I absolutely loved this book, a combination of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. And, I love it's lesson, or what I think to be it's lesson. I guess that's the beauty of a well written book. It becomes what you want it to be.
The Girl You Left Behind is told in two parts. Part One is Sophie's story, told in 1916 in occupied France. Part Two is Liv's story, told in London 2006. The beauty of the story is not their individual stories, although they are unbelievable in their own rights, but in how the two stories become one. It's brilliant, really. "The Girl You Left Behind" is the name of a painting Sophie's husband, Edouard Lefevre, painted of her. It hangs in their hotel, which eventually gets taken over by the Germans in WW1, and it is this painting that becomes the true main character of this novel. However, one can quickly figure out that The Girl You Left Behind also refers to Sophie herself, as her husband goes off to war, and Liv, whose husband dies suddenly one night only a few years into their marriage. These two amazing women tell their stories as they desperately attempt to move on after being left behind by their husbands. The truly amazing part, the part I will not divulge here, is how their stories become intertwined and eventually become one.
As with all really great books that I read, I feel smarter after finishing this book and I feel as though I have been reminded of what life is really all about. It's not the money you have, or where you live, or what you wear, or even what you believe. Life is about your family and about the love you have for your family and the lengths you will go to to keep your family intact.
This book is superb. I highly recommend it.
Happy reading!
-Dodie
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