Trapeze (edition 2012)

Published in the U.S. under the title “Trapeze”

This novel is a fascinating blend of fact and fiction, the story of Marian Sutro, an ordinary young woman, who barely out of school did the most extraordinary things in 1943 for the war effort.

Recruited by the SOE (Special Operation Executive) at the age of 19, Marian finds herself undergoing commando training in the Scottish Highlands and ultimately, one autumn night parachuted from an RAF bomber into the South-West of France to join the Wordsmith resistance network and act as a courier for them.

This clever, cool-headed and bilingual young woman’s first mission is to make her way to Paris and take new radio crystals to Yvette, the underground radio operator she had met previously at the training center. At the same time she must navigate the treacherous streets of Paris, a city battened down and where the danger of discovery is extreme and seek out Clément Pelletier, a nuclear physicist and family friend, a man of vital importance to her superiors and persuade him to leave France for England.

This is a very engaging and a poetically written story, one that captures beautifully the mood of the time. It is first told from Marian’s perspective but once dropped into France and assumes the code name Alice and a life as a secret agent, the narratives now in Alice’s words switches from the past to the present tense and the story slowly unfolds into breathtaking intrigue. The tight prose keeps the plot moving at a steady pace till it suddenly and shockingly ends. I was so disappointed and wanting more…Oh well… maybe a sequel will answer my questions one day.

Some may say there is nothing original both with its plotting and characterization but it is nevertheless a gripping story that gives us an insight into bravery, treachery and terror. ( )

I loved this. I stayed up late reading the last ~100 pages or so. This is a novel based on the British women who were recruited as spies and dropped into France during WW2. We open with our protagonist, Marian Sutro, a 19yo diplomat's daughter, is about to parachute from a noisy plane into a random field in the night of occupied France.

As with 'The Glass Room,' Mawer's prose is somehow simple, but elegant and affecting. His story-telling is traditional, yet magical. I will not spoil - but the ending was fabulous. This novel is more story and less introspection than 'The Glass Room,' but still much of what he writes about fear, identity, physics was very thought-provoking.

I feel like I should have more to say since I am rating this book so highly but I really don't. SImply the best type of reading experience in my opinion - plot, prose, story-telling, setting - all without seeming Hollywoodish or melodramatic. Bravo. Mawer is on his way to becoming a favorite of mine. ( )

Story about a woman born in France that served as spy for England during the run up to WW 2. Lots of detail about training of a spy. Completed the whole thing.
Also talked about the development of the nucluear bomb. ( )

Based on the true story of a group of young women who were recruited in Britain, during WWII, to serve in the French Division of The Special Operations Executive, the book is filled with historic facts about their training, innocence and bravery in the face of enormous danger. The SOE trained these women for espionage and all types of weapon use. Dropped into France, in secret, they became different people, and they performed whatever assignments they were given, often completely on their own, facing untold danger. Many did not survive the effort.
The author, Simon Mawer, introduces us to Marian Sutro when she is a young girl of 19. A member of the WAF, she is recruited into this spy machine and parachuted into France with several new identities. She enters the maelstrom of war, young and a bit naïve, however, she is forced to mature quickly. She and other recruits become romantically involved with each other, although it is against regulations, so in addition to this exciting tale of espionage, there are forbidden romantic liaisons and love stories taking place. Romance can fog the mind and compromise their ability to think clearly, but the constant danger makes them behave carelessly and foolishly sometimes. There is always so much at stake; this behavior becomes a release for tension. Marian’s mission is of the highest priority and her life is always in danger. There is no shortage of mystery or intrigue. We witness murder and betrayal, fear and courage, in the face of monumental danger. If caught, awful consequences await them.
This historic piece of fiction, about a group of people engaged in the effort to end World War II that I had never heard about before, is really engaging and eye opening. Working alongside freedom fighters who often believed that the women were unworthy of the task, whose beauty was distracting, they must nevertheless prove themselves and do their job in the face of the resistance, rudeness, and mistrust.
I particularly liked the descriptive use of language. It made what might have been a mundane spy story, leap off the page. There was little use of crude language, inappropriate sex and whatever other contrivance other writers of late seem to be wont to do; instead, Mawer uses the language effectively to tell the story by creating images that are revealing. For instance, body odor is the scent from an armpit, an image the reader can appreciate.
I found the reader of this audio to be excellent. Her vocal expression made the content clear. Her use of voices brought the characters to life and her tone seemed pitch perfect to me. ( )

I enjoyed this book with its focus on the daily risks and fears confronted by the Resistance in France during WWI as well as the "ordinary" people who assisted them. While Marian was naive, she was also very courageous, and her character was an emotionally confused young woman. While I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending it left me with so many questions. Can't say more than that without giving it away.After reading other reviews I'm also going to find Charlotte Grey. ( )