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novelesque_life's review against another edition
1.0
.5 STARS
"When Noor Khan’s father, a teacher of mystical Sufism, dies, Noor is forced to bow, along with her mother, sister and brother, to her uncle’s religious literalism and ideas on feminine propriety. While at the Sorbonne, Noor falls in love with Armand, a Jewish musician. Though her uncle forbids her to see him, they continue meeting in secret.
When the Germans invade in 1940, Armand persuades Noor to leave him for her own safety. She flees with her family to England, but volunteers to serve in a special intelligence agency. She is trained as a radio operator for the group that, in Churchill’s words, will “set Europe ablaze” with acts of sabotage. She is then sent back to Occupied France. Unwavering courage is what Noor requires for her assignment and her deeply personal mission — to re-unite with Armand. As her talisman, she carries her grandmother’s gift, an heirloom tiger claw encased in gold.
The novel opens in December 1943. Noor has been imprisoned. She begins writing in secret, tracing the events that led to her capture. When Germany surrenders in 1945, her brother Kabir begins his search through the chaos of Europe’s Displaced Persons camps to find her." (From Amazon)
This was a novel chosen for our book club. I could not really get into this novel. I made it just past 50 pages.
"When Noor Khan’s father, a teacher of mystical Sufism, dies, Noor is forced to bow, along with her mother, sister and brother, to her uncle’s religious literalism and ideas on feminine propriety. While at the Sorbonne, Noor falls in love with Armand, a Jewish musician. Though her uncle forbids her to see him, they continue meeting in secret.
When the Germans invade in 1940, Armand persuades Noor to leave him for her own safety. She flees with her family to England, but volunteers to serve in a special intelligence agency. She is trained as a radio operator for the group that, in Churchill’s words, will “set Europe ablaze” with acts of sabotage. She is then sent back to Occupied France. Unwavering courage is what Noor requires for her assignment and her deeply personal mission — to re-unite with Armand. As her talisman, she carries her grandmother’s gift, an heirloom tiger claw encased in gold.
The novel opens in December 1943. Noor has been imprisoned. She begins writing in secret, tracing the events that led to her capture. When Germany surrenders in 1945, her brother Kabir begins his search through the chaos of Europe’s Displaced Persons camps to find her." (From Amazon)
This was a novel chosen for our book club. I could not really get into this novel. I made it just past 50 pages.
abookarmoire's review against another edition
2.0
You’ll need months of leave, buddy. Maybe years. Tell me, how many camps can you go to? How many prisons? How many mass graves can you search?
This WWII spy novel is based on a real woman who was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) by the code name Madeline and dropped behind the Nazi lines in occupied France in 1943.
Noor Inayat Khan is a Muslim Indian born in Moscow, raised in Paris, and living in London from the start of the war. Able to speak many languages with no discernable accent, Noor is an excellent candidate for the job. However, Noor was eventually captured by the SS and imprisoned.
The story is told in the past and present. While Noor’s brother Kabir is searching for her post war, we read about Noor’s developing espionage work during the war. We also have the perspective of Noor’s prison time as told in a written diary format, pages filled with hope to reunite with the love of her life, Armand.
This book is less about the SOE, as that moves at a snail’s pace, but more about the author’s style of overflowing detail with an unsatisfying ending. Flipping pages, hoping for a quicker moving plot took the joy out of reading this book.
This WWII spy novel is based on a real woman who was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) by the code name Madeline and dropped behind the Nazi lines in occupied France in 1943.
Noor Inayat Khan is a Muslim Indian born in Moscow, raised in Paris, and living in London from the start of the war. Able to speak many languages with no discernable accent, Noor is an excellent candidate for the job. However, Noor was eventually captured by the SS and imprisoned.
The story is told in the past and present. While Noor’s brother Kabir is searching for her post war, we read about Noor’s developing espionage work during the war. We also have the perspective of Noor’s prison time as told in a written diary format, pages filled with hope to reunite with the love of her life, Armand.
This book is less about the SOE, as that moves at a snail’s pace, but more about the author’s style of overflowing detail with an unsatisfying ending. Flipping pages, hoping for a quicker moving plot took the joy out of reading this book.
riles's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jelliestars's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Confinement, Physical abuse, Abortion, Animal death, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Grief, Deportation, Gun violence, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Vomit
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
I first learned about Noor Khan while reading [b:A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|570911|A Life In Secrets Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|Sarah Helm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175887172s/570911.jpg|557949]. When I was in Montreal earlier this year, I saw this book and picked it up.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the writing is both compelling and at the same time, the book could've been a little shorter. There are places where part of your mind will suggest coldly, perhaps, that the editing could've been tighter, that there is no need to repeat that. Despite this, however, the story is compelling.
