The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Spring 2019 Group Read The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

I loved this book. I loved grumpy Eve and horrible Rene and I even quite liked Charlotte, although she was moderately irritating as a protagonist. I'd definitely recommend this and I'd like to thank whoever suggested it for the Group Reads task - I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. Good choice.

i read this book last year and loved it - it was one of my top 5 reads for last year and i just got her newest (The Huntress) from the library - can't wait to read it!

I have always enjoyed reading about WWII history, and my 19yo son has, within the past couple of years, really gotten into WWI history, so I've heard a lot (from him) about WWI, which I never learned about in school. I always considered it "the boring war" but it definitely wasn't, especially when you learn about all the political machinations behind it and how it led to the eventual cause of WWII. Dan Carlin has an excellent podcast re WWI if anyone wants to learn more about it. Also, Peter Jackson's new WWI documentary, "They Shall Not Grow Old" is excellent. :)

In saying all of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this fictionalized account of female spies and the risks they took, as well as their importance to the war effort. Amazing how Louise de Bettignier--a real-life female spy, head of the real "Alice Network", and inspiration for this book's "Lille"--reported a heads-up regarding the plans for the utter destruction at Verdun...and it was disregarded! Think of how many lives could have been saved if they would have acted on her report! How is it that her name is not commonly known among schoolchildren as a war heroine??

I liked how the author drew in a number of topics which have affected women the world over throughout time: our place in the world, respect deserved by some but not earned, the double standards women face, the challenges women face when they must deal with the realities of pregnancy before they are ready (as in dealing with our own deaths, this is a moment in life that is ultimately faced alone). This story showed the inner thoughts of these women and explained how they came to make the decisions they did--even for young Charlie when she was acting out while dealing with the death of her beloved brother.

I loved the hopefulness of the 40s storyline surrounding Finn and Charlie, and really loved all the muddled feelings surrounding Rene' and Marguerite. (view spoiler)[Does anyone else think he started off really loving her and that may have intensified his emotions, making him violent, even moreso than just being made into the fool? Her taunts obviously fed into that, but do you think he was hurt as well?? (hide spoiler)]

I read this book after reading a couple of books about the roles of women during WWII (The Spyglass File and Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II], so it was an interesting change of pace to go back (and forward) in time with The Alice Network.

I don't think the role of women in early wars is something that is taught well in history classes and I find that I'm learning more and more about the roles they had as I read both fiction and non-fiction about these wars.

I found myself cringing by how women were treated when they became pregnant and the labels assigned to them, either by others or themselves, when this happened. Even though the respect for women is not where is should be, there definitely has been a shift for the better in the last 100 years.

I did enjoy this book, but I think I would have liked it more, or been better able to follow the plot, if I had read it rather than listening to the audiobook. Even though the accents and time periods changed, I often found I was confused about whether I was in an Eve or Charlie section. It did get easier as the novel progressed, as I learned more of the characters' stories, but I had to back the book up a few times to get it straight.

Overall, it was an interesting, thought-provoking novel, with some unique characters. I wasn't immediately drawn in by Charlie's pursuit, mainly because she seemed a bit spoiled, but as I became more invested in the story and the characters, I cared more about her resolving the mystery(view spoiler)[ of what happened to Rose (hide spoiler)].

I loved this book as well and was fascinated by the real life story of Louise Bettignies. I can't wait to start researching all the true to life details that Kate Quinn used in her story.

Kristen wrote: "I read this book after reading a couple of books about the roles of women during WWII (The Spyglass File and [book:Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers W..."

I know it was more realistic that Rose had died and in a somewhat anonymous although heroic manner, but it was a letdown and somehow slowed down the plot and its urgency.

I enjoyed this a lot! I like well-done time-slip type storytelling, and with the audio version, was able to tell the difference fairly easily.

I liked that it was based on a true story, and that Quinn used that to do a bit more exploration of the after effects on the war on women - I've read a couple of inter-war books looking at how society struggled with putting women back into the "decorative-only" box once the soldiers started returning. The impact on Eve after her experiences, of not being able to get any job whatsoever, was clear.

