The Girl You Left Behind

One of the more fascinating aspects of the Jojo Moyes’ The Girl You Left Behind is the World War I setting of Sophie’s story. Not much has been written about this first German occupation, although it is every bit as compelling – if not more so – than the second German occupation of France thirty years later. Ms. Moyes does an excellent job portraying the perilous line between resistance and survival that clouded townspeople’s perceptions and instilled suspicion towards any action that could be construed as helping the German invaders. With her position as a town leader and pub owner, Sophie treads that line more closely than most of her neighbors and friends, and the way in which she is enmeshed into the dangers and politics show more is heartbreaking indeed. Where Sophie’s story really shines is in the aftermath. Her willingness to risk literally everything to see her husband again is compelling drama at its finest. Not only that but the agonizingly slow way in which Ms. Moyes presents Sophie’s fate will keep readers on the edge of their seats, breathless with anticipation.

In addition to being a story about love and loss, The Girl You Left Behind is also about those gray areas of right versus wrong. Sophie’s choices are bleak and limited, damning her as a German sympathizer no matter what she does or does not do. Liv’s choices are not as dire, but in her battle for the painting, her options are just as limited. In both instances, the women are in no-win situations, labeled as money-hungry whores or worse by their supposed friends and neighbors. Liv in particular bears the brunt of the negative publicity and appears as the villain in the battle for the painting’s ownership. Yet, in both instances, and as so often happens in real life, the truth is never as clear-cut as these friends and neighbors believe, something Ms. Moyes drills into her narrative while reminding readers that nothing is black-and-white. It is not only an excellent reminder for empathy but also a fascinating study on the mob mentality and how easy it is to get lost in the hype.

Usually an effective narrative device, The Girl You Left Behind does suffer from the juxtaposition in characters and time. The present simply does not compare to the past. Everything about the story that occurs in 1916 is carefully crafted and remarkably poignant. The backdrop of World War I is refreshing, while the occupation by the Germans of a small French village is definitely unique. Sophie is strong, determined, and resilient, and the gray areas between resistance and survival that occur in an occupied town only add to the drama. Next to such a vibrant personality and vivid landscape, Liv and her personal drama are too trivial.

This is not to say that Liv’s story is not interesting. Her refusal to back down from the fight for ownership reveals a strong woman, one much stronger than she appears to be upon the first introduction, while her battle to move on from the tragedy in her life is touching. Yet, in light of the pain of separation, suspicion, betrayal, and eventual fate that beset Sophie, Liv’s story does not have the same gravitas. It is tragic, but not nearly as tragic or powerful as Sophie’s narrative.

In spite of the superficial weaknesses of the entire story, The Girl You Left Behind is a compelling exploration of love and the depths to which people will descend to protect that love. Sophie puts herself through hell on the mere chance of seeing her husband again, while Liv fights an impossible fight to protect the memory of her husband and their marriage. The refusal by both women to bow under pressure is completely inspiring. More importantly, while Liv’s story is the weaker of the two, it still makes for an amazing story of resilience and the most profound elements of love. show less

I listened to this while packing for a cross-country move. It was mostly absorbing and interesting, but not so complex I couldn't listen to it while individually wrapping full china and crystal service for 12 (that is a lot of very complicated packing, trust me.) I think this is more of a 3.5, which I would have rounded up to 4 until the very end. One thing I loved about Me Before You was that it went for the hard ending, the painful ending, the authentic ending. This book was the opposite. Moyes twisted herself into pretzels trying to give everyone a happy ending (or at least an ending with a silver lining), and it just made all the big questions and hard stories explored before it seem pretty meaningless.

ETA: I just looked at some show more reviews, and the majority of readers note that they loved the French story but not Liv's story. I felt the opposite. The French story was so cliche! Liv, while seemingly unable to behave like a grown up, seemed more real; I did not love Liv's story, but did find the questions raised interesting. Also, I liked Paul so solid romantic interest! show less

This is my hundredth book read in 2012, so I'm glad, in an obsessive compulsive round-number way, that such a wonderful book should move me into treble figures. Found via a review in a glossy magazine, the blurb tempted me into downloading the ebook there and then. And I wasn't disappointed. History, romance, humour and a satisfying - if unbelievable - ending, all in one story. I haven't put my Kindle down all weekend.

