...what use is logic when faced with the power of truth?

I love picking bon mots in books I read. This one is from Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks, one of the best British writers.

The books I review or mention on my Tetradki blog all have certain relevance to Russia or the Russian view of the world. Faulks is not widely known there. A Russian language internet search returned fewer than 3,000 mentions, mostly about Faulks being the new author of James Bond books.

Charlotte Gray has only fleeting references to Russia being hammered by the advancing German armies in 1942. However, the story of British intelligence trying to help - or ignite - the French Resistance to German occupation while at the same time disrupting the Communist influence within the Resistance, this story is pertinent to understanding how the fight for freedom and democracy is won - or lost. Then and now.

Much of the thinking in Charlotte Gray is devoted to why so many of the French accomodated the German occupation - and even welcomed it. Dictatorial order and clarity instead of democratic sleaze, chaos and insecurity. Many, probably most, decided they could live with a bit of indignity.

That was in France in the 40s. In Russia in the 90s, before she became what she is now, democracy had turned in to a swear word - dermocracy (shitocracy).

Most of this was good and well written, though not on a par with the great Birdsong. However, the last third or so was more dramatic and harrowing, especially the fate of M Levade and the two boys Andre and Jacob. ( )

Love this book. Heartbreaking, warm, full of courage. This story needed to be told of an amazing lady and the courage and daring she needed to stay alive. She is a modern day hero. ( )

Historical fiction with a smattering of a so-so romance. I found the French people very interesting in their differing viewpoints about the German occupation during WW2. Small towns may have looked tranquil on the outside, but they were teeming with propaganda, secret meetings, and deceit. The story of the two Jewish brothers was devastating.

Parts of this books had me on the edge of my seat, while others left me cold. The whole secret childhood incident with her father was strange, and the "explanation" was even stranger. It did nothing to enhance the story. Please, Mr. Faulks, just stick to writing about espionage and war -- any war -- and leave out the drivel. ( )

In 1942, Charlotte Gray travels to London to work as a doctor's receptionist. On the train he meets a man who later mentions her name to an organisation who train women to become involved in work with Resistance groups in France. When Charlotte's pilot boyfriend goes missing in France, she uses her courier job as an opportunity to try to find him and gets more involved with the French locals than expected. ( )