Ava Catherine

I truly enjoyed this book and appreciate the fact that it is inspired by true events and people. Quinn's storytelling is tight and effective, slipping back-and-forth through time. Obviously her research is extensive, and her emphasis on the courageous exploits of spies in wartime kept me in suspense throughout the book. During the past year I have read several books about women's contribution to wartime service, and this is among the best, providing me with new knowledge about female spies wrapped in a fascinating story.

I’m living in denial that Rose is dead.

I really enjoyed reading this book. In the beginning, the timelines were a bit confusing to me, but everything came together in the end.

It was clear that a large amount of research was done before writing this book and I appreciated the explanation of the parts of the story that were based on facts and which were based on fiction.

I'm not quite done yet .. but am liking it LESS the farther I go. I find Charlie irritating. Much more interested in Eve's story.

I didn’t like how slow the book was to start. I also have a hard time to start with the time slip format. Once I get in the grove though it makes sense.

I thought the book was good over all. Quinn did a good portrayal of how women were used and forgotten in war time. She really did the ‘shell shocked’ well for all characters. (Even Charlotte, with her grief stricken self.)

I just finished this book and while I found it to be a heavy read, I really appreciated the historical perspective and the role women played in "The Resistance". I found the author's notes at the end to be particularly interesting. What brave women they were at a time when they were quite vulnerable.
I liked the friendship between Charle and Eve - deep down they were strong women who shared common characteristics/personalities.

Bookwrm526

I REALLY didn't want to read this book, but it was the only group read option that I hadn't already read. This reticence was mostly because I've just read too much war fiction and non-fiction lately, but I do appreciate that it's equally about WWI and WWII, and I haven't read nearly as much about WWI. The book was really well done, but between the heaviness of the subject and my reluctance to read it anyway, it just never really clicked for me. I will definitely give the author another try at some point, though, and I would actually be interested in some non-fiction about these women and the spy network.

I have a really hard time reading historical fiction books with multiple timelines. I usually find that I am only interested in reading one of the stories and that definitely happened in this book.

Charlie's story was a complete waste of time for me. I wasn't interested and I didn't care. I dreaded her chapters.

Eve's part was what I wanted to read and I was completely engrossed in her life.

For me though, the best part of the book was the information at the end in the authors note.

The Alice Network – Kate Quinn – 3***
Based on the real stories of women who served as spies during World War I, Quinn has crafted an interesting, engaging story of wartime heroines and the price they paid for their service. She uses a dual timeline, moving back and forth between 1947 and 1915. I was much more interested in Eve’s story; I found Charlie irritatingly immature. I thought the ending, especially that final confrontation, was somewhat rushed and implausible. Still, it held my attention and I was glad to learn something about the brave women who served.
LINK to my review

This was the only one of the choices I could find at my local library. I probably would not have chosen it over the other two. My favorite WWI literature are the poems of Wilfred Owen and the satires of Evelyn Waugh. This book in no way matched their classic status.

I do not mind reading two stories side by side in which the reader has to draw parallels. That intrigued me when I began the book. I liked the WWI story of Eve much better than the just-after WWII story of Charlie, though. My attitude was not just that I found Charlie an irritating narrator, as some of the above reviewers did. My discomfort was why I found her irritating -- I simply could not believe her as a woman living in the aftermath of WWII, even if she had enjoyed a modicum of privilege during the war. She seemed more of a contemporary heroine with contemporary problems than anyone caught in the circumstances in which the author put her.

The true-to-life aspect of the woman spy in WWI and the effect that had on the individual in the years afterward made the book worthwhile, though. But I still do not know if I would recommend it as anything other than a slight off-the-wall read.

Part One: I am really digging this story. I love the spy character and the timelines going back and forth really work well. Looking forward to reading more of this book.

I've read this for the group read because the only one I can get my hands on on time. It's been on my radar a long time (so many people seem to love this) but I didn't add onto my TBR as I thought from the book description that it's not really for me and after reading Code Name Verity, I'm not ready for another like it and I did feel that this book's premise to be so very similar to that. So whilst I enjoyed the character of Eve (I somehow gravitated to the cantankerous broken old woman) & her story, I didn't find it to be as powerful as Verity... maybe it's the perspective it was told in? or maybe I've just been spoiled; I don't know... I've basically read the book in a day but only because it's due back to the library today!

