Sisters of Night and Fog (by Erika Robuck)
Courage. It’s what Virginia and Violette harness as they navigate life during the war in Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck. The more books I read that are set during WWII, I have to come expect the story to be heavy. This book is no different. It’s a nice, long read that alternates between the lives of Virginia and Violette as they navigate the changes in their young lives that are significantly impacted by the invasion of the Nazis.
The story opens when Virginia and Violette are young adults and follows them into marriage, adjusting to life during a war with rations, curfews, and living in a state of fear, to resisting the enemy. Virginia is an American married to a French man. She is a strong woman who welcomes any opportunity to actively support their allies. Violette is only 19 years old when she marries her soulmate. She suffers a lot for such a young woman and her suffering motivates her to take on the Nazis. She is recruited by Britain’s Special Operations Executive, a secret war operation that trained her to be an agent to gather intelligence to fight the Nazis.
This story highlights the great work of Virginia and Violette as well as describing the unimaginable horrors and suffering of people during the war. While there are moments this book made me smile or even laugh, it also broke my heart and brought me to tears. It’s an important story that will stay with me.
It wasn’t until I finished this book that I realized it’s described as biographical fiction, rather than historical fiction. As I gather from the author’s note at the end of the book, a significant amount of this story is true. I realize it’s a fictional book; however, these courageous women and their astounding stories are real. The research that went into learning the lives of these women is impressive! Clearly Erika immersed herself into the heroic lives of Virginia and Violet.
I purchased the audiobook from Audible. Narration by Caroline Hewitt is amazing! She makes the listening experience very enjoyable as she navigates all of the dialects and accents effortlessly. Her talent for narrating this story is extraordinary!
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