Resistance is about an American pilot in Belgium whose plane falls near a tiny Belgian village. His life is saved by a young boy and is hidden in the home of a woman and her husband who are part of the Resistance, a group that helps to save people from the Nazis, but especially the Americans whom they see as their saviors.

The story starts with the chaos of the air battle, the bomber's crash landing and the pilot's desperate rescue by a Belgian child. Then some of the townspeople collaborate with the Nazis while the others resist, and the motives of the rest are unclear. The atmosphere is one of fear, suspicion, and bare-bones survival.

Claire Daussouis is the woman who takes the American, Ted Brice, into hiding, and nurses him back to health. The two start having an affair, and in time, they fall in love. They know their time together is limited because Ted will be sent to Spain by the Resistance, but Ted is trying to find a different way to stay with Claire, despite the fact that she is married to another man, a man who is an important member of the resistance but one Claire does not love.

Resistance is full of intrigue and danger. The overall story is tragic, and the unexpected ending, though cleverly plotted, comes up as a total shock.

the plotting.

is Anita Shreve. She traveled to Belgium to research the background of Resistance and to get a feel of the atmosphere, before starting to write the book.
Some of her other well-known works are: Eden Close, Weight of Water, Fortune's Rocks, The Last Time They Met, Pilot's Wife

I enjoyed reading it, although it may be difficult for some to get into a story that happened more than half a century ago.

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Created Feb 03, 2014 at 12:00am • Submit your own review...