The Diplomat's Wife
As promised, next up for review is The Diplomat's Wife, also by Pam Jenoff - and also set during WWII. I swear I read more than WWII historical fiction, but I wasn't lying when I said it's my favorite...
Okay, so this novel picks up slightly after where The Kommandant's Girl left off. Marta has been arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo and miserably drifts in and out of consciousness in a nasty jail cell while recovering from the gunshot wound courtesy of the Kommandant, and the beatings courtesy of the Gestapo. She can hardly believe her eyes when two young American soldiers come to her rescue, and one of them in particular comforts her and gives her water while calling for a doctor. Before drifting back out of consciousness, she exchanges names with her rescuer, Paul.
The next time she wakes up, Marta is in a hospital ward. The American soldiers were real and they rescued her, and she begins the recovery process in a hospital ward in Austria while befriending her Dutch roommate, Rose, and nurse, Dava. Soon she's recovered enough to help admit more patients brought in by the Americans, and it's while doing this that she again encounters her savior, Paul. They're able to spend time together and even kiss, and Marta falls for this handsome hero who saved her life. Unfortunately, the war is still on and duty calls. Paul is soon forced to leave, thinking he'll be shipped off to the Pacific, and Marta dejectedly resumes her recovery. Fast forward some, and while stuck in Paris after trying to travel to London under Rose's passport, Marta again encounters Paul, whose unit is stopped there before shipping out. After it's announced that the Japanese have surrended and the war is finally over, Paul proposes. The happy couple make their plans to travel to the US, after Paul is discharged and meets up with Marta in London.
"I know it's crazy. We haven't spent more than a day together. You barely know me. But there's some reason we seem to keep finding each other. I'm crazy about you. I feel like we've known each other forever. And I'm not going to let you go this time."
Things don't go as planned, of course, and without spoiling too much, it's while on a mission for the British Foreign Office that Marta begins to discover the truth about everything.
I have to say that I really liked Marta. I wasn't sure about her in The Kommandant's Girl because of her animosity toward Emma, but I liked her spunk and courage at least. I loved her in this story, though. Even after all of the horrors she endured during the war, she remains feisty and determined, unafraid to volunteer for a risky mission because she realizes she can help. I felt so bad for her as she tried to pick up the pieces after Paul's apparent death, trying to do what's best for their daughter. It was obvious that even after pulling through so many horrible things, his loss was especially devastating for poor Marta. I liked that her situation made her relate to what Emma had gone through, especially after meeting up with her and hearing how everything played out. Her marrying Simon mostly for the sake of appearances seemed a little out of character for Marta, but given that this takes place in the 1940s I guess it made sense.
I also loved Paul, the handsome American soldier and hero who never stopped loving Marta. I've read several other Jenoff novels and have to say that Marta and Paul are my favorite couple. Their story was just so sweet, even with all of the seemingly insurmountable challenges they face. These two endure more obstacles and setbacks in a few years than many couples do in a lifetime, yet their love remains as passionate and fierce as when they first laid eyes on each other. Unlike with its prequel, I was super happy with this story's ending. I'll concede that some of the situations seemed pretty far-fetched, but I thought it worked well with the overall story. This was a fast-paced and fun read, definitely worth checking out if you're into historical romance/fiction, and especially if you're curious to find out what happens to Emma after the previous story.
"Everything that happened, for better or worse, contributed to where we are right now. Happy. Together."
Okay, so this novel picks up slightly after where The Kommandant's Girl left off. Marta has been arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo and miserably drifts in and out of consciousness in a nasty jail cell while recovering from the gunshot wound courtesy of the Kommandant, and the beatings courtesy of the Gestapo. She can hardly believe her eyes when two young American soldiers come to her rescue, and one of them in particular comforts her and gives her water while calling for a doctor. Before drifting back out of consciousness, she exchanges names with her rescuer, Paul.
The next time she wakes up, Marta is in a hospital ward. The American soldiers were real and they rescued her, and she begins the recovery process in a hospital ward in Austria while befriending her Dutch roommate, Rose, and nurse, Dava. Soon she's recovered enough to help admit more patients brought in by the Americans, and it's while doing this that she again encounters her savior, Paul. They're able to spend time together and even kiss, and Marta falls for this handsome hero who saved her life. Unfortunately, the war is still on and duty calls. Paul is soon forced to leave, thinking he'll be shipped off to the Pacific, and Marta dejectedly resumes her recovery. Fast forward some, and while stuck in Paris after trying to travel to London under Rose's passport, Marta again encounters Paul, whose unit is stopped there before shipping out. After it's announced that the Japanese have surrended and the war is finally over, Paul proposes. The happy couple make their plans to travel to the US, after Paul is discharged and meets up with Marta in London.
"I know it's crazy. We haven't spent more than a day together. You barely know me. But there's some reason we seem to keep finding each other. I'm crazy about you. I feel like we've known each other forever. And I'm not going to let you go this time."
Things don't go as planned, of course, and without spoiling too much, it's while on a mission for the British Foreign Office that Marta begins to discover the truth about everything.
I have to say that I really liked Marta. I wasn't sure about her in The Kommandant's Girl because of her animosity toward Emma, but I liked her spunk and courage at least. I loved her in this story, though. Even after all of the horrors she endured during the war, she remains feisty and determined, unafraid to volunteer for a risky mission because she realizes she can help. I felt so bad for her as she tried to pick up the pieces after Paul's apparent death, trying to do what's best for their daughter. It was obvious that even after pulling through so many horrible things, his loss was especially devastating for poor Marta. I liked that her situation made her relate to what Emma had gone through, especially after meeting up with her and hearing how everything played out. Her marrying Simon mostly for the sake of appearances seemed a little out of character for Marta, but given that this takes place in the 1940s I guess it made sense.
I also loved Paul, the handsome American soldier and hero who never stopped loving Marta. I've read several other Jenoff novels and have to say that Marta and Paul are my favorite couple. Their story was just so sweet, even with all of the seemingly insurmountable challenges they face. These two endure more obstacles and setbacks in a few years than many couples do in a lifetime, yet their love remains as passionate and fierce as when they first laid eyes on each other. Unlike with its prequel, I was super happy with this story's ending. I'll concede that some of the situations seemed pretty far-fetched, but I thought it worked well with the overall story. This was a fast-paced and fun read, definitely worth checking out if you're into historical romance/fiction, and especially if you're curious to find out what happens to Emma after the previous story.
"Everything that happened, for better or worse, contributed to where we are right now. Happy. Together."
Comments
Post a Comment