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French Trilogy #1
The Girl at the Lion d'Or
From the author of the international bestseller Birdsong, comes a haunting historical novel of passion, loss, and courage set in France between the two world wars. This Vintage Original edition marks its first appearance in the United States.
On a rainy night in the 1930s, Anne Louvet appears at the run-down Hotel du Lion d'Or in the village of Janvilliers. She is seeking a job and a new life, one far removed from the awful injustices of her past. As Anne embarks on a torrential love affair with a married veteran of the Great War, The Girl at the Lion d'Or fashions an unbreakable spell of narrative and atmosphere that evokes French masters from Flaubert to Renoir.
On a rainy night in the 1930s, Anne Louvet appears at the run-down Hotel du Lion d'Or in the village of Janvilliers. She is seeking a job and a new life, one far removed from the awful injustices of her past. As Anne embarks on a torrential love affair with a married veteran of the Great War, The Girl at the Lion d'Or fashions an unbreakable spell of narrative and atmosphere that evokes French masters from Flaubert to Renoir.
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
334 people are currently reading
5949 people want to read
About the author
Sebastian Faulks
63 books2,577 followersSebastian Faulks is a British novelist, journalist, and broadcaster best known for his acclaimed historical novels set in France, including The Girl at the Lion d'Or, Birdsong, and Charlotte Gray. Alongside these, he has written contemporary fiction, a James Bond continuation novel (Devil May Care), and a Jeeves homage (Jeeves and the Wedding Bells). A former literary editor and journalist, Faulks gained widespread recognition with Birdsong, which solidified his literary reputation. He has also appeared regularly on British media, notably as a team captain on BBC Radio 4's The Write Stuff, and authored the TV tie-in Faulks on Fiction. Honored as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and appointed CBE for his services to literature, Faulks continues to publish widely, with The Seventh Son released in 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 507 reviews
June 23, 2025
With the Great War still swimming around in collective memory, and the threat of another war looming on the dark horizon, the inhabitants of the small French village of Janvilliers are shaped by the political landscape of the day. Our heroine, Anne Louvert, has just arrived from Paris to take a job in an Inn, and is forced to piece together a new life for herself after being affected by war, and the suicide of her mother. It's not long before she works her magic with the locals, and finds a lover, the older and better off Charles Hartmann. The problem?, he is married (haven't we been here about a million times before), and also served in action. Torn between his wife and lover, Anne fears that her life will keep repeating the cycle of abandonment begun in her childhood. She is leading a hand to mouth existence, friendless, and crying out for pity. Make no mistake, Anne is written in a way that covers the reader head to foot in melodrama. The set-up sounds good, but things started to slowly go down hill. (Actually, that's not true, there are hills and there are hills, this was more like a Japanese bullet train skiing down a mountain).
Now for the bad news.
This was the second attempt at reading this, and I only just scraped through (although I did skim the last 50 pages to an underwhelming finale that is stuck in limbo), and still needed a triple espresso and the sugar content of three donuts to get that far!. To say I was bored is an understatement, by the mid-way point the novel was in dire need of a defibrillator to jolt it back to life. Dull. Dull. Dull. None of the characters did anything for me, the narrative was clunky, and even the semi-interesting sub-plots couldn't cover the cracks. They weren't cracks, more like craters.
The love triangle/plot has been tried and tested, and done in better ways by so many better writers.
I don't want to upset fans of Mr. Faulks so they start throwing eggs at my window, but I just don't think he is as good as he thinks he is. This leads to another problem. I really wanted to read 'Birdsong', however, not so sure now. Surely it can't be as bad as this?. So a little optimism still remains to try it one day.
The Girl at the Lion D'Or is both an account of a pitiful young woman's descent from problems of her own making, and a pretty good alternative to Temazepam. I loved it's setting, both in place and time, and the first third was good/mediocre at best. But on the whole was not impressed at all.
Handing out a sad looking two star rating is the best I can offer.
February 16, 2017
I have heard of Sebastian Faulks, many times. This is the first of his works that I have read.
I am in love *sigh*.
The Girl at the Lion D'Or is a love story; but it is also so much more. I am enchanted by Anne; she is resilient, yet also naïve. I feel for Charles, caught in a marriage he did not desire, but as a gentleman was obliged to commit to. There is also a little history of WW1 concerning Anne's father and perhaps Charles or his father, of which we are not yet fully cognisant; and WWII is looming.
I am glad this is a series, because there are unanswered questions.
This is a beautiful, gentle and evocative read. One I recommend.