In 1917, Sophie LeFevre is living with her sister and family in northern France, helping to run the hotel where she was born. Sophie's husband Edouard, a talented artist, is away at war, along with her sister's husband. The part of France where they live is under German occupation, and when a new enemy officer requisitions show more the hotel for his troops, Sophie has no choice but to comply. Her neighbours grumble and start rumours about the special preferences shown to Bessette family at Le Coq Rouge, but Sophie knows where she stands - until the officer starts to show more than a passing interest in a portrait of Sophie painted by her husband, and then in Sophie herself. Labelled as a collaborator, Sophie turns to the German officer with a dangerous plea for help. But what became of Sophie, 'the girl you left behind'? Nearly one hundred years later, a young widow holds the answer to half of the puzzle - a portrait of a vibrant young woman, bought by her late husband as a wedding present - and an unlikely twist of fate leads her to seek out the truth about Sophie LeFevre.

I love how the two halves of this story, past and present, are mirrored so perfectly, yet the individual narratives of Sophie and Liv also stand alone and apart. Sophie's account is haunting, describing the deprivation and despair experienced in occupied France and filling the reader with admiration and sympathy for Sophie. Some novels written in the first person sound like exercises in creative writing, but Jojo Moyes uses the personal perspective to really bring Sophie to life, with all of her faults and fears. She is brave, but also foolhardy, and I wanted to shake her sometimes, for never backing down. Liv's story is more of a traditional chick lit romance, with the hard-won hero, eccentric friends and comfortable lifestyle, but no less enjoyable for that. I thought the contrast of sadness and silliness would be jarring, but the two women complement each other. Liv's grief, living alone in the glass house designed by her unforgettable late husband, is somehow no less real than the high drama of Sophie's day to day existence, and I grew attached to both of them.

I was a bit disappointed by the barrage of unlikely coincidences towards the end - hidden journals, surprise appearances - but realise that ultimately, this is chick lit, where every unlucky in love heroine deserves a happy ever after, so decided to go with the flow. Sophie and Liv would probably face far darker fates in real life, but I don't mind having all the loose ends tie up into a big pink bow when reading such a well-written and emotional fairytale like this. show less

This is a beautifully crafted, unforgettable story by an author who has become one of my favorites.

This book switches back and forth in time between a small town in northern France during World War I, and London in the present day. Unlike many other books using that narrative device, the stories not only are totally relevant to one another but both time periods are of equal interest.

The part from the past takes place in the town of St. Peronne during the occupation of the Germans from 1914-1918. It is interesting that this occupation has received very little attention even in histories of World War I. As one researcher notes:

"In many ways the first occupation was harsher and more destructive than that of 1940 to 1944, as the French show more were largely unprepared for the suffering brought on by occupation and the Germans occupied a smaller area of French territory, allowing them extra resources to control daily life. [Moreover,] [t]he civilian experience, including the personal hardships suffered by the occupied French and collaboration (both forced and voluntary) between German occupier and French occupée, influenced the French culture and identity, as well as Franco-German relations into the 20th century."

The author does an excellent job in chronicling what happened in northern France without giving the reader the least sensation of getting a history lesson. She simply integrates it into the story which is at turns, heartbreaking, heartwarming, inspiring, tragic, and lovely.

In the present, we meet 32-year-old Liv Halston, who after four years is still mourning the untimely death of her husband from heart failure. She draws comfort from the painting he bought for her on their honeymoon. It is a portrait of Sophie Lefevre, who is the woman we learn to know in the part of the book from 1916. Unfortunately, Sophie’s descendants have decided to try to reclaim the now-valuable painting under the rules of the Hague Convention for the recovery of art stolen during wartime.

And there is a further complication: the man in charge of trying to recover her beloved picture is one that Sophie not only knows, but a man she thought just might be the one to help her finally move on from her husband’s death.

