tiger Claw’ was a fantastic read. I have no idea how much of it is real, and how much is fiction, but I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Second World War.
January 14, 2018
Shauna Singh Baldwin did it again with this wonderful book! She is a master storyteller. I was mesmerized throughout.
The book takes place mainly in France and Pforzein Germany during the nazi occupation of France. The chronology of the book moves between the main character Noor Inayat Khan (aka Madeleine) writing letters in her prison cell and the story of how she ended up getting captured.
With the atmosphere and backdrop of Nazi occupation and resistance, this is ultimately a love story. It is deep, spiritual, and all-encompassing.
Like her other books, I am awed by her ability to capture the nuances that turn neighbour against neighbour. The book describes how oppressive the everyday signs of Nazi occupation were (ie posters, checkposts, and the heavy air of fear).
Her research is detailed and very comprehensive. She uses French and German in the book - I had to use Google Translate for some of it.
My favourite part of the book was the importance of the Tiger Claw and the fact that Noor Inayat Khan was a real person.
The romantic in me hopes that Armand and Noor were finally able to unite in their afterlife.
The book takes place mainly in France and Pforzein Germany during the nazi occupation of France. The chronology of the book moves between the main character Noor Inayat Khan (aka Madeleine) writing letters in her prison cell and the story of how she ended up getting captured.
With the atmosphere and backdrop of Nazi occupation and resistance, this is ultimately a love story. It is deep, spiritual, and all-encompassing.
Like her other books, I am awed by her ability to capture the nuances that turn neighbour against neighbour. The book describes how oppressive the everyday signs of Nazi occupation were (ie posters, checkposts, and the heavy air of fear).
Her research is detailed and very comprehensive. She uses French and German in the book - I had to use Google Translate for some of it.
My favourite part of the book was the importance of the Tiger Claw and the fact that Noor Inayat Khan was a real person.
The romantic in me hopes that Armand and Noor were finally able to unite in their afterlife.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2022
You’ll need months of leave, buddy. Maybe years. Tell me, how many camps can you go to? How many prisons? How many mass graves can you search?
This WWII spy novel is based on a real woman who was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) by the code name Madeline and dropped behind the Nazi lines in occupied France in 1943.
Noor Inayat Khan is a Muslim Indian born in Moscow, raised in Paris, and living in London from the start of the war. Able to speak many languages with no discernable accent, Noor is an excellent candidate for the job. However, Noor was eventually captured by the SS and imprisoned.
The story is told in the past and present. While Noor’s brother Kabir is searching for her post war, we read about Noor’s developing espionage work during the war. We also have the perspective of Noor’s prison time as told in a written diary format, pages filled with hope to reunite with the love of her life, Armand.
This book is less about the SOE, as that moves at a snail’s pace, but more about the author’s style of overflowing detail with an unsatisfying ending. Flipping pages, hoping for a quicker moving plot took the joy out of reading this book.
This WWII spy novel is based on a real woman who was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) by the code name Madeline and dropped behind the Nazi lines in occupied France in 1943.
Noor Inayat Khan is a Muslim Indian born in Moscow, raised in Paris, and living in London from the start of the war. Able to speak many languages with no discernable accent, Noor is an excellent candidate for the job. However, Noor was eventually captured by the SS and imprisoned.
The story is told in the past and present. While Noor’s brother Kabir is searching for her post war, we read about Noor’s developing espionage work during the war. We also have the perspective of Noor’s prison time as told in a written diary format, pages filled with hope to reunite with the love of her life, Armand.
This book is less about the SOE, as that moves at a snail’s pace, but more about the author’s style of overflowing detail with an unsatisfying ending. Flipping pages, hoping for a quicker moving plot took the joy out of reading this book.
April 23, 2024
The book itself is ok, but after reading a little about the real Noor, I have some feelings. First, I felt the love thing was overblown from the beginning, and after learning that he was a completely made up character, I feel even more strongly about it. In many fictional accounts of real women's stories, their accomplishments often get lost or ignored for love stories that often didn't even happen. I know the key word is 'fictional', but why is it that the most important thing about women's stories has to be romantic love? So important that if it's not already there it must be added? And Baldwin pursued this storyline at the expense of actual things that Noor Khan did, such as escaping prison twice (though caught again quickly) and running the spy ring for three months. Also, making love basically her only motive to become a spy I personally feel is a disservice to this brave woman.
Lastly, I just don't quite understand why the author needed to reduce Noor Kahn's three siblings to two and change their names.
However, I did think the comparing of colonial India with Nazi Germany was insightful.
Lastly, I just don't quite understand why the author needed to reduce Noor Kahn's three siblings to two and change their names.
However, I did think the comparing of colonial India with Nazi Germany was insightful.
December 22, 2022
I did not finish this book. I read about 60 pages and decided it is not for me. I liked the premise - a story about a real person - Noor Inayat Khan - who was a radio operator / spy working with British SOE and the French Resistance. The story jumps all over the place in time. It doesn't describe who the characters being referenced are, so that you need to just figure it out as the book progresses. The spy/French Resistance story really appealed to me, but even when reading those chapters, I found "Madeline" spent too much time thinking about her childhood, her father who deserted the family when she was a girl, and her lover Armand. I'm sure it is a good book, but I just couldn't tolerate the jumping around in time and all the dreaming about Armand.
February 22, 2022
An incredible layering of the identities and experiences of an Indian born Muslim woman (Noor), raised in France. Serving as a spy for England (in France) and in love with a Jewish man (against her family's wishes), the stage is set for an incredible journey full of analytical reflections. Serving a colonial power in a war against the Nazis, while India saw its citizens slowly starve (thanks to the British), creates fertile ground for conflicting thoughts and emotions.
