Book Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
/14 Comments/by SuzannePublished by William Morrow Paperbacks on June 6th 2017
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 503
Source: Library
Amazon
Goodreads
MY REVIEW:
I love historical fiction that is set during WWI and WWII, so Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network was the best of both worlds for me as it has a dual time line, one of which takes place during WWI while the second takes place a couple of years after WWII. What an incredible read this was! And the fact that the story is based on an actual real life women’s spy network that was active in France during WWI? Amazing! How did I not even know there was such a thing?
The Alice Network follows the story of two women, Charlie St. Clair and Eve Gardiner, and what happens when their lives unexpectedly cross paths.
Nineteen year old Charlie St. Clair is pregnant and unmarried. The year is 1947, so as you can imagine, Charlie’s parents have deemed her situation a “problem” and so are shipping her off to a clinic in Switzerland so that it can be taken care of low-key so as not to ruin Charlie’s reputation at home. Charlie makes the trip with her mom, and when they have a layover in England, Charlie runs away because she is on a mission of her own: to find out what happened to her cousin Rose who had been living in Nazi-occupied France and disappeared during WWII. Her family has presumed she is dead, but Charlie is convinced that she is still out there somewhere. She only has one lead at this point, an address in London and a name, Evelyn Gardiner. She has no idea who Evelyn Gardiner is or how she can possibly help her find Rose, but she is determined to follow this lead wherever it takes her.
Enter Evelyn, or Eve as she is known, Gardiner. I’m not sure what Charlie expected when she first knocks on Eve’s door, but a snarky, stuttering, gun-toting drunk with horribly disfigured hands was probably not it. At first Eve barely even listens to Charlie’s story about her cousin Rose and has no interest at all in helping her. That is, until Charlie mentions Le Lethe, which was the name of the restaurant where Rose was working at just prior to her disappearance, and Monsieur Rene, the owner of the restaurant. As soon as Eve hears those names, her whole attitude abruptly shifts and she decides to help Charlie.
As Eve sets out to help Charlie, we are also taken on a second journey, this time back to 1915, where we follow Eve and see how she has ended up the way she is when Charlie meets her in 1947. In 1915, Eve is working as an administrative assistant at a law firm in England, but she desperately wants to do something more important. Specifically, she wants to join the action in WWI fighting against the Germans. She unexpectedly gets her chance when a visitor to the law firm, notes that Eve has qualities that would ideally suit her to working as a spy. Namely, she appears to remain calm, cool, and collected no matter what is going on around her, and she is able to lie with a straight face. Those qualities, coupled with a horrible stutter that make others assume she’s a bit dim-witted and therefore underestimate her. Because of these qualities, the visitor recruits her to become a part of The Alice Network, an all-female spy network that was operating in France, right under the German’s noses. Eve is eager to join and so we follow her through her spy training, to her primary assignment in enemy-occupied France during the war and all of the dangers it ensues, all the way through to why the names Le Leche and Monsieur Rene struck such a chord with her so many years later when Charlie St. Clair mentions them. Eve’s journey is equal parts riveting and horrifying, and 100% life-changing.
I love when a dual timeline narrative is handled well and author Kate Quinn does a marvelous job presenting both Charlie and Eve’s stories in The Alice Network. The chapters alternate between the 1915 and the 1947 timelines so Eve’s backstory is presented a little at a time as is Charlie’s mission to find out what happened to her beloved cousin. Both stories are so compelling that I found myself easily pulled along, particularly because I really wanted to know what happened to turn Eve from spy extraordinaire to a bitter, disfigured woman with a major drinking problem. I also wanted to see how exactly Eve was supposed to be the key to helping Charlie find Rose, not to mention I really wanted to know if Rose was still alive, and if so, why has she gone two years without trying to contact her family.
I also think that part of the reason the dual timeline works so well in this story is the active presence of Eve in both timelines. She is such a fascinating and complex character, both in her younger days where she so desperately wanted to fight against the Germans and as we see her in 1947, where she is ready to take her Luger and blow the head off of anyone who so much as looks at her funny. I adored Eve’s bigger-than-life personality and the way it just fills the pages of this story. She made me laugh, she made me cry, and she had me scared to death for her at so many points throughout the story.