I am in love *sigh*.
The Girl at the Lion D'Or is a love story; but it is also so much more. I am enchanted by Anne; she is resilient, yet also naïve. I feel for Charles, caught in a marriage he did not desire, but as a gentleman was obliged to commit to. There is also a little history of WW1 concerning Anne's father and perhaps Charles or his father, of which we are not yet fully cognisant; and WWII is looming.
I am glad this is a series, because there are unanswered questions.
This is a beautiful, gentle and evocative read. One I recommend.
March 27, 2018
A beautiful young woman, Anne Louvert, comes to the small town of Janvilliers to take a job working in the hotel "The Lion d'Or". She has had a childhood of hardship and tragedy precipitated by a mutinous event in World War I involving her father. The married Charles Hartmann, an older, wealthy lawyer, becomes involved with Anne. Will this affair lead to Anne being abandoned again by someone she deeply loves?
The historical novel is set against the backdrop of interwar France in the 1930s. Many of the characters are still trying to recover from the horror and loss of World War I, and the threat of another war looms. France's government is shaky and plagued by a number of scandals. As the book closes in Paris, we wonder how both Anne and the country of France will survive the storm. 3.5 stars.
The historical novel is set against the backdrop of interwar France in the 1930s. Many of the characters are still trying to recover from the horror and loss of World War I, and the threat of another war looms. France's government is shaky and plagued by a number of scandals. As the book closes in Paris, we wonder how both Anne and the country of France will survive the storm. 3.5 stars.
December 2, 2009
This is a historical romance novel, the first of Sebastian Faulks’ ‘French Trilogy’, the other two being ‘Birdsong’ and ‘Charlotte Grey’, and all three are set in France, during the Great War, the Inter-War period and the Second World War. This novel, being the first he wrote in this trilogy, is set during the Inter-War period, the year being 1936 and the time of the Popular Front Govt. of Leon Blum. It is basically about a young Woman called Anne, her life and illicit affair with a rich married Lawyer called Hartmann. Its quite a short novel, but its main themes are those of love & despair, set within an historical wrapper which gives a small insight into French Society during the 1930s, detailing through the lives of the various characters in the book the conflict with Germany, French internal social divisions, life under the Popular Front Govt. (mentioning the paid holidays they introduced etc), and, for a book if its size (~250 pages), gives a strong historical feel of the time.
Anne is basically a young Woman who travels from Paris to a small coastal village to work in a hotel, The Lion d’Or, as a waitress and general worker. It is clear near the beginning of the book that she has some underlying issues, which are well suppressed in her life, but the dreams she suffers from are disturbing to her. Whilst working at The Lion d’Or she meets Hartmann, a wealthy Jewish Lawyer who lives in a manor house near the village. She immediately falls for him and tries her hardest to seduce and eventually succeeds in getting a part time job working as a maid for his house. Slowly their relationship develops, Hartmann finding Anne alternative accommodation, having a weekend away together without his wife finding out and eventually, during this weekend, making love together, thus cementing their relationship.
Both Anne and Hartmann have issues – this is made very clear early on. Anne, trusting her new lover, slowly explains her past and it is not a pretty one. The effect the Great War had on France controls this book and its characters, made all too clear with Annes problems and to a lesser extent, but no more profound, Hartmann too. Anne lost both her parents during the conflict, her Father because he shot an Officer during the time of the mutiny of the French Army in 1917 (and was subsequently himself shot), her Mother as a direct consequence of being victimised by the village they lived in after the war because he was turned into a public scapegoat by the press. How nasty they can become towards victims. She committed suicide as a result of both the loss of her husband and the subsequent abuse in her village. Anne was brought up in Paris by a foster father, but her memories of seeing her Mother dead, and the loss of her Father and the resulting abuse the family received is only opened up with Hartmann. I think he becomes more paternal towards her from her opening up about her past, this is clear, and I suppose the reasons Anne falls totally in love with him is in part due to the fact he is the only person she has ever opened up to, as she had always been evasive about her past.
