Review: The Alice Network
Bedside Rating: 8/10
Genre: Historical Fiction
I’m not going to lie to you guys, this book sat on my shelf for over a year … maybe longer. My mother in-law recommended it to me, and when it comes to fiction novels, we have very similar taste. Yet for some reason, when it came to picking out what book I would read next, I always passed over The Alice Network. I’m not sure if I felt I had read too many books with the same story line - underestimated English woman turns spy in France during the World War. But eventually I had read all of my remaining books, and the time had come for me to reluctantly read The Alice Network. To my surprise, this novel was very different from the ones I was comparing it to in my head AND I loved it!
The Alice Network tells a story of two women in different timelines - a female spy recruited into a network in France during World War I, and an American aristocrat searching for her lost cousin in 1945. Both woman are brought together over one man and the need to uncover the truth. The Alice Network tells a story of courage, redemption, love, and sacrifice.
Despite being 503 pages long, I was sad when it ended. I had so easily become attached to the characters and their story, and was eager to continue reading about them and how their stories progressed. What was written however, was a beautiful depiction of the destruction of war not only for humanity as a whole but an individual’s psyche. Societal expectations for women in that time were more than touched upon, allowing you to effortlessly immerse yourself in the time frame being illustrated. Although a fiction novel, it is based largely on the truth of the real Alice Network. While reading the novel, I never felt as though aspects were over glorified, but rather the progression and conversations felt quite natural.
The Alice Network is a wonderful novel, I only wish I had picked it up sooner. So don’t do what I did. If you’re thinking about giving this book a read, quit thinking and just do it! Get lost in The Alice Network, and let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did when you’re done.
xx
Sash