Great stories full of plot twists.

I had trouble with the first half also. I realize that it set up the 2nd half, but it was slow. Sometimes I felt like Sophie was naive. I wanted to believe that there would be a happy ending for her, but I didn’t see how it was possible. The same thing was true for Liv. She was so determined to keep the painting that nothing else mattered. Sometimes I got a little irritated with each of them.

I almost gave up on the book but glad I finished it.

Definitely not the fastest read but I found it to be about obsession of holding on to what they had lost and realizing they they were losing even more . Also in some ways how the men they encountered later — how their appreciation/obsession/love for the women, who were tied to their previous loves, allowed them to help them in their own ways

I should probably lead off by saying that I really enjoyed this book.  I hadn’t realized that German occupation and abuse of French citizens was a thing in WW1.  I have read several historical fiction books set in France during WW2, but was surprised to see similar treatment of the French by the occupying forces and the severe privations that people were suffering.

Interestingly, my emotional reaction was quite different from Ginny and Vicky.  I didn’t find the first part slow at all.  Where I took away a few points was that the 2nd part was mostly written in the present tense.  While I can understand why the author would choose to do this, it just feels strange to me.  So I kept feeling off kilter while reading the “current” timeline portion of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much.  I haven’t read many books that centered around WWI. Like Elsi, I wasn’t aware how much the French citizens suffered in WWI.  When the story first switched to Liv, I found it very jarring and it took me awhile to get caught up in Liv’s story.  As you have all mentioned, it was not a quick read but I’m glad that I took the time to finish it.