Novelizing history is a dangerous game. Done badly, it can be tacky, cheesy, and – at very worst – offensive. Warping historical context to create a compelling story risks misrepresenting real human experience. The best historical fiction writers are able to deftly maneuver within the strict timelines given to them and use real people and real stories to bolster the narrative. In her novel The Alice Network, Kate Quinn has taken history and, with only minor adjustments and additions, woven a beautifully moving story about war, friendship, and the lasting effects of trauma on the human psyche. Told in alternating points of view between Charlotte’s present day search and Eve’s introduction to secret intelligence in the First World War, The Alice Network explores the total destruction of war, the strength of women, and the unbelievable lengths human beings will go to in times of chaos to protect those they love.

I loved this book because the two story lines in two different times blended very well. Loved the characters, very well written. Exciting, intens and at times moving.

Very well written book with the two stories cleverly entwined. Well read too, would definitely recommend it.

Great book!

I loved it. It had a good mix of emotions. Also well read.

Wow

Loved reading this book.

Splendid in Total

A lovely book that weaved together the stories of two very different women. Women who both started out naive, who were both faced with hard choices, and who both learned from each other how to be brave.Eve's experiences during WWI are really without parallel. When we meet her, we can see how heavy a burden they still pose on her, with her sour demeanor and incessent drinking. We meet her in 1947, through the eyes of Charlie, a naive pregnant unmarried American socialite, who impulsively knocks on Eve's door in search of a cousin she hasn't seen since before the start of WWII. Together with Finn, Eve's handy man they set out on the search of all of their lives. Masterful!

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