I found Hartmann to be a confusing character; it’s clear, compared to his friends in the novel, that he is no womaniser, and his relationship with Anne comes as something natural for him – he has fallen in love. His wife, Christine, probably is the only real victim, but she is so upper class that my sympathies lied with Anne (well, she is the focus of the book), but we do understand Hartmann’s problems with his marriage – Christine having miscarried and can no longer bear children seems to be the main underlying factor in their distance as a couple, or at least I got that impression. Towards the end of the book, Christine hears rumours about her husband’s relationship with Anne, and this seems to be the main reason why Hartmann finishes the affair. Selfish of him certainly, and he is the only one as well who knows the effect this will have on Anne, who has being rejected almost a third time; the loss of her parents, her foster father and now the only person she has probably only really fallen in love with all her life. He is as much disturbed by the end of the affair as Anne is I think, because he knows deep down what damage this will cause her and the life she had made in that coastal village. And it does cause her damage, quite severely. She ends up leaving the coastal town, her job and apartment, and travel back to Paris. Walking the streets in a distressed state, she ends up in a garden in a rich area of the Capital, finds a knife in a garden, and almost tries to commit suicide. But she survives and lives another day. She would probably grow up to be a strong Woman.
I liked this book. In some ways, it has more depth to it than Charlotte Grey, but not quite the same as Birdsong (which, in its own rights, is a classic novel). I liked the way it was wrapped up in the fortunes of the Popular Front of 1936/37 (with Hartmann trying to save a minister of that Govt. in the book who later also commits suicide over wrongful allegations), the way also how the Great War of 1914-1918 shaped all the characters in this novel (and probably the whole of French Society of this period), really coming into its own with the relationship of the protagonists. I recommend.
Anne is basically a young Woman who travels from Paris to a small coastal village to work in a hotel, The Lion d’Or, as a waitress and general worker. It is clear near the beginning of the book that she has some underlying issues, which are well suppressed in her life, but the dreams she suffers from are disturbing to her. Whilst working at The Lion d’Or she meets Hartmann, a wealthy Jewish Lawyer who lives in a manor house near the village. She immediately falls for him and tries her hardest to seduce and eventually succeeds in getting a part time job working as a maid for his house. Slowly their relationship develops, Hartmann finding Anne alternative accommodation, having a weekend away together without his wife finding out and eventually, during this weekend, making love together, thus cementing their relationship.
Both Anne and Hartmann have issues – this is made very clear early on. Anne, trusting her new lover, slowly explains her past and it is not a pretty one. The effect the Great War had on France controls this book and its characters, made all too clear with Annes problems and to a lesser extent, but no more profound, Hartmann too. Anne lost both her parents during the conflict, her Father because he shot an Officer during the time of the mutiny of the French Army in 1917 (and was subsequently himself shot), her Mother as a direct consequence of being victimised by the village they lived in after the war because he was turned into a public scapegoat by the press. How nasty they can become towards victims. She committed suicide as a result of both the loss of her husband and the subsequent abuse in her village. Anne was brought up in Paris by a foster father, but her memories of seeing her Mother dead, and the loss of her Father and the resulting abuse the family received is only opened up with Hartmann. I think he becomes more paternal towards her from her opening up about her past, this is clear, and I suppose the reasons Anne falls totally in love with him is in part due to the fact he is the only person she has ever opened up to, as she had always been evasive about her past.
I found Hartmann to be a confusing character; it’s clear, compared to his friends in the novel, that he is no womaniser, and his relationship with Anne comes as something natural for him – he has fallen in love. His wife, Christine, probably is the only real victim, but she is so upper class that my sympathies lied with Anne (well, she is the focus of the book), but we do understand Hartmann’s problems with his marriage – Christine having miscarried and can no longer bear children seems to be the main underlying factor in their distance as a couple, or at least I got that impression. Towards the end of the book, Christine hears rumours about her husband’s relationship with Anne, and this seems to be the main reason why Hartmann finishes the affair. Selfish of him certainly, and he is the only one as well who knows the effect this will have on Anne, who has being rejected almost a third time; the loss of her parents, her foster father and now the only person she has probably only really fallen in love with all her life. He is as much disturbed by the end of the affair as Anne is I think, because he knows deep down what damage this will cause her and the life she had made in that coastal village. And it does cause her damage, quite severely. She ends up leaving the coastal town, her job and apartment, and travel back to Paris. Walking the streets in a distressed state, she ends up in a garden in a rich area of the Capital, finds a knife in a garden, and almost tries to commit suicide. But she survives and lives another day. She would probably grow up to be a strong Woman.
I liked this book. In some ways, it has more depth to it than Charlotte Grey, but not quite the same as Birdsong (which, in its own rights, is a classic novel). I liked the way it was wrapped up in the fortunes of the Popular Front of 1936/37 (with Hartmann trying to save a minister of that Govt. in the book who later also commits suicide over wrongful allegations), the way also how the Great War of 1914-1918 shaped all the characters in this novel (and probably the whole of French Society of this period), really coming into its own with the relationship of the protagonists. I recommend.
