by Kate Quinn
Paperback- $10.87
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY BESTSELLER
#1 GLOBE AND MAIL HISTORICAL FICTION BESTSELLER
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year!
One of Bookbub's ...
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Impossible to put down. Extremely well written.
It was a good read. It kept me on the edge of my seat.
probably a 3.5. you can read the summary on line.
I like historical fiction so was looking forward to this. There have been a lot of books out in the past few years about WW II - - so some readers may have had enough of war stories. And I have to admit, I am getting there myself. This one however mainly takes place in WW I and is based on a true person, which made it interesting. It is told through two characters - Eve in WWI, and Charlie in 1947. I have to say the character of Charlie did not really appeal to me. Eve was more interesting. But it does make the connection between the two eras in a good way. Defnitely worth the read.
This book is amazing, I couldn't put it down. When I wasn't reading I couldn't stop thinking about it. I highly recommend it.
I loved this book! I have a very active 2 year old and I was able to finish this in under 2 weeks.
The WW II novel is a poignant story reflecting the dire time of the Holocaust. The novel offers well written, engaging characters.
Loved every page! Characters were complex and real. Excellent storytelling between two periods.
13 members gave this book an 8 or better on a scale of 1 to 10. We found Kate Quinn's character development exceptional, and fell in love with Eve, Charlie, and of course Finn (Scottish gent) Loved the way Quinn used historical characters and events to weave her tale. Display of strength and courage
Appreciated the 2 stories told at the same time. Very, very good.
I loved the book and thought it was very well written. The characters were well developed and interesting with multiple layers. The subject was interesting and I had not read about the women’s spy network before.
I loved this book, the story was engaging, well written and very empowering for women. It is inspiring to witness the characters overcome personal or physical challenges, through will and determination endure and conquer their goals.
We rarely hear about the very brave women responsible for helping win wars. They took great risks to help their countries. This book provides a very interesting perspective on the great danger they faced and the grace with which they did it anyway. Real hero’s.
The Alice Network, Kate Quinn, author; Saskia Maarleveld, narrator
The novel tells two parallel stories. One begins in 1915, and is about a real network of agents who worked for Alice Dubois, whose real name was Louise de Bettignies. She really did run a spy network from France, for the British, during WWI. The second story begins just after WWII, in 1947. Charlotte St. Clair is a well-to-do young college student who was travelling to Europe with her mother to take care of her “little problem”. While at Bennington College, after the death of her brother, she floundered, lost her moral compass and found herself pregnant. While in Europe, her mother had promised to help her search for her friend and cousin, Rose Fournier. Rose had fallen in love with a resistance fighter, Etienne. She too had been pregnant. Etienne was arrested and acontact with Rose was lost. Charlotte (Charlie), was determined to find and save her. After the war, when Charlotte’s brother James had been severely injured, causing him to lose a limb, she had been unable to prevent his suicide. She felt that she had failed him and now hoped that she could at least find Rose, and save her. When her mother reneged on her promise to help her, Charlotte ran away. She left, before her procedure, in order to find Rose by herself.
Her search took her to a woman named Evelyn Gardiner, who turned out to be one of the spies in the Alice Network, during WWI. During that time, the agent, Evelyn, known as Marguerite, had worked in a restaurant called Le Lethe, run by a collaborator named, René Bordelou, in order to overhear information from the patrons and then pass it on to Alice Dubois. Coincidentally, decades later, Rose, in her early twenties, had worked in a restaurant with the same name, but in a different location. Could this other restaurant be owned by the same brutal collaborator? Could he still be alive? He would be in his early seventies by now. Evelyn was now in her mid fifties. The scars of her wartime effort and her work with René, had damaged her, and she often had nightmares and used liquor to escape her painful memories. Charlotte was still in her teens, although of legal age, but seemed older and more assertive than women of that time period. As the story reveals itself, both Eve and Charlotte discover they have a common connection and a mutual desire for revenge. Together, with the help of Finn Kilgore, Evelyn’s handsome houseman, who is also her driver, they begin to search for this restaurant and its owner, René, if he is still there. Although the youngest, Charlotte is in charge.
The threads of the stories intersect in several places, not only with the owner of the restaurant, but with the unwanted pregnancies of several of the women, and with the thread of alcohol abuse, nightmares, suicides, uncontrolled anger, and handsome Scotsmen with prison records.
I found the spy portion of the story based on the true history of the Alice Network very interesting, especially when it focused on the courage of the characters, even when, at times, it seemed implausible. However, I also found that when it devolved into nothing more than a romance novel, I was disappointed. It seemed to turn a story about the courageous victims of unjust wars and the evil, brutal men who start them, into nothing more than a fairy tale. Somehow, it seemed incongruous to have such a trite story overlaying a story of courage and sacrifice.
Attended. Becky Sarah Courtney Sara Rochelle Chris Barbara Melinda Jean Paula Jane
Nick made wonderful dinner — beef bourguignon, potatoes and salad. Chris brought dessert.
Loved descriptions of land.
Lagonda - high end British car
Alice Network is real.
Loved the mixing of the wars.
What happened to her hands was awful.
Spoiler alert
Surprised when:
Charlie couldn’t get money out of the bank. Because she was a woman. (Jean)
When she didn’t leak it to Lilly.
Cameron got demoted.
Character development good. Could picture them.
Fascinating story of women spies during the war, including their personal lives and the dangers they faced. Ledbto a good read and a good discussion.
I love historical fiction, so I give this book five stars. I especially liked the end of the book where the author explains which characters are real and which characters are fiction. A lot of research went into this story and I appreciate that. Kate Quinn is an excellent author and I look forward to reading more of her books!
I found the history behind this book more interesting than the actual book, I ended up reading a lot more of the real “Alice Network” and it’s fearless leader.
It was a hard read for me and I made it through Fifty Shades of Grey. ???????? I thought Eve was a great character, but not Charlie. The ending was decent.
ONCE I GOT STARTED, I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.
EXCELLENT BOOK. LOVED THE HISTORICAL
ASPECT AND THE WRITING STYLE.
A lovely book the tells the often overlooked critical contributions, sacrifices and strength women made during the war.
Liked that some of the characters actually existed.
I cannot put it down. I love the historical reference at the end of the book too.
From the first chapter, I wanted to know more. Female spies during the war is NOT a boring, historical read! I didn’t want it to end!
Interesting and engaging, especially towards the second half.
The story itself was interesting and had it been better presented it could have been a great read. The characters were poorly developed and unconvincing using dialogue that did not seem to fit the time and place. At times the book dragged and other times details that would have made the characters more sympathetic were glossed over. Altogether a disappointment.
Loved this book. Very easy to read and loved how the stories connected together at the end.
"The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn is a gripping novel filled with historical intrigue, strong https://studyhelper.com/argumentative-essay -samples characterscharacters, and captivating storytelling. Highly recommended.
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