The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

I loved this book! What a wonderful story. I've always liked reading war stories, not so much ones about how the war was fought, but rather personal stories about how the wars affected the life of an individual, and this book is a very personal story. It's the story of two young women who both fought desperately for what they loved the most.  It begins in 1916 during WWI and the German occupation of France. There we meet Sophie, whose husband painted a beautiful portrait of her which she hung in her home, an inn. When her husband was missing in the war, the painting was a comforting reminder of him, even after the Germans took over her village and forced her to cook for them. She does what she can to make things a little easier for her family and fellow villagers, but ultimately makes a great sacrifice in the hopes of being reunited with her missing husband.

Almost 100 years later, the portrait is given to a young English woman, Liv, as a wedding gift from her husband. He dies a few short years later and the painting gives Liv comfort as it had Sophie years before. However, the painting becomes embroiled in a controversy over who is its true owner, and Liv risks everything to keep it.

The story weaves back and forth between Sophie's story and Liv's in an easy to follow way. The descriptions of life during the occupation were so vividly written, I became tied up in them almost the way Liv did in the book as she researched the provenance of the painting. The story is heartbreaking in many ways but also hopeful and satisfying in many other ways.

Jojo Moyes has also written Me Before You and The Last Letter from Your Lover. They are both on my must read list now.

(I just have to add that I really dislike the cover....I don't think it suits the story at all.)