G1212 Book Review of Lanas War by Anita Abriel

Name of Book: Lana's War

Author: Anita Abriel

ISBN: 978-1-9821-4767-9

Publisher: Atria Books

Type of book: France, French Riviera, choices, lives, secrets, 1943-1944, surviving, determination, WWII, wealth, hotels, travels, rationing, connections, saving Jews 

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

From the author of the “fast-paced, heartbreaking, and hopeful” (Kristin Harmel, author of The Room on Rue Amélie) The Light After the War, a riveting and heartfelt story of a young woman recruited to be a spy for the resistance on the French Riviera during World War II.

Paris 1943: Lana Antanova is on her way to see her husband with the thrilling news that she is pregnant. But when she arrives at the convent where he teaches music, she’s horrified to see Gestapo officers execute him for hiding a Jewish girl in the piano.

A few months later, grieving both her husband and her lost pregnancy, Lana is shocked when she’s approached to join the resistance on the French Riviera. As the daughter of a Russian countess, Lana has the perfect background to infiltrate the émigré community of Russian aristocrats who socialize with German officers, including the man who killed her husband.

Lana’s cover story makes her the mistress of Guy Pascal, a wealthy Swiss industrialist and fellow resistance member, in whose villa in Cap Ferrat she lives. Together, they gather information on upcoming raids and help members of the Jewish community escape. Consumed by her work, she doesn’t expect to become attached to a young Jewish girl or wonder about the secrets held by the man whose house she shares. And as the Nazis’ deadly efforts intensify, her intention to protect those around her may put them all at risk instead.

With Anita Abriel’s “heartfelt and memorable” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Lana’s War is a sweeping and suspenseful tale of survival and second chances during some of the darkest days of history.

Characters:

Main characters include Lana, a woman who recently lost her husband and had a miscarriage. Looking into channeling her energy into a right cause, she decides to join the French Resistance and meets Guy Pascal, who has his own reasons and secrets for getting into French Resistance. There are villains, secondary characters and so forth, all creating a beautiful tapestry of people who want to do the right thing. 

Theme:

Anyone can make a difference 

Plot:

The story was written in third person narrative from Lanas point of view. As both a minority and someone who comes from Russia, I wasn't really sure how to feel about  Lanas personality because I grew up on stories of Russia mistreated and detested Jews, even during WWII. ( When Jews ran from Germans, Russians would stuff the wells with sand just to make sure Jews wouldn't get drink of water. Let's also not forget how Russia refused to acknowledge that Jews were in danger and didnt print news that it's the Jews the Germans were after. I could go on, both pre WWII and post WWII, but it won't serve the story...) so I felt conflicted about her. Although story has serious issues, I got a sense of light atmosphere; that is there is a sense of vacation and summer. In other words, this is not the invisible bridge. 

Author Information:
(From back of book)

Anita Abriel was born in Sydney, Australia. SHe received a BA in English literature with a minor in creative writing from Bard College. She lives in California with her family. 

Opinion:

Despite the heavy subject matter of WWII as well as resistance and some issues, LANAS WAR feels lighthearted and I didn't sense real danger to Lana and her friends and family. I probably needed a read like this, especially after reading THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE by Julie Orringer. What I did end up admiring about the story is Lana herself, and I often wished that Lana existed in real life during those dark times because then the world would have been a better place.  

This was given for a review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)