January 9, 2022
Was this really written by the same author that wrote Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War? Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War is one of my most loved novels, and being only my second Faulks novel, I boldly presumed that I couldn't go wrong. Sadly, I was mistaken, and I have been left with a luke-warm and painfully unbelievable love affair.
First off, I must state that I enjoy Faulks and his beautiful writing style. His prose is similar to "Birdsong" and in that respect, I cannot fault him. Unfortunately, the story was predictable, and only half baked. I knew what was coming around a chapter in, and it did not thrill me in the slightest.
We have an odd love affair, that never really developed properly, so as the reader we don't feel their sexual tension as we would expect to. I want to be able to smell their sweat and sense the afterglow of their love-making. Instead, I received some odd breast grasping and the male in question, had climaxed before he had even began. Call me crazy, but I've read better sex scenes.
The characters were unlikeable from the start. I wanted to feel something for them, but the story was so short and hasty, I felt as if Faulks didn't give me time.
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this novel, and I honestly think I went in with my hopes too high.
First off, I must state that I enjoy Faulks and his beautiful writing style. His prose is similar to "Birdsong" and in that respect, I cannot fault him. Unfortunately, the story was predictable, and only half baked. I knew what was coming around a chapter in, and it did not thrill me in the slightest.
We have an odd love affair, that never really developed properly, so as the reader we don't feel their sexual tension as we would expect to. I want to be able to smell their sweat and sense the afterglow of their love-making. Instead, I received some odd breast grasping and the male in question, had climaxed before he had even began. Call me crazy, but I've read better sex scenes.
The characters were unlikeable from the start. I wanted to feel something for them, but the story was so short and hasty, I felt as if Faulks didn't give me time.
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this novel, and I honestly think I went in with my hopes too high.
August 19, 2019
A very "French" novel, not so much in the setting - a small bourgeois town close to the ocean - but in the introspective dissection of the lives of ordinary people living their ordinary lives. I don't know if "existentialism" is the right word, but I was reminded of the works of Zola, Balzac or Tolstoy. To compare Anne from the Lion d'Or with Anna Karenina is perhaps a little forced, but that is what her passion for life and her tragic condition evoked in me.
I was also detecting an Erich Maria Remarque flavor, especially of Arc de Triomphe, because the novel deals with the aftermath of the carnage in the trenches of Verdun or Somme. This is the tale of the survivors, those that participated in the trenches and those that waited at home for husbands or children who never came back.
This is a sad and disturbing book, but not quite as defeatist as the Remarque tale I mentioned. Faulks allows his characters their moment in the sunshine, waves before them the possibility of redemption through love or through the occasional kindness of strangers. He has a delicate touch and a deft hand at sketching believable secondary characters in a couple of phrases. The major theme of the story is given in a paragraph at the beginning of the story, right after the memorable entrance of a solitary figure, bereft on a dark, empty, rainswept railroad station.
When the good Lord made this world from the infinite number of possibilities open to him and selected - from another limitless pool - the kind of misery that his creatures should be subject to, he selected only one model. The moment of bereavement. Death, desertion, betrayal - all the same thing. The child sent from his parents, the widow, the lover abandoned - they all feel the same emotion which, in its most extreme form, finds expression in a cry.
Anne has a dark secret in her life, one that has made her taciturn and wary of other people. But she also has an inner strength, a zest for life that transcends the poverty and the tediousness of her humble condition. If anyone deserved a lucky break in their life, it would be her, and with every page I read I hoped the author will be kind to her by the end.
I'm not going to tell you in this review if she did or not, but I highly recommend you read and find out about her fate.
--- spoiler alert ---
I was also detecting an Erich Maria Remarque flavor, especially of Arc de Triomphe, because the novel deals with the aftermath of the carnage in the trenches of Verdun or Somme. This is the tale of the survivors, those that participated in the trenches and those that waited at home for husbands or children who never came back.
This is a sad and disturbing book, but not quite as defeatist as the Remarque tale I mentioned. Faulks allows his characters their moment in the sunshine, waves before them the possibility of redemption through love or through the occasional kindness of strangers. He has a delicate touch and a deft hand at sketching believable secondary characters in a couple of phrases. The major theme of the story is given in a paragraph at the beginning of the story, right after the memorable entrance of a solitary figure, bereft on a dark, empty, rainswept railroad station.
