The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes

An excellent story of historical significance from World War I, the Great War, which began in July 1914 and ended in November 1918. Sophie is a Frenchwoman from a small village, where her family owned an inn. An impetuous free spirit, she headed to Paris and fell in love with Edouard, an artist. The story is centered back in her village where she returned when both her husband and brother-in-law were called into the service, to fight the invading enemy. The town is soon occupied by the Germans, and the Commandant demands use of the inn that Sophie and her sister are managing. The story is full of twists and tangles and hard choices, which Sophie makes based on her love of Edouard and his painting of her, hung in the common area of the inn. Liv picks up the storyline in 2006, because of her ownership of the painting--and her research to determine how it came into her hands. So many themes - of what war does to people, of judgmentalism in their town, of barters and deals made that would not have happened in peace time, and of course --some of the same themes recur in the modern day portion with Liz. With romance as the underlying base, the author takes us back to a time and place that is hard to comprehend. Definitely a page turner. Interestingly enough, I had just finished 2 other books written about the same time period--the Great War. Awake by Anna Hope tells the tale of 3 soldiers caught in the awfulness of war, and the interaction and decisions made; which then cause a ripple effect in the lives of family and friends who are faced with how to deal with their lives when the war ends. A more light-hearted story, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows, is based loosely on what happened during the Great War on a small island off the coast of England when the Germans occupy and oversee their community. All of the books refer to how the lands/foods/homes/businesses are taken over and the anger and resourcefulness of the people who must determine how to respond in the face of change. All three books gave me a different picture of the war, and of the various personalities that endured and inspired others to "keep on keeping on". A true visual of God's talented and gifted children.