I haven't, yet, read a biography of Khan, yet I found her story as told in [b:A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|570911|A Life In Secrets Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|Sarah Helm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175887172s/570911.jpg|557949] to be compelling and inspiring. They thought she couldn't do it, and it seems she was the bravest one. I'm not quite convinced that Baldwin's novel lives up to this image I have of Khan.
Part of the problem is that towards the end of the book I realized that I was really fed up with stories about women in World War II who becomes spies not for love of country, but because they want to find thier lost lover. Every single female spy had a lost lover she was looking for? How come male spies never have lost lovers they're looking for? Does it have something to do with the cliche plot of male pilot seducing the French farm girl who hides him? In some ways, such a plot, cheapens the women.
Yet to level that criticism at this book isn't entirely fair. Baldwin's Khan does become a spy in part so she can find out what happened to her lover, the man she wants to marry (and boy, do they have backstory). This overused cliche works here because Khan has conflicting ideas about the British rule of India. Considering that Baldwin's Khan is thinking about imperial rule, religion and politics during the novel, she would need a second excuse besides love of England, when she only went to England after fleeing France. (Why it couldn't be simple love of France, though?).
Baldwin's book is not perhaps the best book ever, but there is much to like about. Her protrayal of Khan is wonderful. As one reviewer has pointed out, some of the plot points sound a bit far fetched, but the character is believable. At times, you admire her; at times you want to smack her (and isn't that true of most people you meet)? The ending is real and how Baldwin plays out the love plot is far less cliche than the idea of the plot itself.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the writing is both compelling and at the same time, the book could've been a little shorter. There are places where part of your mind will suggest coldly, perhaps, that the editing could've been tighter, that there is no need to repeat that. Despite this, however, the story is compelling.
I haven't, yet, read a biography of Khan, yet I found her story as told in [b:A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|570911|A Life In Secrets Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII|Sarah Helm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175887172s/570911.jpg|557949] to be compelling and inspiring. They thought she couldn't do it, and it seems she was the bravest one. I'm not quite convinced that Baldwin's novel lives up to this image I have of Khan.
Part of the problem is that towards the end of the book I realized that I was really fed up with stories about women in World War II who becomes spies not for love of country, but because they want to find thier lost lover. Every single female spy had a lost lover she was looking for? How come male spies never have lost lovers they're looking for? Does it have something to do with the cliche plot of male pilot seducing the French farm girl who hides him? In some ways, such a plot, cheapens the women.
Yet to level that criticism at this book isn't entirely fair. Baldwin's Khan does become a spy in part so she can find out what happened to her lover, the man she wants to marry (and boy, do they have backstory). This overused cliche works here because Khan has conflicting ideas about the British rule of India. Considering that Baldwin's Khan is thinking about imperial rule, religion and politics during the novel, she would need a second excuse besides love of England, when she only went to England after fleeing France. (Why it couldn't be simple love of France, though?).
Baldwin's book is not perhaps the best book ever, but there is much to like about. Her protrayal of Khan is wonderful. As one reviewer has pointed out, some of the plot points sound a bit far fetched, but the character is believable. At times, you admire her; at times you want to smack her (and isn't that true of most people you meet)? The ending is real and how Baldwin plays out the love plot is far less cliche than the idea of the plot itself.
likeaduck's review
4.0
Charming, heavily-fictionalised account of the adventures of real life spy Noor Inayat Khan, a radio operator working for the British government in the French Resistance during WWII. In the novel, Noor describes herself as a member of many tribes, and the depiction of her experiences amid the adventure and danger of being a spy in WWII is informed by that position. A very interesting look at the attitudes and cultures that thrived during--and arguably, helped produce--a world war.
(Notable for being a book about "heroic" Allied spies in WWII that don't act as if 'anti-immigrant' and antisemitic sentiments were only held by Nazis.)
(Notable for being a book about "heroic" Allied spies in WWII that don't act as if 'anti-immigrant' and antisemitic sentiments were only held by Nazis.)
acaciatree's review
1.0
I highly regret wasting so many hours on this book. I chose this book for my independent novel in school (It had to be a Canadian author where at least one of their books were up for an award) not knowing much of any Canadian authors who've actually won a reward for a book I had to do some searching. I ended up coming across this book. My initial response to reading the back wasn't good but I didn't have enough time to find a better looking one and anyway "she's a spy in WWII that's kind of interesting" I thought to myself....well...for me at least that wasn't the case, this book had me on the first chapter but lost me on the second on through mostly the rest of the book. I didn't care about any of the characters at all this book has also been giving me so much trouble with my essay because of generally not enjoying my time reading it most information flew right over my head along with how this book has not given me good creative ideas to put in the essay in the first place, and I can't wait until I'm done the essay so I can put this book in the deepest/darkest spot on my bookshelves.
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