When the good Lord made this world from the infinite number of possibilities open to him and selected - from another limitless pool - the kind of misery that his creatures should be subject to, he selected only one model. The moment of bereavement. Death, desertion, betrayal - all the same thing. The child sent from his parents, the widow, the lover abandoned - they all feel the same emotion which, in its most extreme form, finds expression in a cry.
Anne has a dark secret in her life, one that has made her taciturn and wary of other people. But she also has an inner strength, a zest for life that transcends the poverty and the tediousness of her humble condition. If anyone deserved a lucky break in their life, it would be her, and with every page I read I hoped the author will be kind to her by the end.
I'm not going to tell you in this review if she did or not, but I highly recommend you read and find out about her fate.
--- spoiler alert ---
August 8, 2017
Beautifully written . A timeless love story which for me made the characters back stories and the back drop of 1930s France seem irrelevant.
May 1, 2019
Wonderfully atmospheric novel and once again Faulks shows he is the master at setting time and place and writing about the intensity of love. War damaged veterans, innocent young lovers, passion , love and loss, and all the usual ingredients of a ripping good Sebastian Faulks yarn. A great read.
December 11, 2010
Sebastian Faulks is turning out to be a bit like Rose Tremain: one brilliant book (Birdsong), one OK book (Charlotte Gray), and the rest ... indifferent. I found myself strangely unengaged by this one, a rather trivial tale compared to the other two. I never really felt involved with the characters, or moved by their feelings, and the ending was fairly predictable. Blah.
February 25, 2024
Anne Louvet fumbles with two heavy suitcases and leaves big city Paris for small town Janvilliers. She has a waitress job waiting for her at the Hotel du Lion d'Or. While the book is mostly from the POV of Anne, there are also those with whom she interacts, mostly Charles Hartmann. The time period is sometime in the 1930s and there is talk about the Germans invading again. Everyone seems resigned to there being no French resistance, that the people have no more will to do so after the devastation of the recent war.
Although never designated as such on Goodreads, this is one of Faulks' French Trilogy. Because that information escaped my attention when I read the other two (Birdsong and Charlotte Gray), I got more than I anticipated. This and those others are reminders that, while several million lives were lost in The Great War, the lives of those who survived or were left behind were forever altered. The series tells us of just three circumstances. We should know that there are an almost unimaginable number of ways in which lives were altered.
This did not affect me as strongly as did Birdsong. Charlotte Gray is set during WWII and I wasn't as interested, but I note in my review of that novel Faulks continues to remind us that war experiences have a ripple effect to subsequent generations. He does so again in this novel. I think it slides into 4-stars, but perhaps only just.
Although never designated as such on Goodreads, this is one of Faulks' French Trilogy. Because that information escaped my attention when I read the other two (Birdsong and Charlotte Gray), I got more than I anticipated. This and those others are reminders that, while several million lives were lost in The Great War, the lives of those who survived or were left behind were forever altered. The series tells us of just three circumstances. We should know that there are an almost unimaginable number of ways in which lives were altered.
This did not affect me as strongly as did Birdsong. Charlotte Gray is set during WWII and I wasn't as interested, but I note in my review of that novel Faulks continues to remind us that war experiences have a ripple effect to subsequent generations. He does so again in this novel. I think it slides into 4-stars, but perhaps only just.
November 29, 2017
It has taken me about a year to finish this short novel; I just didn't feel anything for the protagonists. I found the prose mostly staid and wooden. The book started off in an interesting manner, but went downhill rapidly for me. I didn't understand the tendency to romanticise men's desires, and then to justify them, whether the circumstances were suitable or not. I also felt like the author hardly tried to probe how women felt about the turmoil in their lives - this, with a female protagonist. I probably shouldn't have begun my Faulks reading with this book.
June 27, 2025
I've got to give this at least four stars as the book is both beautifully moving & incredibly deep. There were moments when I did struggle with it. The secret is to plough on through those moments ( they are just moments) as Sebastian Faulks takes a while to set a scene and a backdrop from which his character's true self emerges. By the time I got to end everything he'd been working up to fell in to place and I found myself thinking it was a really beautiful and clever work of art. I have no doubt that SF is a very talented writer & yet If you read his reviews people either love or loathe his novels (with the exception of Birdsong which seems to have universal appeal.) I was given this copy by a friend who'd given up at the end of part one. I very nearly did the same, am so pleased I didn't.
April 24, 2007
If you are dying for something to read, just so you can look at letters and exercise your brain, then read this. It's like mental jellybeans.
