The Girl I Left Behind
A great deal has been written about the Resistance movements in Europe in WW2, except for one country, Germany. We know about the high-level resistance of the General Staff, which culminated in the bomb plot of 1944, but very little about more ordinary resisters. Yet the Nazi regime, although democratically elected, certainly did not rule by consent but by mass repression which provoked a significant covert resistance. The Girl I Left Behind deals with the resistance among young people, mainly middle-class students and office workers.
There is a lot to like about this book, besides its adventurous theme. The set piece dramas, such as the Jewish woman hidden in the cellar giving birth, are shown in harrowing detail, and Newton is equally good with happier episodes. However, it is difficult to overlook several problems. At a technical level it is sometimes difficult to sort out the dialogue, as the paragraphing does not clearly indicate who is saying what. The title is extremely misleading (I appreciate that this may not be the author’s choice), as the story is related entirely in the first person by the female protagonist, who does not leave anybody behind. More importantly, big issues in the plot are resolved too easily, often by chance encounters. The heroine seems to have surprisingly little difficulty in meeting British spies or a complicit guard to help her escape.
A good book that could have been much better.
