France, 1939: A talented singer, Ruth Lacroix has left Maine to live with her aunt and uncle, dreaming of performing at the Casino de Paris. But with the outbreak of war, and the heartbreaking news that her cousin has been killed by German forces, that goal is supplanted by another—to support France in any way she can.
Though Ruth has never driven a vehicle larger than the tractor on her parents’ farm, she joins a friend in enlisting as a driver for the French ambulance corps. On their way to transfer injured soldiers to Dunkirk for evacuation, they encounter Jimmie, a British Royal Air Force pilot with No. 73 Squadron RAF, who has bailed out of his burning plane. As Dunkirk falls, blocking off the route to the northern coast, word spreads of a daring Allied plan to rescue the remaining troops and civilians from ports in western France: code name Operation Aerial.
Over two hazardous weeks, Ruth and Jimmie will journey hundreds of miles together, helping other refugees as they rush to reach the sea before they are overtaken by the Germany army. But all their courage and resilience offer no certainty in wartime, when a single stroke of luck, or a split-second decision, can mean the difference between life and death . . .
Dear Mr. Hlad,
I was drawn to this book because of the specific focus of what the plot covers. I know a bit about the Phony War – the time between when the UK and France declared war on Germany and when Germany invaded France – but not much about the upheaval that engulfed France and her people as the Panzer tanks and Luftwaffe roared across the border. I also liked the idea of two volunteer ambulance drivers being main characters.
The initial “meet and greet” chapters that begin to fill us in on the lives of Ruth, Lucette, and Jimmie could, frankly, have been drastically edited down. I’m glad I pushed through this section but it was an effort. However once things kicked off, I was much more interested. Props for having Ruth and Lucette not having premonitions about how things would go. Instead they believe and act as if war could be avoided and after the German attacks on the low countries and then France, they believe that the French military will hold. This also makes their shock, at the encounters near the battle front, punch harder.
The scenes of Ruth, Lucette, and then Jimmie ducking and dodging to avoid the swift moving Panzers and then joining the mass evacuation of French and Belgian civilians are wrenching. The descriptions of the deliberate attacks on the refugees, shocking at the time, are still shocking today. I had never heard of Operation Aerial or the attack on the Lancastria so was very interested in these sections.
Despite enjoying the plot and learning about new things, I do have some issues with the book. As I mentioned, the first 60-70 pages are basically a too detailed info-dump. The dialog is a bit clunky as well. But what really shows after a while is that characters are either almost saintly good or terrible (Germans obvs but also a snotty Frenchman registering volunteers for the ambulance crews). I guess I prefer saintly good but it makes the characters seem less realistic and not as well rounded.
The story ends with some massive unfinished storylines so I guess there’s a sequel in the works. I liked the book but didn’t love it like a stuffie Piglet (there’s a reason for this analogy). But yeah, I did learn a lot about the Fall of France. B-
~Jayne
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Jayne
Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.