April 24, 2017
Anne is a young woman who has fled Paris, and is trying to find a place where she belongs. She gets a job at the Lion d'Or as a barmaid, and is thrown into a quick love affair with a man who lives right outside of town. You learn about her past, and her family's past. And Hartmann is a man who seems to disengage from those around him (possibly a side effect of The Great War?).
It's a small book, so you don't really get to know any of the characters all that well. The book is a kind of snapshot in these two peoples lives. The historical aspect was kind of cool. It takes place between the two World Wars, and the political unrest that was in France at the time.
It's a small book, so you don't really get to know any of the characters all that well. The book is a kind of snapshot in these two peoples lives. The historical aspect was kind of cool. It takes place between the two World Wars, and the political unrest that was in France at the time.
April 17, 2015
This was an easy read and I suppose enjoyable but I am not sure why. It wasn't terribly original, not much happens and it doesn't begin to compare to Faulks' other French books and yet I found myself turning page after page. Hmmmm. All I can say with certainty is I'll read more of his work.
May 27, 2023
Historical fiction isn't my thing. Nor did I, at any point in the novel, feel simpatico with any character, situation, or line of dialogue. Nor have I ever used the word simpatico until now, and I won't ever use it again because the word and I are not compatible.
But I got through it, which is more than I can say for Birdsong. The cover has a gold, slightly debossed serif font which is nice, but I generally hate it when novel covers use photographs.
The claims that it "weaves an unbreakable spell of narrative, mood, and character that evokes French masters from Flaubert to Renoir" and that readers may find it superior to The French Lieutenant's Woman are delusional.
March 6, 2016
If I sat back and just thought about the writing itself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had a gentle, nostalgic feel, like looking at a blurry sepia photograph. The writing was lovely and the characters vivid. It is squarely in my wheelhouse: orphan with a secret in an attic in a down-at-heel French hotel in the interwar years. YES. If the author got a little long-winded at times, I didn't really mind--that's not something that bothers me much if it's not ridiculous.
It was as we got into the meat of the story that I started to have misgivings, and by three quarters through, it was clear to me that, in person, I might not like this author at all. In his world, men cannot possibly be expected to control their sexual desires and appetites, and women don't have the emotional depth to be traumatized by it if they are consenting. Christine is too well-bred to be traumatized. Anne And as for those little girls on the island? OH. That nearly made me throw the book across the room! As IF a mature man of the world should casually dismiss barely pubescent girls as being completely at fault and completely unaffected by what happened?! "To them, it meant nothing at all." ::throws book:: Not to mention, we had to put up with a lot of writing about and preoccupation of the characters with breasts. Bored!
Anne herself was a delightful character, even if she . She is not a heroine, but an everyday survivor.
Loved the writing, did not love how women and men were portrayed.
It was as we got into the meat of the story that I started to have misgivings, and by three quarters through, it was clear to me that, in person, I might not like this author at all. In his world, men cannot possibly be expected to control their sexual desires and appetites, and women don't have the emotional depth to be traumatized by it if they are consenting. Christine is too well-bred to be traumatized. Anne And as for those little girls on the island? OH. That nearly made me throw the book across the room! As IF a mature man of the world should casually dismiss barely pubescent girls as being completely at fault and completely unaffected by what happened?! "To them, it meant nothing at all." ::throws book:: Not to mention, we had to put up with a lot of writing about and preoccupation of the characters with breasts. Bored!
Anne herself was a delightful character, even if she . She is not a heroine, but an everyday survivor.
"She didn't want to live in a grand manor with cavernous rooms and wooded lands, but in one of those simple houses behind gates where children could be seen playing on the sandy paths and a dog padded silently across the grass."
Loved the writing, did not love how women and men were portrayed.
March 10, 2020
This book was written in the traditional form and reads like a true classic--linear, honest and simple. First published in 1989, it is entirely devoid of the plot and writing style gimmicks and the attachment to wit and irony that characterize a lot of novels (gearing for Hollywood I suppose) these days. So it is perfectly understandable how so much flak is hurled at it for being predictable, flat and boring. I, however, found it to be an exceptional read.
Faulks is without a doubt a superior writer and a master storyteller. In the case of this novel (less than 300 pages; not what would normally be considered a page-turner but I devoured it in half a day nevertheless) the plot takes a backseat to let the writing itself--luminous, restrained, impeccable--emerge as the victor. There are the beautiful (not fancy, but beautiful) turns of phrase. The setting comes to life in vivid and vital but never intoxicating detail. And then there are the characters, fully imagined and with a remarkable depth and complexity that attests to Faulks' masterful understanding of the human psyche and discernment of the pathos of desire and guilt.
