Julie Gaisford

I read this book because it was referenced in another book about the French Resistance. This is a compelling, moving novel with incredible detail about daily life in the South of France under Vichy control. I found it necessary to take notes of the characters and to read entire chapters in one sitting to enjoy this long novel. Readers should be aware paragraphs frequently go on for a page or more. My copy came on interlibrary loan and was only available from academic libraries and non-renewable. This is an important book. There are some breathtaking lines that emerge seemingly from nowhere. " SOS (save our souls) to a world that has forgotten the Morse Code." "Falling from the black dunes of the sky, flakes of silence lay softly at the foot of the terrace." Scenes of the uncertain daily terror and the constant threat of violence at that time in Marseille have left an impact with me.