Review: The Lost Girls of Paris

I'm a big historical fiction fan, especially when it comes to novels set in and around World Wars I and II. Bit of a depressing time frame, to be sure, but there are so many interesting stories to be told - and invented - during that time. I especially love that authors are diving into what it was like for women during that time and shedding some light on the women who served their countries in unconventional, hidden, or forgotten ways. Pam Jenoff's The Lost Girls of Paris is one such book as she tells a story inspired by a group of women who were spies in WWII.

Here's the synopsis:

1946, Manhattan. Grace Healey is rebuilding her life after losing her husband during the war. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.
Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a ring of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.
Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war, and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.

Eleanor Trigg was inspired by a real person, Vera Atkins, who was in charge of a group of women who were sent to France to be spies. I highly encourage you to jump down the rabbit hole of research and learn more about the women who inspired Jenoff. Her novel is good but knowing the real story is so much better.

I often say that historical fiction can be quite tricky to get right. Personally, I want to read novels that are believable and really feel like they could have been written during that time period. I want authenticity but I also want a story. If I wanted to know the exact details of a battle, for example, I would find a history book (yes, this may be contradicting my above paragraph where I encourage actual, hard research. I stand by it.). But what I really want to know is what it would have been like for the people, especially the women. The stories of so many women have been lost because they weren't off fighting in the trenches like the men were. I appreciate when authors like Jenoff can tell the female side of war and what it was like for those not directly involved in battle.

There are three women at the centre of this novel - Eleanor, Marie, and Grace. I think Marie's story is at the forefront and is the most developed. Grace's is developed as well but I don't feel like her story is finished and I want more (this isn't a bad thing - I just could clearly see that Grace had so much more to offer than the novel allowed for). Eleanor is an extremely important character who I think could have been explored a bit more. Perhaps Jenoff was wary of diving too deeply into Eleanor's character because she was so closely based on a real person?

Now, I did give this book four stars on Goodreads because I really did enjoy reading it. That being said, I'm not really sure it's technically a very good book. Or maybe it might be that there are better books? The idea is a great one (and the cover is to die for) but I can't help but wonder if the actual execution could have been better. Perhaps I wanted the characters to be better, stronger, less...girly.

All in all, I liked The Lost Girls of Paris. I think Pam Jenoff found an interesting part of World War II's history that hadn't been explored in a historical fiction novel before. It's definitely worth a read if you're a historical fiction fan.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*