I wish we had more writers like him these days.
P.S. I chanced upon this at a book sale for only 10 pesos or roughly 20 cents. Talk about a steal.
Faulks is without a doubt a superior writer and a master storyteller. In the case of this novel (less than 300 pages; not what would normally be considered a page-turner but I devoured it in half a day nevertheless) the plot takes a backseat to let the writing itself--luminous, restrained, impeccable--emerge as the victor. There are the beautiful (not fancy, but beautiful) turns of phrase. The setting comes to life in vivid and vital but never intoxicating detail. And then there are the characters, fully imagined and with a remarkable depth and complexity that attests to Faulks' masterful understanding of the human psyche and discernment of the pathos of desire and guilt.
I wish we had more writers like him these days.
P.S. I chanced upon this at a book sale for only 10 pesos or roughly 20 cents. Talk about a steal.
October 17, 2018
I have high regard for Sebastian Faulks, who totally captured me with his magnum opus Birdsong hence why I have high expectations for this novel. Faulks writes beautifully and eloquently, transforming words into landscapes and emotions that are depicted with ease and candor. I love the way he writes about the varying thoughts and feelings of his characters, lending them insightful qualities that inspire empathy. What I don't like about this book is its plot which I felt was quite simple and mediocre. While the confrontation of Hartmann's conscience and his analysis of his feelings and impulses were the peak for me, the rest were just a total letdown and definitely did not move me as much as I wanted it to.
March 12, 2010
Sebastian Faulks is effective at transporting readers into France during the 1930's. It was interesting to visit Lion D'or and to glimpse into the politics and morals of the day. However, this novel did not live up to his previous novel "Birdsong" which I could not put down. The ending was a bit abrupt, and I could not quite get into the main character's head - but I found the book enjoyable nonetheless.
January 22, 2015
A gentle but sad love story from one of my favourite authors. Just what I needed after a run of new best sellers 3 for 2-ing everywhere.
July 16, 2022
A gorgeous book. Even though it is set in the 1930s, it has a 19th century feel about it, and I mean that in a good way. The writing is beautiful and subtle. Love it.
November 15, 2025
No. Not my taste at all. It was boring, and when it wasn’t boring it angered me. 2.25 at a push.
September 10, 2025
3.5
I've never read any Sebastian Faulks before, but, before my french holiday I decided to embark on some french literature.
Gosh this was sad, and stirring. I rooted for Anne, but knew her story was never going to be easy. The wider french and general world war 1 and looming world war 2 history was interesting and I was keen to keep listening to see what happened.
I disliked how little agency Anne seemed to have though, and perhaps that was the point. It felt a bit clunky though and I would have liked a bit more oomph from her.
I've never read any Sebastian Faulks before, but, before my french holiday I decided to embark on some french literature.
Gosh this was sad, and stirring. I rooted for Anne, but knew her story was never going to be easy. The wider french and general world war 1 and looming world war 2 history was interesting and I was keen to keep listening to see what happened.
I disliked how little agency Anne seemed to have though, and perhaps that was the point. It felt a bit clunky though and I would have liked a bit more oomph from her.
July 7, 2011
I have read and enjoyed a number of Faulks' novels (i.e. not just Birdsong...) and yet for some reason, after my dad passed on a 'spare' copy he had acquired somehow, I allowed it to languish on my shelves in our apartment, moved house and allowed it to languish some more (approximately one year) on my new shelves in our house. I definitely enjoyed all of Faulks' other books but this one just never grabbed me. I have no clue why. Having finally read it, I have absolutely no clue why!
There are so many reasons why this book is so much more than it seems but it largely comes down to some superb characterisation and exceptionally sensitive writing. I don't remember reading a book with characters that felt so real - I found that each character was a complex blend of admirable qualities and flaws, just like they should be. Take Anne, for example. I started the book feeling almost protective towards her because she appeared so frail. Her fragility is something I felt continued and yet she avoids being a stereotype because her clear issues with love and trust. There were times when she demonstrated a remarkable strength and then others when I just wanted to shake her and drum some self-awareness and self-respect into her.
The most poignant moments for me, however, were those featuring Clare, Charles' suffering wife. Her private heartbreak and stoicism are devastating to read, sidelined as they are and revealed every so often through the eyes of Clare herself. For a character who is involved so little, she adds a balance to the story that tempers the eager tone of Anne. Ordinarily in stories with love triangles, the author takes the easy route and makes 'the wife' almost to blame for some reason. You know the type: the unfeeling/absent/non-Stepford wives who are peripheral and allow us to suspend our moral fibre just enough to believe that the 'true' love of the protaganists isn't wrong, somehow, but virtuous.
