Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon ~ Book Review

Nancy Wake is an Australian expat living in 1936 Paris.  She works for Hearst newspapers as a journalist, a job she bluffed her way into, but is finding frustrated as the newspaper doesn't give credit to their female journalists.  Nancy is not looking for love when she meets a wealthy industrialist named Henri Fiocca but his pursuit of her finally wins her heart and they are married.  Then Germany invades France and Nancy finds herself drawn to help the Resistance where she can.  Always independent, Nancy finds courage and resolve even she didn't know she had as her involvement deepens in the fight against Nazi occupation.  Her solid foundation however, is at home with her beloved Henri.  But will this war shatter what they have built together?

This book is based on the real story of Nancy Wake, one of WWII's most decorated and courageous women.  Nancy was known by several names, "Noncee" to her beloved husband, Mandame Andree - the fighter, Lucienne Carlier - the smuggler, Helene - the spy, The White Mouse - the target that the Germans were searching for.  Nancy's fight for the Resistance began while working for Hearst newspapers when she witnessed horrific brutality by the Germans towards Jews in Vienna.  She could not stand by as they took over France.  Eventually she became trained by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) in Britain where she was assigned back into France to equip and train the men there to fight the German occupation.  But according to the author's notes, the novel she wrote was mainly about marriage. At the heart, she wrote a novel about a woman and her husband and the sacrifices made by both of them.  I, for the most part, found this book about this incredibly courageous woman worth the read.  Admittedly, it was hard to read the more brutal parts of her story and there are many.  But that cannot be brushed from history.   I did find the story confusing at times in the way it jumped back and forth between time lines.  Because there was not a lot of years between the timelines, it started to get mixed up sometimes for me.  There is swearing in the book.  Nancy in real life swore.  A lot.  She used it as a way of gaining dominance and respect with the fighters in the Resistance.  As she did with drinking.  There is a lot of drinking in the story.  Negotiations for supplies and ammunition were always done over a bottle and the men tried to use it as a tactic to take advantage of her but she always turned the technique against them. It is all a part of the true story of Nancy Wake Fiocca.  There is also s*xual descriptions in the book that I felt didn't need to be in there and I did some skimming through those.  But the story of this courageous woman and others like her should not be lost and it was worth the read to learn about her and remember all she accomplished to save the lives of thousands.

I rated this book 8/10