Beautiful novel about a brave woman in Occupied Paris and a recently widowed 1990s researcher of her secret story. I usually avoid books with dual timelines because they make me confused, but the transition between the story's present and past was so seamless that I felt perfectly at ease following the events as the author laid them out, with wonderful cliffhangers between chapters creating anticipation and moving the story forward. This story's world-building is fantastic!
The incredible detail on how operations were carried out, how radios and transmitors worked, aircraft
parts and functions, even Gestapo tortures, and so much more demonstrate how thoroughly researched the book is, and one can only applaud the author for that! Wonderful language, substantial dialogue that is beautifully blended with narrative sections, and emotional human parallel storylines (Jews, homosexuals, a protective sister and wife who wants to find meaning in her life outside the family, a woman battling grief) all contribute to a memorable reading experience. I just wish there was an actual recording of the Song of Paris, at least in the audiobook. Not that the story suffers without it, but as a lover of Paris and its music, I'd like to know how the author imagined this song, which meant so much to the protagonist and was featured in one of the book's most dramatic scenes.
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