Spellbinding - I loved it

I got drawn into this book very quickly. It was extremely well read, particularly the character of Sophie was extremly well portrayed. A brilliant storyline that starts during the 1st world war, in an occupied town in northern France. A german officer becomes obsessed with the beautiful Sophie, whose portrait hangs in the restaurant that she runs with her sister. The danger and perils and tragedy of war make for a great storyline in themselves, but abruptly (on a cliffhanger) the story changes to modern day England. The portrait has survived 100 years, and has a new owner, with an equally compelling and engaging story. There is humour and romance in the modern setting, to lighten the mood after the increasingly tense 1st world war section. Gradually the two stories are told side by side. I was intially desperate to find out what happened to Sophie and the author managed the suspense beautifully. The ending was brilliantly thought out and tied up all the loose ends. Jojo Moyes writes exceptionally engaging books that always end the way they should. In my opinion this book is better written than The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, and much more engaging. My only complaint is that I could not stop listening, and I am now extremely tired having stayed up half the night listening to get to the end on my ipod.

76 people found this helpful

Dear god....thankfully it's over!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Probably ANYONE would enjoy it more than I did.....It is the first time I have listened to an audible book and truly WISHED I had READ it instead. I liked the novel itself...but the artistic decision to read half the novel in a cod french accent and throw a few terrible American man-voices into the other half was an AWFUL one. we KNOW it was set in France, we know, therefore, that the characters might very well be French...please stop distracting us from the story by sounding like 'ALLO 'ALLO.

What didn’t you like about Clare Corbett and Penelope Rawlins ’s performance?

the bloody awful characterisations...from BOTH the actresses were almost more than i could bear. it was only bloody-mindedness that kept me going to the end. the french accents were the worst, but only just less bad were the American male characters. Never again!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Extreme disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Yes. Can I have my credit back?!....Sorry Ms Moyes....it was a really a good story till it got "audibled"

40 people found this helpful

The Girl you left behind

I have just finished this audio book and it will stay with me foe a very long time an absorbing book played out between occupied France in 1917 and London today. I must mention the narrators who were fantastic, I will miss it.

Kathleen Hamilton

35 people found this helpful

Outstanding. If I could I would give this 10 stars

Having read 'Me before You' (another must-read) I couldn't wait for the arrival of Jojo Moyes next book 'The Girl You Left Behind'. It was lovely to be able to read her prequel novella 'Honeymoon in Paris' which takes place a few years before the main story. 'The Girl you left behind' is full of romance, intrigue and is at times heartbreaking and thought provoking. It flows beautifully between the main characters, Sophie and Liv, a century between their lives, without losing the thread whatsoever.

I worry sometimes that the voice of the Narrator may let a book down but I can't think that anyone could have done a better job than these two females who made an outstanding book into an outstanding listen. Not easily done and I would think Jojo Moyes is overjoyed with the result.

I have now read/listened to all of her books and can only say she just gets better and better.

I am about to start it all over again. Thoroughly recommended. Thank you so much Jojo.

31 people found this helpful

Is this really Jojo Moyes?

What would have made The Girl You Left Behind better?

Not having to listen to really bad French accents- the story takes place in France, I get it. Had it been read without the daft accents, I could have imagined the scenes- it would have been much more realistic. With the accents I find I am continually wondering why Mr. Armand, Mme. Lefevre and the others are all talking to each other in English with those weird and supposedly French accents.

What will your next listen be?

About to look for a replacement.

What didn’t you like about Clare Corbett and Penelope Rawlins ’s performance?

Accents!!!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance & irritation.

21 people found this helpful

Wonderful

Having read 'Me before you' i couldn't wait to read another JoJo Moyes book. This is a wonderful book and I can't wait to recommend this book to my friends. Once i started listening i couldn't wait to get back to it - i looked for every excuse to plug in my earphones.

18 people found this helpful

Both beautiful and emotional

Ultimately a love story, but an emotionally charged and full journey too.

This is one of those books that I got sucked into very quickly, and then couldn't put down. It's beautifully crafted and past and present carefully woven together.

Narration is perfectly suited. In short, a good one.

14 people found this helpful

Good story marred by poor narration

Would you listen to The Girl You Left Behind again? Why?

No. I never listen more than once.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl You Left Behind?

No particular moments stand out, but the description of life in the occupied town was very vivid.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was a real problem for me, especially the narrator reading the part of Sophie. The fake French accent was totally unnecessary; we know it is set in France, so we don't need reminding constantly. The silly voices used to depict different people were also irritating. To add insult to injury many French words were mispronounced! This also applied to many German words, and both narrators were guilty of this. These professionals should surely go to the trouble of checking how to pronounce words. So both my stars are for the narrator of Liv. I'm afraid the poor narration really spoiled my enjoyment of what is clearly a good book.

Any additional comments?

I've said it all already

10 people found this helpful

Past and present day entwined

This is a story of long lost love, finding out the truth from going back in to history and standing up for what you believe in.



This book is everything that you would expect from Ms. Moyes, it is well written and with many likeable characters, a very good read. I loved how the book was split between the past and current day and how one painting connects that two together.

9 people found this helpful

Storytelling at its best

I just finished listening to this book after allowing it to languish in my library for far too long. I think I was worried that this might suffer in comparison to Jojo's other excellent story 'Me Before You'. I was of course completely wrong. This is a poignant story of two women left to cope with their lives after being parted from the men they love. Sophie's story set in occupied France during the First World War is is a tragic tale of a good person being set upon by an enemy who is not always obvious. The momentum of her story is maintained throughout the book and I felt almost breathless when it reached its conclusion. Liv, the modern woman, sufferers some horrible injustices and I was rooting for her right to the end. It is really clever the way the author has managed to interweave two completely different lives and despite the subject matter I left the story feeling completely uplifted.

The two narrators are brilliant and conveyed the characters convincingly. If you want to listen to something that will keep you completely enthralled for over 14 hours this is the story for you.

Before this book I listened to the Honeymoon in Paris prequel. Whilst it was not essential to this story it was a nice introduction to the main characters and gave a little bit of insight into the two main relationships.

8 people found this helpful