Book Review — The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

“It’s never just a painting.”

• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Kindle)
• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Paperback)
• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Hardcover)

So I’m going to be honest and say that I’m rather shocked that a) I read this, and b) I really liked it! This was a completely random book choice for me. Prior to yesterday, it wasn’t even on my reading radar. But when I read the blurb, I was intrigued by the dual storyline and decided to try a few pages… and then, even though on so many levels it’s just not my kind of book, I read it straight through to the very end!

It helped that another one of this author’s books, Me Before You (Read My Review) is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve been meaning to try more of her books for a while so that was a huge part of why I decided to try this one. Actually, this book would make a great Book Club read if anyone’s looking for something like that — there are so many possible interesting discussion topics within the story.

The genre is fully Women’s Fiction (not a Romance at all). The storyline alternated between the past in World War 1, and the present day — giving two sides of the same story which revolves around a painting. Here’s the official blurb:

“… a spellbinding story of two women united in their fight for what they love most.

Paris, 1916. Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born, one that will lead Sophie to make a dark and terrible decision. Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.”

The first 35% of the story is about Sophie, the woman in the painting called “The Girl You Left Behind”. Living in a small German-occupied French village during World War 1, she does her best to survive and keep her family safe. Her character fascinated me. She was a sharp, intelligent, fearless woman who was like this calm point amid the brutality and chaos surrounding her. I loved reading about her.

I was utterly captivated by this part of the story. Even though I’m generally not a fan of historical romance, I find myself always drawn to wartime books. I find the bravery, resilience, and strength of the characters who go through it (and hopefully survive) compelling and deeply admirable.

The second part of the story, beginning after 35%, takes us to the present day and focuses on Liv, a widow who is now in possession of “The Girl You Left Behind” painting — a honeymoon present from her late husband who purchased it on a street from a woman who had no interest in keeping it. When she invites the man she’s dating home, he sees the painting and her life is turned on end. He recognizes it and his company is tasked with reuniting families affected by the war with their rightful possessions which had often been stolen or looted. Thus begins an ugly court case fighting literally over who actually had the legal right to own this painting — which at this point, is worth millions. The family just wants it for the money (not that they’d admit that), Liv doesn’t care about the money, she has a deep connection to the painting and also wants it as a memory of her husband — she genuinely loves it. In order to prove that she has the rights to own it, she has to dig through the past and find out what really happened to Sophie, and how the painting could possibly have actually ended up with her after all these years…

OK. This is the point that shocked me. I’m not an art person at all — like really, zero interest. And I rarely read anything other than romance. I also wouldn’t personally ever contest anyone over any painting. And yet here I was absorbed in a book literally centered around the ownership of a painting. It was such an odd, almost alternate reality moment for me. I felt totally out of my element, and yet quite enjoyed it.

My only complaint is that I didn’t connect strongly with the present-day storyline, especially at first. Maybe I was just so ‘into’ the WW1 storyline that I didn’t want to leave it yet at 35% but  something about the way the present was written seemed a little ‘bland’ in contrast to the vivid imagery of the past… I just wasn’t as invested. From about 35 — 53%, it dragged a little for me and I honestly borderline skimmed… But then it picked up and from about 53% to the end, it was quite good. Also it helped that around 70%, we went back to the past and got to see more of what happened then — I loved that!

While I don’t want to give too much away, I will say that the story has a very satisfying ending — especially for a Fiction novel. One of the reasons I’m wary of reading non-Romance books is that they don’t always have endings that are satisfying enough for me. But this one genuinely tied up all the loose ends.

For rating, I’d give the “past” story 4.5 stars, and the “present” story 3.5 stars… so that would round the overall rating to 4 stars for me. In complete honesty, this isn’t a ‘drop-everything-to-read-it’ book (at least, in my opinion), but it was still quite good and I enjoyed it! Check it out if you’re curious!

Rating: 4 stars. Women’s Fiction standalone.

• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Kindle)
• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Paperback)
• Buy THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND (Hardcover)

Looking for some other Women’s Fiction genre favorites of mine? Here are some:

• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Read My Review)
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Read my Review)
• Night Road by Kristin Hannah (Read My Review)
• Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (Read My Review)
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Read My Review)
• The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (Read My Review)