A tale of love and war, Transgression by James W. Nichol is part romance, part mystery, and part riveting historical novel set during World War Two in Europe and in North America in the years directly following the terrible conflict. Nichol--winner of the Arthur Ellis Award and shortlisted for the UK's Gold Dagger Award for his debut novel Midnight Cab--tells the haunting story of a young French woman undone by love during the Nazi occupation of her country and branded a "horizontal collaborator" after its liberation. Beautifully written and unforgettable, Transgression is a novel about secrets and survival and the high price that must be paid for passion.
Superb novel taking place during and in aftermath of WWII, where two completely different story lines converge believably. Moving, real and complicated characters in vivid and exciting story. The very end was slightly contrived, but overall, an excellent read.
Transgression
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
This was a gripping read about loyalties and betrayal during WWII and how individuals' needs and desires sometimes rise above and conflict with the loyalties of their families and nations. This book keeps your attention and is hard to put down and describes what was apparently a little known but common practice in German - occupied France - - voluntary and quite genuine relationships between French women and German soldiers and the scorn and banishment these women received from their neighbors, families and friends. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in daily life during the occupation and the general psyche of the French during that period. There is also an interesting murder mystery thrown in although I did not enjoy that part (i.e. the investigation of the murder which takes place in Canada after the War) nearly as much -- although the solution was quite satisfying.
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