Claire ChevrillonBesprekingen

This was the first memoir I've read in a long, long time. Memoirs are kind of a strange animal. They don't always highlight the life of a famous person (or even someone who saw great events) like a biography or an autobiography; they don't focus on the important events taking place as a history would. Claire's story was one of a ordinary woman who did an important, but behind-the-scenes act with the French Resistance. She didn't see battles and much of the time, she didn't know what she was decoding. But it was a very interesting read - from the perspective of a person living in Vichy during the occupation.

I was surprised at how mobile Claire was. She travelled back and forth to the coast, Paris and places in Vichy during the occupation. She spoke of the security measures in place to keep Vichy under the rule of Germany - but as a citizen (and a woman - a mild-mannered, middle-aged one at that), she didn't experience much harrassment. She writes of food shortages, the rare visitors that could provide information on the war, and how she got involved in the Resistance as a decoder. She was betrayed and spent four terrible months in jail, all of which she describes in her unfalteringly matter-of-fact voice.

This definitely isn't an exciting book. There's no forbidden love story or tales of great valor in battle or anything like that. There is a lot of good background information on the groups involved in the Resistance. I would suggest this book to someone who was interested in the role of women in the Resistance - someone who can handle a memoir, with its limited scope, viewpoint, and information.