The French Gift by Kirsty Manning: Book Review
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A 1939 fancy French Riviera house party, a faux murder gone wrong, a lost manuscript, and the enduring power of friendship are all wrapped together in this latest novel by Kirsty Manning, The French Gift.
Kirsty Manning returns with an interesting story that takes place in the present day and also in 1940s France during WWII.
There’s a mystery to be solved here, and this book takes you on a rather twisty road to the conclusion. But is the mystery solved? You’ll just need to read The French Gift to find out.
My Take: The French Gift combines several things I’m almost always drawn to in historical fiction: WWII France, dual timelines, a mystery rooted in the past, and women whose stories have been overlooked. I especially enjoyed learning about the women imprisoned and forced into labor during the war, although the multiple viewpoints and shifting time periods occasionally made the story harder for me to follow. My verdict: READ.
The French Gift by Kirsty Manning
Yes, this is yet another book set during the WWII period in France, a popular time period for many of my favorite historical fiction authors.
I’ve heard it said that this subject has already been exhausted and that there are just too many books about it. But I strongly disagree.
Despite the fact that I’ve read so many books set in this time period, I’m still hopelessly drawn to this time in history.
Yes, there are many books about it, but they’re all slightly different, with different characters, voices, emotions, and outcomes. And I learn something new with each of the books that I read. So I believe that there can never be enough books written about this historical period in our past, as long as we can keep learning new things with each book.
Synopsis of The French Gift
The French Gift moves between wartime France and the present day, connecting two women whose friendship began under extraordinary circumstances.
In 1940, Margot Bisset finds herself imprisoned after a staged murder at a glamorous French Riviera house party goes terribly wrong. There she meets writer and Resistance fighter Josephine Murant, beginning a friendship that will bind their lives together long after the war.
In the present day, Evie Black travels with her teenage son to Josephine’s former home on the Riviera after receiving news about her late husband’s great-aunt’s estate. As Evie begins looking into Josephine’s past, she discovers questions surrounding a forgotten manuscript, a murder, and the mysterious woman who once shared Josephine’s wartime imprisonment.
What I Liked
The French Gift is set in multiple time periods, and while I’ve read so many books about the WWII period and the French Resistance effort, I always seem to be drawn to more.
This book was inspired by the true story of Resistance fighter Agnes Humbert, whose secret journal told of the horrible existence she endured while incarcerated in Anrath Prison and forced to work at the Phrix Rayon Factory. The French Gift pays homage to the women who were imprisoned in labor camps during WWII. And again, despite the fact that I’ve read so many books about the French Resistance in general, I learned many new facts about these women that I never knew.
The story is told through multiple viewpoints and time periods, but the author spends enough time with each perspective that I still felt I got to know the characters in depth.
In the end, this novel, complete with all its twists and turns, is about the enduring power of friendship and how those relationships can literally have life-changing effects on us.
What I Didn’t Like
Because of the way the story was told, from three different main characters’ viewpoints during multiple time periods, the book switched from time period to time period rather frequently. And I felt lost once in a while. Specifically, because some of the chapters included flashbacks of the character, it sometimes took a while to figure out which time period they were referring to. This caused me to go back and reread some sections more than once, which made the book feel like it was going more slowly than I would have liked.
The French Gift – Read, ReRead, or Reconsider?
And now for my 3 Rs of book reviews. Read, ReRead, or Reconsider?
What is my opinion of The French Gift?
A definite read!
Is The French Gift Worth Reading?
The French Gift gave me many of the things I enjoy most in historical fiction: a mystery connecting past and present, strong female characters, a French setting, and a piece of WWII history I hadn’t encountered before. I occasionally struggled with the frequent shifts in viewpoint and time period, but the story of friendship at its heart – and what I learned about women imprisoned and forced into labor during the war – made it well worth the read.
What To Read Next
If The French Gift sounds like your kind of historical fiction, you might also enjoy:
- The Paris Library – another dual-timeline novel that explores a lesser-known story from WWII France.
- The Keeper of Happy Endings – for another story moving between wartime France and a later generation, with romance and family secrets.
- Explore Historical Fiction – browse more historical-fiction recommendations across different eras and settings.
