Summary: Inspired by a true story, the bestselling author of In Country offers a gorgeous, haunting novel about an airline pilot coming to terms with his past, and searching for the people who saved him during World War II. After Marshall Stone's B-17 bomber was shot down in occupied Europe in 1944, people in the French Resistance helped him escape to safety. One of the brave French people who risked their lives for him was a lively girl in Paris—a girl identified by her blue beret. After the war Marshall returned to America, raised a family, and became a successful airline pilot. He tried to forget the war. Now, in 1980, he returns to France and finds himself drawn back in time—memories of the crash, the terror of being alone in a foreign country where German soldiers were hunting down fallen Allied aviators, the long months of hiding. Marshall finds the people who helped him escape from the Nazis and falls in love with the woman who was the girl in the blue beret. He also discovers astonishing revelations about the suffering of the people he had known during the war. Bobbie Ann Mason's novel, inspired by her father-in-law's wartime experiences, is a beautifully woven story of love, war, and second chances. ~amazon.comReview: This is the first novel I read in this year’s List Swap Challenge. Since I failed so miserable at last year’s challenge, I am determined to succeed this year. Something I really like about this challenge is Julie usually picks books that are well outside my reading comfort zone. I am not a thriller reader. I like my drama to come in the form of woman with woe is me syndrome. I have to admit, I was over the moon when Julie chose this one for me. I am a huge fan of novels based during World War II. I couldn’t wait to dive into it and chose it as my first read in the challenge.
I was optimistic for The Girl in the Blue Beret. This novel is on an interesting subject I knew nothing about. I really had no idea what the French people went through and what sacrifices they made in order to help the Allied Airmen return safely to England. I admired the courage and strength of the Resistance. With such great risk, they hid, fed, and moved these Airmen to safety. For anyone interested in learning more about the Escape, Invasion, and the Resistance, Ms. Mason listed several books in her Selected Bibliography.
When I finished this novel, the first thing I thought was, “What a letdown.” That is not the sign of a good novel. Up until then I had a like/indifferent feeling about The Girl in the Blue Beret. I believe I was indifferent because although Marshall’s journey and his relationship with members of the Resistance were fascinating, I didn’t feel a kinship to Marshall at all. He seemed unfeeling, distant, almost egotistical. I didn’t get the feeling that he experienced the escape from Germany occupied France himself, but rather that he was relaying someone else’s journey. Even when he discussing his flight crew, I felt less than sympathetic to him. Marshall returns to Paris after his retirement to reconnect and thank the people who helped him escape. He was particularly fond of a Parisian family with two young daughters. Marshall formed a bond with Annette, the oldest and the one in the blue beret.
On his return to Paris, Marshall located Annette who was living life in the country as a widow. Marshall and Annette had an instant link, a bond based on grief, respect and appreciation. I think their connection wasn’t magical or amazing in any way. There was an element of creepiness in the way Marshall still thought of Annette as the girl in Paris in 1944. Even as his adult relationship with her grew, I couldn’t shake thinking of him as a dirty old man. I have a feeling that Annette being Annette would have acted the same way towards any of the other Airmen who stopped by for an unexpected visit. I know that doesn’t sound right, she wasn’t a loose woman or careless with her feelings. In fact, she was the opposite. She was centered, real. She guarded her experiences and because of those, she enjoyed every moment of every day she faced.
The shining star of the novel, the shift from indifference to like was when I met Annette as an adult woman. She was breathtaking. She had a joie de vie that was contagious. She was truly inspirational, spirited, and courageous. She drew me in and even as a fictional character, I was honored to know her, and spend time with her.
Above all, I found this novel missed the one thing that would have made it a 4, even a 5 in my book. It was missing heart. The girl in the blue beret had it, but sadly the protagonist did not.
Final Take: 3/5
Read Julie's Review
Summary: Inspired by the wartime experiences of her late father-in-law, award-winning author Bobbie Ann Mason has written an unforgettable novel about an American World War II pilot shot down in Occupied Europe. When Marshall Stone returns to his crash site decades later, he finds himself drawn back in time to the brave people who helped him escape from the Nazis. He especially recalls one intrepid girl guide who risked her life to help him—the girl in the blue beret. At twenty-three, Marshall Stone was a U.S. flyboy stationed in England. Headstrong and cocksure, he had nine exhilarating bombing raids under his belt when enemy fighters forced his B-17 to crash-land in a Belgian field near the border of France. The memories of what happened next—the frantic moments right after the fiery crash, the guilt of leaving his wounded crewmates and fleeing into the woods to escape German troops, the terror of being alone in a foreign country—all come rushing back when Marshall sets foot on that Belgian field again. Marshall was saved only by the kindness of ordinary citizens who, as part of the Resistance, moved downed Allied airmen through clandestine, often outrageous routes (over the Pyrenees to Spain) to get them back to their bases in England. Even though Marshall shared a close bond with several of the Resistance members who risked their lives for him, after the war he did not look back. But now he wants to find them again—to thank them and renew their ties. Most of all, Marshall wants to find the courageous woman who guided him through Paris. She was a mere teenager at the time, one link in the underground line to freedom. Marshall’s search becomes a wrenching odyssey of discovery that threatens to break his heart—and also sets him on a new course for the rest of his life. In his journey, he finds astonishing revelations about the people he knew during the war—none more electrifying and inspiring than the story of the girl in the blue beret. Intimate and haunting, The Girl in the Blue Beret is a beautiful and affecting story of love and courage, war and redemption, and the startling promise of second chances. ~randomhouse.com
, but I liked it. World War II is an interesting subject especially when told from the point of view of the American soldier/pilot. Perhaps what I didn't like was the main character, Marshall. It wasn't that he was stuck in the past, far from it, but I found his attitude towards life to be so non-chalant. Frankly, that surprised me since he was gunned down in a B-17 during the war and escaped capture due to the French Resistance. I would have thought he would have more of a zest for life.