Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Orphans of war, 20 Sep 2001
This wonderful book is the story of a man's search for his son, lost in France during WWII. On a deeper level, it is the story of a man's search for himself, rediscovering his capacity for love after the experiences of war. Hilary Wainwright saw his son John just once, the day after he was born in Paris. Hilary's wife Lisa was working for the Resistance and was captured and killed by the Gestapo when John was a baby, and the child disappeared. After the war, Hilary is contacted by Pierre, a friend of Lisa's, with news of a child who may be John. Hilary sets out to find this child. His search takes him through the devastated French countryside to the small town where the child lives in an orphanage. Hilary's growing relationship with little Jean (the name given to the child) is very moving. Hilary's resistance to love, to being hurt again is vividly portrayed. Jean is a delightful child, a representative of the many thousands of children left orphaned and lost by war. The reader longs for these two lost souls to fall into each other's arms. By the end of the novel, I didn't care whether Jean was Hilary's son or not. The unsentimental yet deeply moving style of the novel is totally engrossing, once started, I could hardly bear put it down.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I could have cried..., 2 Mar 2007
...and I don't cry over books as a rule. I don't know quite how to describe this lovely book - execept to say it is almost unbearably poignant at times. Originally published in 1949 - it tells the story of Hilary Wainwright and the search for his young son. In 1942 Hilary learns his son - who he believed was being cared for by a woman in occupied France, and who had rescued the child following Hilary's wife's death - is in fact lost, possibly somewhere in France. In 1945 Hilary goes in search of his son, with the help of a french man Pierre. But Hilary is a tortured soul - a poet - he now finds himself resistant to feelings of love since his wifes death, and wonders if he really wants this child at all. I found this such a wonderfuly moving book, and one that at times made me furious too, and I had to put it down and walk away from it at times. It is however hugely memorable, and the sort of book I will read again.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favourite books... ever, 2 May 2006
I can't begin to praise this book enough. I am a critical reader and I read a lot, and for this to be in my top ten it has to be something special. I keep on recommending it; to be honest, I beg people to read it because it it so good - and it's short, so quick to read! It is beautifully written, restrained and controlled in style, as it deals with a man's search for his missing son. This war-damaged man, bereaved and unable to express love, is as moving a creation as the little boy, Jean, who may be his son. The scenes where they go for walks together, especially when the man gives the boy a gift, are touching and yet never sentimental. The picture of post-war France is also unforgettable. It is impossible to put down and also has one of the most perfect (ie fitting) endings I have ever read (So many books just don't end well...). Once you've read and enjoyed it, try more Persephone books - they are fantastic!
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