Charlie is very likeble as well, but in a different way, since we only see her at age 19. What I liked about Charlie was her spunk and her determination, as well as her absolute devotion to her cousin, who was more like a sister to her. Charlie’s youthful enthusiasm, combined with Eve’s fierce snark, makes them a pretty formidable team as they journey together to find Rose.
Kate Quinn also does a brilliant job of depicting the settings, both in 1915 with enemy-occupied France and then 1947, with both the French countryside and with London. The sights and sounds felt authentic, and Quinn’s attention to detail is spot on. As I read and followed these women, I felt myself transported to each time period and location.
I wouldn’t really call it a dislike, but I do have to admit that I found Eve’s storyline to be a lot more compelling than Charlie’s. I loved both characters and was invested in both storylines, but Eve’s journey and the life-threatening danger she faced every moment while working as a spy was just absolutely riveting. Charlie’s story just fell a bit short in comparison.
If you’re looking for a well written, riveting read, I’d highly recommend checking out The Alice Network. It’s sure to be a favorite for fans of historical fiction, but I think anyone who enjoys reading about strong and complex female characters would love this read as well. Since this was a fictionalized account of the actual Alice Network, I find myself now wanting to go out and learn more about it since I had never heard of it during any of my history courses in school.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
1915. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
1948. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the “Queen of Spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth …no matter where it leads.
About Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network.” All have been translated into multiple languages.
Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with two black dogs named Caesar and Calpurnia, and her interests include opera, action movies, cooking, and the Boston Red Sox.
Weekly Recap #20: Week of 9/24-9/30
/24 Comments/by Suzanne
It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
Happy October, everyone! This is my favorite time of year. The temperatures are finally cool enough that I’ve been able to get outside and comfortably walk around my neighborhood. The leaves are changing colors and Halloween decorations are starting to pop up everywhere. October is also my birthday month, so yay! I may do a birthday giveaway on the blog to celebrate, so stay tuned for that. I’m also still hoping to do one when I reach (and keep) 1,000 twitter followers. I’ve reached 1,000 three times this week but then always seem to drop a couple (those pesky marketing bots), but we’re definitely getting close to that giveaway as well.
Aside from enjoying the fabulous fall weather, soccer has once again dominated my week. After that amazing game where my son scored the three goals, his team has really struggled, earning their first loss of the season followed by a tie. That was a bummer not just because they had been playing so well, but also because it meant we ended up with extra practices this past week to try to get back on track before we start playoffs next weekend. I did try to read while sitting at the practices, but that was kind of a fail. I did manage to finish and review The Rules of Magic and All the Crooked Saints this weekend, and also finished Dear Martin, which I’ll be reviewing later this month for a Blog Tour. And at long last, I have finally started reading Crooked Kingdom!
Not too much else is going on right now, although I am planning a short trip to NYC in November. New York is my favorite place to visit so I’m really looking forward to that and am curious to see if I’m able to get my blogging act together enough to schedule some posts for while I’m away, haha.
Anyway, I think that’s it for me. Have a great week, everyone!
WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK
- [24 Sep] Weekly Recap #19: Week of 9/17-9/23
- [26 Sep] Top 10 YA Reads That Feature Badass Female Characters
- [27 Sep] Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE BELOVED WILD by Melissa Ostrom
- [28 Sep] The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman ★★★★★
- [30 Sep] All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater ★★★½
WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK
UPCOMING REVIEWS
STACKING THE SHELVES
TOTALLY RANDOM
ARC Review: All the Crooked Saints
/18 Comments/by SuzannePublished by Scholastic Press on October 10th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 320
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via a Blog Giveaway. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
All the Crooked Saints was my first time reading a Maggie Stiefvater novel so I wasn’t at all sure what to expect. I’ve read tons of rave reviews about The Scorpio Races and The Raven Cycle though so I expected it to be a fantastic read. All the Crooked Saints was actually one of my most anticipated fall reads because the synopsis just sounded so unique and intriguing. With all of that said, it’s safe to say I really wanted to love this book. While I definitely liked All the Crooked Saints, I unfortunately can’t say that I loved it. It was a good, solid read with a focus on family that I really liked, but overall it just didn’t blow me away like I hoped it would.
