There is a lot of historical fiction that feels it treads that same historical facts and storylines that have been tread many times before. If I am honest, I get impatient with some historical fiction for exactly that reason. It does not feel like it is bringing anything new to the table. Like Quinn's predecessor text to this one, The Alice Network, I feel like I am learning history that has not been explored before. Unlike The Alice Network, this one does not get as much hype and I definitely feel like it should. In fact, I would say I learned more about history in this text than in the previous. Not only that, the storyline is enjoyable as all good fiction is.
Do not sleep on this one. It is worth picking up and you may find this one sticks with you as it has me. I have included my original review below and here if curious. It was written well over a year ago. If a story sticks with you for longer than I year, I think that means it is something special.
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This is my second read by Kate Quinn and I loved it just like I loved The Alice Network. I love the characters Quinn creates and I love the fascinating and important history she brings back from obscurity.
This is a multi-narrative and multi-timeline read just like her previous work was. This means you, as a reader, will be moving from perspective to perspective. I think Quinn writes these well and don’t find them particularly jarring like I have in other reads. You can also see early on how these threads are connected to each other so it does not feel like you are reading three different books.
This book shares the perspective of three main characters: Jordan, a young American girl who is coming of age post WWII; Ian, a former war journalist and now a Nazi hunter; and Nina, a WWII night bomber who was part of the Soviet’s Night Witches regiment. I was most invested in Nina’s story. I loved her as a character and her story is central to the others.
I knocked one star off of the review simply because, especially towards the end, I found the pacing slowed with what felt like “fluff”. I would say this book it about 100 pages too long. If it had been edited just a little more it would have been perfect for me.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend! The forgotten history of women on the war front alone is worth it.
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