I'm being generous: ★★★★

I'm going to be in the minority here. I found this book over-written by half. The author never met a simile or metaphor she didn't like. If there was one more ridiculous equation (my pregnancy times my parents disapproval equals big trouble), I think I would have thrown up. This is an excellent lesson in how to take a good story and turn it into melodrama.

The story shifts back and forth between 1915 and 1947. It's two years after the end of WWII and pregnant rich girl Charlie decides to take a detour on her way to an abortion to try to find her beloved cousin, Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-controlled France. Her search takes her to Evelyn Gardner, a bitter, drunken shell of a woman with shattered hands but whose name popped up on a document related to the search for Rose (although we never find out why or what connection Eve really has to this document - another of the book's failings).

Soon Charlie has managed to finance a trip to France for herself, Eve, and Eve's hunky Scottish man-of-all-work, Finn - as well as the transportation of Finn's very special car -- all through pawning a single strand of pearls. So, yeah.

Now we begin to learn Eve's back story. A young woman with a stammer, she is recruited as a spy for the English during WWI because she was originally from Lorraine and fluent in both French and German. She arrives in German-controlled Lille and manages to pass on major pieces of information thanks to her job as a waitress at a restaurant frequented by German officers and from being forced to sleep with the restaurants owner. She feeds the information to a woman named Lili - the real life Louise de Bettignies who ran a real spy ring in Lille. This part is interesting, but again Quinn only writes about how dedicated Lili's informants were without ever showing us why they were so committed to her.

Slowly Eve and Charlie's stories begin to intertwine, as do Charlie and Finn. And it all turns into a pretty melodramatic muddle - although it is a good reminder of what women of only 100 years ago went through when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. There were too many ridiculous incongruities (Eve worked for six months as a waitress, but in 1947 she's got the cunning of James Bond), too many unanswered questions, and too much schlock to make me like it more.

Like others, I found Eve's timeline more engaging than Charlie's - and maybe I'm in a mood but I can't help but dwell on the fact that the woman who got an abortion spent the rest of her life being tortured, imprisoned, loveless, in an alcoholic stupor, and alone, until she intersected with the woman due to get an abortion and helped her achieve a new plan for her life that included keeping the baby and forming a nuclear family.

I know there was so much more to each of their stories than that, and there are historical realities etc but that's still what stood out to me.

Melanie wrote: "Like others, I found Eve's timeline more engaging than Charlie's - and maybe I'm in a mood but I can't help but dwell on the fact that the woman who got an abortion spent the rest of her life being..."

I never even noticed / focused on that. Wonder if that is the author's intended message or was totally subliminal.

I know that my reading is heavily influenced by my current contemplation about how often these kinds of things are just built in to story arcs. I doubt it was intentionally punitive towards Eve - it's just super, super pervasive.

Like when you first hear that 'my girl was harmed' is justification for a vigilante / hero origin, or that the side character who is gay is going to prove the hero's 'goodness' via the hero responding empathetically to the gay character's tragic backstory, or even the Bechtel test concept - once you have it on your mind, you see it over and over again, and start to wonder how it became so common and ingrained that no one questions it.

I am so glad I decided to read THE ALICE NETWORK! I was not familiar with Kate Quinn so I had no idea what kind of writer she is but after reading this book I have become a fan! Her writing is clever, very funny, her characters are vivid and seemed real. and I even cried a little. VERY SATISFYING READ! I have always been fascinated by the early 20th century and I am not sure why but I seem to ingratiate toward books set in this time period. I did enjoy both stories but sometimes Charlotte was a little too much to take and as worldly and sophisticated as she seemed she was pretty naive about some things. For the most part, a good character though. I think we were supposed to become exasperated with her! In contrast Eve was truly a "woman of the world" and not naive about anything! There was a hardness to her character (understandable) that was wicked funny while at the same time vulnerable and I felt sympathy for her. Fascinating character! I can tell Ms Quinn did a lot of research about woman during WWI and introducing us to the real Alice network. The treatment of women during that time was maddening but not particularly surprising to me. Women in the military get second class treatment even today. I would definitely commend this book especially those interested in women's lives in history or anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I think it cans appeal to those who like reading good popular fiction as well as a legitimate historical novel for people with some knowledge of the history of WWI . Five stars and Huggable.