The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
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Web ID: 4659048Not the Name of a Woman's Quilting Organization
“No. Eve had beaten her stutter into submission with sheer savage will, reading poetry out loud line by faltering line in her bedroom, hammering on the consonants that stuck until they unspooled and came free. She remembered taking ten minutes to limp her way through Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal introduction—and French was her easier language. Baudelaire had said he’d written Les Fleurs du Mal with rage and patience; Eve understood that perfectly.” The title of Kate Quinn’s novel seems more like the name of a women’s quilting organization than a spy ring. However, there was a real-life Alice Network during World War I. It was a network of female spies, led by Louise de Bettignies, operating in occupied Belgium and France, gathering intelligence for the British. The network was highly effective, providing crucial information about German troop movements and fortifications. The novel also explores the complex world of Nazi collaborators, who worked with the enemy during the war and often escaped consequences afterward. “The Alice Network,” follows the story of two women, Charles St. Clair and Eve Gardiner, and what happens when their lives unexpectedly cross paths. Like many historical fiction novels, we find a dual narrative in different timelines. In this storyline, they are not so far apart. One takes place during WWI while the other is right at the end of WWII permitting the narratives to eventually combine compellingly. From my perspective, part of the reason the dual timeline works so well in this narrative is the active presence of Eve in both timelines. Eve is a captivating and multifaceted character, equally in her younger days where she is desperately gathering intelligence against the Germans and as we perceive her in 1947 in which she is ready to take her Luger and shoot anybody who so much as looks at her strangely. Eve’s bigger-than-life personality will make you laugh, and cry and peculiarly enough scare you to death. While “The Alice Network” undoubtedly captivates with its celebration of female tenacity, it also weaves a tapestry of blossoming friendships and unwavering loyalty. Where it fell a little short for me is that I found Eve’s storyline to be a lot more compelling than Charlie’s. Eve’s journey and the life-threatening danger she faced every moment while working as a spy was fascinating. Charlie’s story just fell a little short by comparison. This is my second novel by Kate Quinn. I found the “Alice Network” to be a 4-star compelling read. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Alice Network
One of the best historical fiction I have read since The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Could not put it down. The Epilogue was fantastic to read as the author unwound what was real and what was fiction.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
SPOILERS!!!!! This is for a book project
In the second half of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, it starts to pick up a lot. So we begin the second half of this book with Eve becoming her boss's mistress and he ends up taking Eve’s virginity and continues this behavior with her throughout a good chunk of the story. This romance doesn’t last long because soon eve found herself locked in his house and is tortured by Rene by breaking all of Eve's fingers and then later being surrendered to the germans. Fast forward to Charlie she finds out that her cousin that had started this whole journey was killed in a Nazi massacre. They later find out that Eve's boss was the one that sent the nazis to Rose’s home so now they are both working together to gain vengeance for their lost ones. Eve tracks down her boss with charlie and kills him to take back her life and she finds out she didn’t betray her spy partners and this becomes a great relief for Eve and Charlie. I couldn’t put this book down once it started to pick up and I loved how the story ended and how they both got the relief they had been longing for so long. I think this is a great book for people who enjoy an action-filled adventure, Like most books it starts out slow but if they stick with it it turns into a great read and I would definitely read it again.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
SPOILERS!!
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is both a sad and funny book that can be found in the historical section of any library. It’s about a crazy journey with two girls, with two very different stories clashing together to accomplish a common goal. There's a young college girl named Charlie St. Clair who has an interesting issue she calls the little problem. There’s also an old drunk who was recruited to be a spy in France in 1915 during world war one named Eve Gardiner. They both meet when Charlie went against her mother's wishes of getting an abortion and traveling to France in search of her missing cousin named Rose. Eve was trained to become a spy back when she was young and she was found to be a perfect choice because she looked young and innocent and spoke perfect French. She also has a stutter which helped her gain pity from her “employers.” I’ve never had so many emotions while reading a book. I was laughing at times and crying at others and sometimes at the same time. The book is a little slow in the beginning as almost every other book but I stuck with it and ended up not being able to stop. I loved how she describes certain events that helped make the book come alive. There are also a bunch of twists during the whole book that keeps you on your toes and begging for more. I enjoyed how she took to different stories and made them clash so well that you didn’t get lost while reading through both. This is a great read if you're looking for an action-packed story of two women fighting against the women stereotypes and fighting through every struggle together. I love the book so far and can’t wait to read the next parts, and I could see myself reading this story again.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great!
I really enjoyed this book! I highly recommend if you like books that have intriguing fictional story lines but based on historical events.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Enticing Book!
I truly enjoyed this book and had trouble putting it down. My only critique is is that I felt like the 1915 storyline Eve took away from the 1947 storyline and I ended up rereading it with only reading the 1947 storyline and still enjoyed it just as much.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
School Review
Author Kate Quinn’s historical book, “The Alice Network” is about two women’s stories, one in 1915 and the other in 1947. Each of the women’s stories is told in alternating chapters which in my opinion was executed well in the book. It helped keep me interested and it kept me reading. What’s interesting about the two stories is one is in first person and the other third person. The first women’s name is Evelyn Gardiner, but her code name was Marguerite and her story is set in 1915. It’s about a British spy network otherwise known as the “Alice Network” run by a person named Louise de Bettignies, but her code name was Lili. Marguerite was sent to work in a French diner, that served german customers. While working this job she collected insight for Lili that could help them win the war. The second story was set in 1947 and it’s about a young girl named Charlotte St Clair. She travels to France with her mother to deal with her little problem, otherwise known as her baby in a safe way. While they’re in France Charlotte runs into Eve Gardiner-now older-and her assistant Finn. Together they travel around searching for someone they’ve lost post WW2 in France. Overall this was one of my favorite books, there was a combination of comedy and sadness that made an amazing read. I think that the first story was more interesting because it had more action, but I think this book has something for everyone.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Awesome book!
Excellent portrayal of historical fiction.. Learned so much. Kept me intrigued throughout. Looking for more books by this author.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com