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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Girl You Left Behind in Books

Jun 6, 2018

The Girl You Left Behind

Jojo Moyes | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

This review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.co.uk">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>.

I won this book through the first reads Goodreads program. It's not normally the type of book that would catch my attention attention based on the synopsis, but I'm always willing to read something out of my comfort zone. I'm more than glad that I read this book as I loved it!!

Sophie is a French woman in German occupied France during World War I. She and the Kommandent become close only because Sophie will do whatever it takes to see her husband who has been sent to a German work camp. Fast forward almost a century later...Liv is a woman that has a portrait that was painted by Sophie's husband years ago. The relatives of Sophie's husband want that painting back simply because they know how much it's worth. However, for Liv, the painting means so much more. This is the story of a painting and how two women from different centuries are so much alike.

I loved the character of Sophie. She was definitely a strong and brave character. I felt what she was feeling a majority of the time. She went through so much to get what she loved. I also loved Liv, who, like Sophie was willing to lose it all to get what she loved. Mo was another one of my favourite characters. She brought in the comic timing. Her humour was fantastic, and it wasn't over the top. It was just right for the mood of the story. I loved Paul. He was such a sweetheart! I wish my husband was as kind and romantic as Paul! It was lovely to see him grow as a character.

The title definitely suits the book as The Girl You Left Behind is what they painting is called, and much of the story centres around this painting. I don't think there could've been a better title for this book.

The cover is very beautiful, and while it does relate to the story somewhat, I just wish the cover could've been the painting of Sophie that was talked about so much throughout the book. I would've loved to see what the painting actually looked like.

The setting and world building were fab as well! I loved how a lot of this book was set in a little hotel in a French city. The author made the hotel sound so warm and welcoming. It was obvious that the author did a lot of research about World War I when it came to the Germans occupy French cities. The descriptions of every place mentioned in the book were well written.

The pacing was absolutely fantastic! Each page kept me enthralled. I did not want to put down this book for anything!

I also loved the ending of the book. It was well written and didn't feel rushed like a lot of books do when they end. I thought it was a fantastic ending to a well written book.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone 16 and over. It's a little gem of a book, and it really took me by surprise.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Flyboys (2006) in Movies

Aug 14, 2019

Flyboys (2006)

2006 | Drama, History, War

6.4

(12 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Prior to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, the U.S. was mainly a spectator during what would eventually be called World War I.

At the time, the conflict that was known as “The Great War and by optimists as “The War to End all Wars” was laying waste to a generation of young men and leaving many of Europe’s nations in ruins.

With new inventions such as submarines, machine guns, and poison gas being deployed in the battlefield, hundreds of thousands were killed in the early stages of the war. One of the new inventions to see use during the war were airplanes, which had only recently been invented, but showed great potential and were quickly used by both sides for scouting and combat missions.

Looking for adventure and hoping to make a name for themselves, a handful of American men volunteered to fight in the war and some joined the Lafayette Escadrille, so they could join the fight by flying for the French.

In the new film Flyboys, James Franco stars as Blaine Rawlings, a young man fleeing his family ranch in TX after an altercation with a financier who has foreclosed on his family home. Upon arriving in France, Blaine meets other Americans including Eugene (Abdul Salis), who has left a promising career as a boxer to give something back to his adoptive nation of France since due to a more tolerant society, the color of his skin has not held him back as much as it has in

America.

Under the command of Captain Thenault (Jean Reno) the squadron is trained and eventually sent into combat against the German forces where they learn the true nature and horrors of war firsthand as they have to deal with the very high mortality rate that faces pilots and the knowledge that each time they fly into battle, may very well be their last moments.

Blaine eventually meets a local French lady named Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), a shy French lady who cares for three young children after their parents were killed when their home was hit. The fact that the dead father was also her brother is added burden for Lucienne as she worries about losing those she cares for as the war wages on.

Despite her concerns, Lucienne becomes close to Blaine even though the war is a constant threat and keeps creating distances between them, especially when the German forces advance upon the village in which she lives.

Since this is a film about aviators, there are several scenes in the film of the various missions Blaine and his comrades undertook that are rendered with a mix of CGI and vintage aircraft from the era.

In the air, the action is engrossing and entertaining, but on the ground, much of the film drags as it has every cliché and war movie staple in the book thrown in as well as characters that are not well defined, and lack anything to make the audience really connect with them.

This is a real shame as there are some good points to the film, but at just over two hours running length, there is not enough chemistry or development with the characters to truly make the audience care about them or their fates.

The aerial scenes are well done, but in many ways remind me of Howard Hughes classic “Hell’s Angels” and vintage classics “Dawn Patrol” and“The Blue Max”

As it stands, the best thing going for the film are the flight sequences but the slow pacing, numerous clichés and bland characters keeps Flyboys grounded.