Evaluation: This author is such a good writer. She makes you feel all the feelings. Whatever she is writing about, she adds so much passion and imbues it with so many interesting aspects that you feel like your heart has been wrapped in a blanket, your mind has been lit up by a spotlight, and you feel darn happy to be a reader! show less

Reminiscent of books like The Nightingale, but a lot lighter and fluffier. I find the historical piece of this to be pretty unlikely (particularly the conclusion), but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the fun of the story. It definitely kept me reading and I tore through it in basically one sitting. The conclusion was satisfying, and the court case was thought provoking (though it would have been more so if the opposing side had been given a little more of a compelling motivation). All in all, a nice escape from everyday life with an overall uplifting conclusion.

Only on rare occasions, am I left reflecting at the end of a novel, feeling so gratified that I can hardly wait to give it five stars. Jojo Moyes’ book, the Girl You Left Behind, is just such a novel. It is a magnificent, turbulent story about a young woman, Sophie LeFevre, who awaits the return of her beloved husband, who has gone off to fight in World War I. When the Germans occupy her town, and Sophie catches the eye of Kommandant Freiderich Hencken (the enemy), Sophie risks everything to reunite with her missing husband, Edouard, a former artist from the Matisse Academy in Paris. Sophie, being the subject of a provocative painting created by Edouard, transcends time to the present day through this incredible work of art. Nearly a show more hundred years later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston from her architect husband, shortly before his untimely death. The portrait then becomes the center of controversy in an embroiled court battle to see who will possess the illustrious painting. I loved the parallels between Sophie and Liv, as both women encountered embittered hardships and obstacles in their lives, to which they met with incredible courage. I also loved the unpredictability of the story, which seemed to take various twists and turns along the way. Even at the conclusion, one wonders about the final resolution, as the author suggests that a more pleasing outcome might just be possible. show less

(Excerpt)
And as his hands reached the innermost part of my thighs, some treacherous part of me sparked into life, a warmth that was nothing to do with the fire. Some part of me divorced itself from my heart, and let slip its hunger for touch, for the weight of a body against my own. As his lips traced my skin, I shifted slightly, and out of nowhere a moan escaped my mouth. But the urgency of his response, the quickening of his breath on my face, quelled it as fast as it was born. My skirts were pushed up, my blouse pulled from my chest, and as I felt his mouth on my breast, I found myself turning, like some mythical figure, to stone.

Jojo Moyes The Girl You Left Behind, tells the dual struggles of Sophie, wife of French painter Edouard show more Lefevre, during the First World War; and Liv, a widow who lives like an impoverished princess in the glass house her late husband designed and built high atop a warehouse in modern-day London.

Sophie is courageous in the face of the German army that occupies her tiny French town, where she runs a restaurant with her timid sister and their starving children. Every day some new horror is visited upon them by the occupying army, but the greatest, the most immediate, is the never-ending hunger, which Moyes portrays with the vividness of an actual character.

In the present day story line Liv mourns her late husband, and battles the wealthy Lefevre family descendents, who want the painting of Sophie, known as The Girl You Left Behind, restored to them.

Sophie’s story is told in first person, past tense, and Liv’s in third person, present: a good call which works perfectly, lending Liv’s voice in the present an immediacy, and Sophie’s an historical feel. An avoidance of contractions makes the prose mildly stilted, at times, but despite that, the writing and word choices are very lively and entertaining. I like Moyes’ style: talented and crafty, she knows just how to manipulate the readers perceptions and feelings to best effect, and the writing is often surprising and fun. The characters have believable internal struggles; I especially liked this passage of Liv’s, for its subtle humor:

(excerpt)

Paul does not attempt to push things further. She wonders briefly of she talks too much about David; whether somehow she has made herself off-limits. But then she thinks, almost indignantly, that David is part of who she is, and if Paul wants to be with her, well, he’ll have to accept that. She has several imaginary conversations with him and two imaginary arguments.

I’d had Moyes’ other novel, Me Before You, which I won on Goodreads, on my TBR pile for months, figuring I’d read it when I got to it. But I enjoyed this month’s She Reads selection so much that I read it right after finishing The Girl You Left Behind, and found I liked it just as much. show less