Resistance

Ready for another World War II era book? I wasn't kidding when I said that I had a small handful of them backlogged that I need to blog on, so here's the next one. Similar to The Book Thief, it discusses the war from a unique perspective. There's no blood and guts and brutal front-line action to be found here; instead, it follows the lives of some resistance (anti-Nazi) workers--the stress, the deception, the surreptitious plans, the consequences. And, as is par for the course in Anita Shreve books, it encompasses a love story--an unlikely one at that. 


Of course, that's all information you could get off the back jacket of the book. What the back of the book doesn't say is just how well Anita Shreve portrays the lives of the resistance workers. No detail was overlooked, and at many times I felt like I had become a part of the story, like I were walking through the woods with them, like I knew the characters in real life. And while this captivated me and made it hard for me to put the book down, it also made it hard for me to get through the ending. Because Anita Shreve has a knack for telling things like they are--no unrealistic "happily ever after" endings to be found here. To be fair, the ending isn't bad or anything (it's definitely got some surprise twists!), but don't expect to find a Hollywood-esque fairy tale ending here. Fairy tale endings aren't exactly "real-life", and they are even further from real life during World War II (or really, any war). But, I know some people aren't a fan of books/movies that end that way (as I had a friend once say "If I wanted to watch a movie that doesn't end with a happily ever after then I'll just make a movie of my own life. But when I go to a movie, I want to get away from the crap that is real life and get lost in a world where happily ever after does exist"), so I figured I'd give a little disclaimer. 


This is definitely a book I'm hanging on to (yay for $1 finds at used book stores!), and one I look forward to reading again, although I think I'll time it better next time. Three World War II era books in a row can really get one down and out, especially when crappy weather is doing that already. I definitely went through a somber two-week period as I was reading through these books--but I suppose some of that is my own fault for getting so involved in the books!