Okay. Let me preface this review by saying I am not usually an historical fiction fan. “The Alice Network” ended up in my possession because my friend brought it to me with another book. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for months. But O. M. G. Like, seriously. OMG! Why did I wait so long?!
Kate Quinn does a masterful job weaving through time periods, creating a seamless narrative. The stories of Evelyn Gardiner and Charlotte “Charlie” St. Clair simultaneously run parallel to each other and collide head on!
The book starts with Charlie St. Clair in May 1947 in Southampton England. But through the pages the reader weaves from 1915 London, France, and Germany then all the way back to 1949 Grasse, France. I was worried I’d get lost in the pages. The geographical territory and some of the language references are foreign to me, but the stories of Charlie, Eve, and those who love (and hate) them are captivating! I don’t usually like listening to audiobooks, but this book was a perfect candidate for an Audible download. Between Scottish lilting accents and French towns and phrases, the audiobook, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld only enhanced the immersion into “The Alice Network.”
Charlie:
From the first chapter you realize that there’s more to Charlie than meets the eye. She is nineteen, pregnant, unwed, and on a journey with her mother from New York for a “certain discreet appointment.” Charlie’s head is full of self loathing, brought on by the disapproving gaze and words of her parents. But, from the first page, you quickly realize that Charlie is smart as all get out and that there’s an independent young woman in there trying to escape the societal expectations and waist cinchers of her time period. Which is how she finds herself on the doorstep of Evelyn Gardiner.
Eve:
Evelyn Gardiner is a straight up beast! She’s the kind of woman you do NOT want to piss off. When we first meet her she is half drunk, swinging a Luger, and swearing at Charlie. Her mutilated hands hold a cigarette and Charlie’s stubbornness forces her to confront her past. It’s a lot to take in in nine pages! Through alternating chapters you are given a sideline seat into Eve’s memories while also running through Charlie’s firsthand account. You learn that Evelyn Gardiner is a woman who will stop at nothing to help her country. She is loyal to her friends, her country, and, eventually, Charlie. Her hardened exterior somehow makes her endearing and likeable rather than the opposite.
“The Alice Network” delves deep into wartime atrocities. You are given an up close and personal account of espionage during WW1 and the role that women played. And you are forced to digest survivors guilt and PTSD and suicide after WW2. You have fictional characters traversing real life brutalities. The scene in Oradour-sur-Glane left me hollow, mortified, and in tears. It also sent me researching. I learned about a WWII massacre I had never heard about before. And I learned that the woman Charlie encountered, Madame Rouffanche, was, in fact, a real person. She was one of few survivors from the attack on June 10, 1944. This is what Kate Quinn does impeccably. She interlaces fact with fictional characters. I couldn’t get enough of either.
But beautifully woven into the atrocities and rebellion is also hope. And friendship. And even love.
Usually at the end of a book, I am left wanting more; more of the characters, more of the storyline, more information. But at the end of “The Alice Network” I was left feeling satisfied and at peace. Even if historical fiction is not usually your jam, I invite you to give this book a try! It far exceeded my expectations!
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