Interestingly, there are also some political thoughts and historical notes intertwined too and the era shows through most in the post-war sense of life and freedom that seeps into the character of Charles. For the most part it works but occasionally I found myself reading something that I felt wasn't quite made relevant and made a conversation stilted. Its great as a support to the characters' situations though and only serves to make the story more real.
Overall: This novel is outstanding - not necessarily because of the plot but because the characters are achingly well drawn and I found myself utterly believing in them. There are entertaining moments and some heartbreaking ones. This is very much a book about people and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an intense look at shattering love.
There are so many reasons why this book is so much more than it seems but it largely comes down to some superb characterisation and exceptionally sensitive writing. I don't remember reading a book with characters that felt so real - I found that each character was a complex blend of admirable qualities and flaws, just like they should be. Take Anne, for example. I started the book feeling almost protective towards her because she appeared so frail. Her fragility is something I felt continued and yet she avoids being a stereotype because her clear issues with love and trust. There were times when she demonstrated a remarkable strength and then others when I just wanted to shake her and drum some self-awareness and self-respect into her.
The most poignant moments for me, however, were those featuring Clare, Charles' suffering wife. Her private heartbreak and stoicism are devastating to read, sidelined as they are and revealed every so often through the eyes of Clare herself. For a character who is involved so little, she adds a balance to the story that tempers the eager tone of Anne. Ordinarily in stories with love triangles, the author takes the easy route and makes 'the wife' almost to blame for some reason. You know the type: the unfeeling/absent/non-Stepford wives who are peripheral and allow us to suspend our moral fibre just enough to believe that the 'true' love of the protaganists isn't wrong, somehow, but virtuous.
Interestingly, there are also some political thoughts and historical notes intertwined too and the era shows through most in the post-war sense of life and freedom that seeps into the character of Charles. For the most part it works but occasionally I found myself reading something that I felt wasn't quite made relevant and made a conversation stilted. Its great as a support to the characters' situations though and only serves to make the story more real.
Overall: This novel is outstanding - not necessarily because of the plot but because the characters are achingly well drawn and I found myself utterly believing in them. There are entertaining moments and some heartbreaking ones. This is very much a book about people and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an intense look at shattering love.
June 4, 2010
I began reading this having had experience of the best (Birdsong) and the worst (Charlotte Gray) of Faulk's work. It didn't really sound like it was a book I would enjoy, but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Faulk use of the English language is fantastic, the metaphors and descriptions allow the reader to fully picture how the people and places within the novel look and sound.
The central romance of the story was not entirely original, and bore a striking resemblance to the central romances in both Birdsong and On Green Dolphin Street. These recurring themes of loss, regret and adultery appear again, and the tragic nature of the relationship that is doomed from the start is obvious. However, Faulk has managed to make the characters here likeable. Something he failed to do in Charlotte Grey.
2nd only to Birdsong in the Sebastian Faulk novels I have read
The central romance of the story was not entirely original, and bore a striking resemblance to the central romances in both Birdsong and On Green Dolphin Street. These recurring themes of loss, regret and adultery appear again, and the tragic nature of the relationship that is doomed from the start is obvious. However, Faulk has managed to make the characters here likeable. Something he failed to do in Charlotte Grey.
2nd only to Birdsong in the Sebastian Faulk novels I have read
March 17, 2016
A good steady read about relationships set between the wars in rural France. I enjoyed the characters but was not really moved by the story as I found it difficult to identify with anyone in particular. Perhaps because I have been fortunate not to have had to experience the effects of war in an direct way.
March 5, 2008
This was the first of the trilogy I believe and the most lightweight although it did tell a lot more than a typical wartime romance. I'd recommend it on the basis of being a good read and good introduction into the other two books, Birdsong and Charlotte Grey.
June 28, 2018
I'm not the target demographic for this book, but I did enjoy following the story of Anne and Hartmann.
Only 2 stars because the integration of history into this romance was at times a bit clumsy... also, more discussion of eczema than one would expect in a love story....
Only 2 stars because the integration of history into this romance was at times a bit clumsy... also, more discussion of eczema than one would expect in a love story....
May 21, 2020
I didn't particularly like this book, or its plot, or its characters, but I found bits of it so disconcertingly relatable that it freaked me out.
Unrelated - but also discussed in the book - wars suck.
Unrelated - but also discussed in the book - wars suck.
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