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Shirley_T
D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose
This is a very well researched account of some of the brave women who worked for the Resistance in German occupied France during World War II.
The author has concentrated mainly on the activities of three of these women – Andree, Lise and Odette but also includes the courageous exploits of many others. The author has a good grasp of the political history of Europe leading up to WWII and also of the postwar Gaullist policies and politics.
The book reads almost like a novel but is truly a work of history. Some editing is required to improve the flow of the story.
Barbara O. (Red Bank, NJ)
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary courage, these Women answered that Call
Sarah Rose reveals the back story of the D-Day Girls and the secret organization they worked for, the SOE. The extraordinary decision (for the time) to recruit women to act as spies and saboteurs, to send them behind enemy lines was born out of necessity and a terrible truth, there weren't enough men available to recruit and England was the lone country standing in Hitler's path.
The stories of these women (and men) are reminders of the courage, ingenuity and love of country that drove these people to volunteer despite the danger and poor odds they faced.
These names should be revered and acknowledged for we owe them a great debt. Kudos to author, Sarah Rose for giving us a well researched, well written book that deserves to be read and discussed. Loved it.
Becky_Haase
This is "real history"
I had to keep reminding myself that this was "real non-fiction" and keep reading. Unfortunately I had just read a fictionalized account of the resistance in France that covered many of the same women/events in this book.
D-DAY GIRLS is well researched and well written. It does jump from person to person and event to event with only a new chapter title to give warning. I found this disconcerting and jarring. The notes are wonderful and enlightening.
Odette, whose exploits begin in the early days of the "Firm" and continue to end of the war, was a fascinating woman. The angst of the old guard in deploying women to danger and possible death is a continuing story even today.
History buffs will love this book. The minutia, letters and intimate details will carry them through. A person wishing a lighter tale or more "plot" should find another book covering the same era.
4 of 5 stars
Amy H. (Iowa City, IA)
Women of the Resistance
D-Day girls appeals to anyone interested in WW2, women's war efforts, and anyone interested in reading about unsung war heroes. Women in the Resistance were many and their actions far-reaching. A good read with some uncommon stories.
Shannon L. (Portland, OR)
Author Sarah Rose missed a great opportunity!
The cover was the first thing that drew me to D-Day Girls, by Sarah Rose. The graphics brought the prospect of a great story about the women who took part in World War II. Thoughts of women "spies who armed the Resistance, sabotaged the Nazis, and helped win World War II" brought even greater expectations. Historical fact and fiction from World War I through World War II are my go-to genres. There was no doubt in my mind that I would love this book but I shouldn't have been so quick to pass judgment.
The year is 1942. Europe is deep into the war and the Allies are losing. Churchill recruits thirty-nine women to become saboteurs in France. Author Sarah Rose draws on the lives of three of these women to tell the story: Odette Samson, Lise de Baissac and Andree Borrel. Women of different backgrounds all working together to derail trains, blow up weapons caches, destroy power and phone lines and gather intelligence. Their assignments were dangerous and most of the 39 did not make it home.
D-Day Girls had the potential of a great story but that didn't happen. Rose did an incredible amount of research and gave a good overview of the development of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E) including sixty pages of footnotes and an extensive, useful bibliography. Readers will finish with the knowledge that spy networks were a primary ingredient in liberating France and winning World War II. The author didn't do enough here. She gives an impression that these were the only women working in dangerous, underground roles; they were not. She needed to make her narrative part of a larger picture in the extensive network of women doing every job imaginable.
Only because I was reviewing D-Day Girls did I finished reading it. There were times when I couldn't tell fact from fiction. Rose mixes reality and speculation. She tells her readers exactly what these three women were thinking and makes vast speculations about France's role in the war. Unfortunately, her notes do not support the narrative she presents and I wondered if she really had this evidence or these postures were personal opinions. D-Day Girls would have been so much better if Rose had made a clearer choice about whether she was historical fiction or non-fiction. Once she had that clear, in her own mind, a good editor could have helped her develop the suspense, danger and excitement that was hiding in this important piece of twentieth-century history.
While I cannot give this book a great recommendation, I hope Rose keeps writing. She has an eye for finding powerful true stories.
Kathleen B. (Las Vegas, NV)
Writing is poor
This book is about the time before D-Day and the year after. The Allied forces were losing the war. Winston Churchill decided to start a spy organization called SOE that would go into enemy territory. He recruited women. This book follows three women, Odette Sanson, Lise de Baissac and Andree Barrel. After the war, half of all the women were caught and one third didn't make it home. The French Resistance with the help of the women blew up bridges, train stations, supply trains, power plants, and troop movements. It is gratifying to know the next generation will know about these women and the French Resistance, All because after all these years WWII documents have been opened to the public. One of the problems I had with the book was Sarah Rose telling us what the women were thinking or feeling. I also thought the book was poorly written and disorganized. Even still I enjoyed reading it.
Evelyn G. (Union, NJ)
D-Day Dull
I looked forward to reading this account of the valiant women who volunteered to be dropped behind enemy lines during WW2 prior to D Day to create havoc and damage for the Allied forces. The reading was crammed with facts and much documentation supporting the exploits of these brave ladies, but I plodded through the lifeless portrayals that did nothing to stir imagination or bring an empathy of these real heroines. I feel it has value more as a research vehicle than generally readable book to honor this elite group that gave so much for so many.
Joy E
The Courageous Women Who Became “D Day Girls”
D Day Girls is a readable introduction to the women who served in the UK Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during World War II. For anyone who has read earlier histories of the brave activities of the SOE, this book does not add a lot of new material. A new generation of readers will learn about the dangers these women faced and their contribution to the fight against the Nazi occupation of France. The betrayals and the cooperation from the French population are part of the story.
One quibble is that for much of the book the expected time frame for D Day is 1943. That earlier D Day never materializes and with little transition we are suddenly reading about the events leading to the real 1944 D Day. But that aside this book should encourage readers to look at the full memoirs and other, more detailed books and films about the women of the SOE, those who survived and those who didn’t.
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