A readable and moving, but otherwise not so memorable, novel about Ted, an American pilot forced to crash land his plane in occupied Belgium during WWII, and the resistance fighters who shelter him.

It did make me feel more for people not unlike me, and sometimes much younger, who were forced to make choices during wartime with consequences that many of us probably can’t really even imagine today.

An interesting story, made more interesting, perhaps, by the fact that I was reading this while travelling in Europe, but one which did nothing to recommend itself to me as anything more than average. ( )

Resistance takes place in Belgium in 1943 and focuses on Claire, who belongs to the underground resistance movement with her husband, and Ted, the American pilot who is hidden in her attic after his plane is shot down.

Ted is only with Claire for a couple of weeks, yet they form such a close bond. Shreve does a great job developing these characters and painting the scenes so you feel like you were there in the village, experiencing the tension, the fear of discovery. She's also a master of the tragic love story, and this one is no exception. ( )

It wasn’t until I was about 50 pages into Resistance that I realized I had read it before. That’s not a good sign, not remembering that I previously read the novel … it must not have made a deep impression, positive or negative. I feel the same way after reading it for a second time.

My own fault, really, for not paying attention to the book blurb - this isn’t so much a novel about the Resistance movement during WWII as it is a love story. It’s set in German-occupied Belgium, and the premise is that an American bomber crashes. Pilot Ted Brice is taken to the home of Henri and Claire Daussois, where Claire slowly nurses him back to health while Henri goes off to seek additional intelligence about what the Germans know of the situation. It’s the perfect set-up for two lonely people who are shocked by what they’ve witnessed, and seek comfort in each other’s arms.

I felt most drawn to the passages that considered the characters’ feelings about the war, rather than the personal love story. For example, Henri contemplates how he got involved in the Resistance movement, out of a sense of obligation, rather than a true desire to aid.

Later, Ted, the American soldier, wonders how he can live the rest of his life with what he has witnessed.

Ultimately, though, Resistance is a love story, a nice predictable love story which will perhaps make the reader sigh. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood; there was little too much mention of Ted Brice’s eyes, which were “startling, a remarkable sea green with flecks of gold.”

I did find discussion questions for Resistance online. Reading these after finishing the novel reminded me that, even though it was perhaps lighter than I preferred, Shreve’s novel is a good way to introduce the concept of resistance fighters to those who are unfamiliar with the movement, and to open up discussion around the fictional incident. This may make a difficult period in our history easier to discuss than a personal connection to actual events. ( )

Claire is a Belgian member of the Resistance who shelters an American airman, Ted, who falls in love with her. They have a brief affair, but their love is overtaken by the processes of war.

The one thing that bothered me about this novel is that, towards the end especially, I was very aware of having my emotions manipulated, and resented it. [Jan 2005]

Not my favorite by Shreve, although it's not a bad book. Set in WW2 Belgium, members of a resistance movement shelter a British survivor of a plane crash. ( )