All the Crooked Saints takes place in Bicho Raro, Colorado, which is shrouded in an atmosphere of dark saints, forbidden love, and so much more. The novel follows the Soria family, a family where each of the members has the special ability to act as Saints and perform unusual miracles. These miracles have become well known enough that pilgrims travel from all around in hopes of securing a miracle of their own from the Sorias to rid themselves of the darkness in their lives. What they don’t know is that the miracles are two-fold, the Saint performs the first part of their miracle, which reveals their inner darkness, but then it’s up to the one receiving the miracle to somehow perform a second miracle, which actually rids them of that darkness once and for all. What has started to happen over the years, however, is that people are having a harder and harder time figuring out the second miracle so the Soria household has started to accumulate an assortment of pilgrims that are caught in limbo between the first and second miracles.
Why can’t they just return to their lives and wait for the second miracle? Well, because the darkness that is revealed by the first miracle sometimes manifests itself in strange ways. For example, there is a young woman named Marisita who is wandering around with basically a rain cloud over her head. It just rains on her all the time – when she sleeps, when she cooks, whatever. There’s also a man walking around that has the head of an animal and the body of a human. Needless to say, these pilgrims would prefer to hide out until their second miracle has been sorted.
So, why can’t the Sorias help them? Well, that’s the catch. If the Sorias interfere with any of the pilgrims, they unleash darkness on themselves and end up in exactly the same predicament as the pilgrims, if not worse. Apparently the Soria darkness can be pretty dangerous and unpredictable when unleashed.
Although the pilgrims and their miracles are definitely a focus of the story, the heart of All the Crooked Saints truly centers around three Soria cousins — Beatriz, Daniel, and Joaquin — and the journey they are all forced to take when Daniel accidentally unleashes his own darkness and flees Bicho Raro to protect his family from it. As determined as he is to keep them safe from him, they are equally determined to help him by figuring out a way around the rule that says they cannot help to get rid of the darkness. Will they succeed or will Daniel be lost to them forever?
Even though this was only an okay read for me, there were still several things about the book that I really did enjoy. I really enjoyed Stiefvater’s three main characters, the Soria cousins. The relationship between the three cousins was probably my favorite part. Beatriz believes that she has no feelings and therefore throws herself into science, technology, and examining her own thoughts. She’s the brains of their operation and has helped Joaquin, who I’d call the Dreamer of the group, try to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a disc jockey. She has built him an illegal radio station that they run out of the back of a box truck in the desert, and he spins records at night and calls himself Diablo Diablo. Daniel is the designated saint of the group and so his focus is to grant miracles to all of the pilgrims who come to Bicho Raro. I just loved each of their personalities. They were all so complex, unique, and just really likable. I especially enjoyed reading about how loyal they were to each other and how they were willing to risk everything to try to save Daniel. Even though they were just cousins, the bond they shared felt like they were truly siblings.
I also enjoyed the overall plot of the story. Sometimes magical realism is hit and miss for me but I liked how she incorporated it into this story and the way the various miracles manifested themselves with each of the pilgrims. I liked the direction the story took when we move from showing how the Sorias create these miracles to what happens when they break one of their own rules and bring the darkness down onto themselves.
Lastly, I also thought Stiefvater’s writing was gorgeous, very lyrical and filled with vivid imagery. Even though this story was just a ‘like’ for me instead of a ‘love,’ I wouldn’t hesitate to try one of her other series.
Slow pacing was an issue for me while reading All the Crooked Saints. The story thankfully picked up a bit once Daniel got into trouble, but for the most part, it was just a slow read for me.
I also had some trouble keeping track of all of the characters. Between the various pilgrims, the three cousins, and all of the other assorted Soria family members, there were just a lot of people to keep straight. With so many characters, it also made it harder for me to really connect with any of them as much as I would have liked to. As I said above, I really liked Beatriz, Joaquin, and Daniel, but I still didn’t feel especially close to them because so many other characters were competing for my attention.
All the Crooked Saints is a book about love, family, miracles, darkness, and how to overcome that darkness. Even though I had some issues with the story, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical realism or who just enjoys books that focus on family and the trials they go through together. I would also, of course, recommend it to Stiefvater fans.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: What it takes to get one.
Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.
At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.
They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.
Maggie Stiefvater has been called “a master storyteller” by USA Today and “wildly imaginative” by Entertainment Weekly. Now, with All the Crooked Saints, she gives us the extraordinary story of an extraordinary family, a masterful tale of love, fear, darkness, and redemption.
About Maggie Stiefvater
New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.