Good (not great) novel about an American pilot who returns to Belgium and France about 40 years after his bomber crashed during a World War II mission. He goes back to find the people who came to his aid and helped ferry him back to safety. The most interesting part of the story is learning about the bravery and courage of --and harsh consequences for--- those involved in the Resistance Movement in France. The fact that much of the novel is based on the story of the author's father-in-law and a real-life woman of the Resistance adds poignancy. After reading the book, read the author's New Yorker article titled "The Real Girl in the Blue Beret."
I've been reading a lot of books about WWII lately, and this one was disappointing. The history about the war in Belgium and the French Resistance Movement was interesting, as is the story about Marshall Stone who was forced into retirement from his airline and didn't know what to do with the rest of his life. He decides to go back to Belgium and France and search for the people who helped him hide during the war after crashing his plane in a field behind enemy lines. An interesting premise, but the story soon fizzled out and left me skimming a lot of the book and I disliked the way it ended.
