Shining Through
by Susan Isaacs
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 179)
Read in February, 2008
The story is narrated by Linda Voss, a sassy and smart secretary from Queens who works for a top Wall Street law firm. She falls madly in love with her boss, John Berringer, and after his divorce, becomes his next conquest. Through John, she meets Ed Leland, a lawyer who also works in counterintelligence. When the U.S. becomes involved in the war, Linda is compelled to do everything she can to help, partly due to the fact that she is half Jewish, so she takes a job as Ed's secretarial translator...more
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Read in January, 1985
Susan Isaacs is a good writer, and I should sample her other work. This story appealed to me, both from a tension-wartime espionage vantage point and for the love story. The fact that it was made into a horrible movie because of the inexplicable choice of Melanie Griffith as the heroine doesn't detract from the value of the novel. (Choosing Melanie for this character was almost as bad as choosing Julia Roberts as a savvy lawyer in Grisham's "The Pelican Brief.")
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
historical fiction, spy fiction lovers
This is a lovely and affecting book. Susan Isaacs creates memorable characters and does fantastic dialogue. This is about Linda Voss, a secretary of German ancestry during WWII who, through various circumstances, goes undercover as a spy in Germany. It was made into a movie with Melanie Griffth, which I always enjoyed, but the book is almost completely different and has so much more to it. I highly recommend it.
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I kept trying to recommend this book to people, and I was like, "It's about this secretary who gets knocked up by her boss, has to marry him, and then becomes a spy in Germany during World War II...and it's funny." But it is. The spy part is really suspenseful and interesting, and it's balanced nicely by the romance-related drama. I like a good, clever, relatable protagonist.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone
I first read this book way back in the 80s and loved it. Reread it again for bookclub and still love it. I have a longtime crush on Ed Leland. Forget the fact that it was ever a movie (if you want to call it that!) Linda Voss is a great heroine and I wish the BBC would make it into a miniseries -- they're the only channel I'd trust to get it right.
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I've read this twice. It's actually quite a good book that at a point I was nearly driven to frustration trying to find a way to watch the movie based on this book. Well, I think there wasn't much to lose anyway because the movie itself was badly reviewed.
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Read in June, 2002
"Edward came to visit me, and he brought me American presents: a Hershey bar, a Coke and, on the third day, an Eveready flaslight. ... I asked him out much it had cost to get me out of Germany. About twenty thousand dollars--in Swiss francs."
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I read it a long time ago, and I thought it was a pretty good read. They made a movie of it with Melanie Griffith and ?? that was very loosely based on the book. Compromising Positions was a better movie treatment of a Susan Isaacs novel.
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Read in July, 2008
This book was a great summer read: interesting plot, fun heroine, action and romance. Set at the beginning of WWII, the main character is an appealing working class girl who does things no one ever thought she could. Loved it.
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Read in January, 1994
Okay, it's silly. It's improbable. And it's a lot of good juicy fun. This is mind candy, fun reading at its best. If historical fiction appeals to you, if you have a sense of romance, this is a great light summer or holiday read.
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Read in November, 2007
I found this also in my workplace shared kitchen. It is about world war two america. I really liked it and want to send it to my grandmother who was a young woman working on radios during the war.
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Read in July, 2004
recommends it for:
all of my friends
I love Susan Isaacs book but this one is the best of the best as it has everything. I need to catch up on her books and I love her writing style.
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Great characters and adult romance; fast pact, escapist plot, cinematic descriptions, reads like one of thoese great war movies of the '40s.
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This is one of those rare moments where I love the book and the movie equally. I read the book a lot during high school.
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Read in January, 1994
Its been a while since I read this, but I remember it being a good read!
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Read in January, 1988
My favorite of Isaacs' books - like Helen MacInnes with humor.
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Read in January, 2006
I loved the story be beware of some harsh language and sex.
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