Noor's realization that the freedom to love as heart has chosen, fuels a striking war-time love story. The way Noor holds true to that love is an epic journey worth taking.
Noor's realization that the freedom to love as heart has chosen, fuels a striking war-time love story. The way Noor holds true to that love is an epic journey worth taking.
July 13, 2019
The true story of Noor Inayat Khan, a female spy of Indian descent who worked for the French resistance in WWII. There were parts of this book which were powerful and well-written (Noor's diary while in a German prison), but overall, there were many parts of the book which were boring and lacked action. The excellent parts of the book were overshadowed by these. This book could have been a 5-star read had it all been told in Noor's voice. I am interested to pick up another book by Shauna Singh Baldwin, but certainly not right away. That said, the book is a unique take on WWII spy thrillers.
June 19, 2019
4.5. What amazed me was a story in which the reader knows so much more about the probable outcomes of the plot than the characters. Somehow that broke my heart at times; sometimes I wanted to intervene; sometimes I was simply glad not to be in any of their shoes. Written with delicacy and restraint, I found it powerful and unflinching: compelling to the very end.
August 5, 2020
I've read several books based on women who were part of the underground/resistance and this was by far the best and most believable. I wasn't sure at the beginning because the bit about Noor's brother searching for her bored me...a lot... but once I got through it, I was carried along for the rest of this very long book.
November 23, 2023
Beautiful prose that lifts it above other what I call Holocaust Lite literature adding more political connections and cultural beneath the story. I did struggle with the constant comparisons of the British in India to the Nazis towards Jews though and it soured my read. Still it's a much better WW2 story that should be read.
January 9, 2018
I made a new category- unfinished- for those books where I have read a considerable amount but just can't finish. This is one of them. Thought it would be good (a Giller finalist) but boring with poor character development. Putting this aside.
July 19, 2017
This book was a bit meandering although it had a good storyline.
October 18, 2017
Exhausting, heart-breaking, beautiful.
A fictionalized tale of Noor Inayat Khan, Indian-British spy in France during WW2, told from her perspective, jumping around in time.
A fictionalized tale of Noor Inayat Khan, Indian-British spy in France during WW2, told from her perspective, jumping around in time.
November 17, 2017
I tried to like it, but just found it straight up boring. It was slow as molasses and dry and just a bore. Sorry. Moving on.
December 17, 2019
By the desciption, should be fascinating - instead, it's quite boring.
September 17, 2022
A masterpiece!
September 20, 2022
I loved this book. The writing was so descriptive and the characters were so alive.
January 24, 2023
Wonderful read, with so much detail, I could not put it down!
August 4, 2023
Great WWII history lesson.
August 9, 2023
A powerful story, masterfully told.
May 25, 2017
I highly regret wasting so many hours on this book. I chose this book for my independent novel in school (It had to be a Canadian author where at least one of their books were up for an award) not knowing much of any Canadian authors who've actually won a reward for a book I had to do some searching. I ended up coming across this book. My initial response to reading the back wasn't good but I didn't have enough time to find a better looking one and anyway "she's a spy in WWII that's kind of interesting" I thought to myself....well...for me at least that wasn't the case, this book had me on the first chapter but lost me on the second on through mostly the rest of the book. I didn't care about any of the characters at all this book has also been giving me so much trouble with my essay because of generally not enjoying my time reading it most information flew right over my head along with how this book has not given me good creative ideas to put in the essay in the first place, and I can't wait until I'm done the essay so I can put this book in the deepest/darkest spot on my bookshelves.
March 8, 2015
This could have been a much better account of what is a real story, were it not for the frequent exceedingly self-absorbed religious & philosophical musings of the heroine Noor Khan, in times of difficulty during her emprisonment in particular. She was the daughter of a Sufi teacher & veena musician and an American mother, who was raised in France except for a couple of years in India, and whose family fled to England, just prior to the outbreak of WW2. She had met & fallen in love with a Jewish musician Armand Rivkin at the Sorbonne who was rejected by her family, and aborted their unborn child(unbeknownst to her with the machinations of her mother, brother, and sister). Her father returns to India and dies there a couple of years later, Noor, her mother, her younger brother Kabir,& sister Zaina staying in England, where Noor is recruited to the SOE which masterminded & ran spies against the Nazis on the Continent. She is trained as a wireless operator & dropped into Nazi-occupied France where she joins an underground network, and hopes to meet up with Armand who is arrested and send to the concentration camp at Drancy outside Paris, to await deportation to an extermination camp. The network is gradually eroded by Nazi arrests due to the treachery of collaborationists, and Noor stays in France beyond her original 3 week assignment, as she is the sole remaining radio operator in N.France, and suspects correctly that her flight out has been sabotaged. She never sees Armand again, though she manages to send him a locket of a tiger claw which had been in her family for generations(wrapped in a paper declaring her love 8 years after their separation) and through which he gets the courage to survive his deportation & emprisonment. She is betrayed to the Nazis by a fascist woman, a sister of one of her network members, and is jailed in Nazi headquarters in Paris, and then Forzheim, Germany where she will spend nearly a year, before deportation to & execution in Dachau extermination camp. The book chapters alternate between her spying activities in France & her state of mind in prison(which I found too self-absorbed, dominated by religious meanderings, and boring). After the war, her brother Kabir looks for her in Germany, but cannot find her, though he meets up with Armand and they meet annually at her memorial service.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews