A charming if largely frivolous story, We Are Not Alone tells the story of a fledgling affair between a decent but meek small-town English doctor, David, and a young German dancer, Leni. For the most part, this book is a sweet and cosy romance-drama, with author James Hilton using most of the pages here to depict its mundane development.

This affair veers into tragedy, though the way the story is formed means it seems closer to soap-opera than tragedy. You see, the story takes place in the months before the outbreak of war in August 1914, and the puppyish lovers' attempts to keep their affair secret begin to seem, to the hysterical population of their small town, evidence that they are German spies. This leads to their trial and execution due to the whole misunderstanding. (This is not really a spoiler: the narrator mentions it quite early on.)

Though interesting, I found this last part to form much less of the story than I would have liked. There's a dearth of information online regarding Hilton's books, outside the (deservedly) well-known Lost Horizon and Goodbye Mr. Chips, and I had read that We Are Not Alone addressed the theme of xenophobia and war hysteria, and the way in which false rumour and gossip can become dangerous. I was disappointed when this theme was essentially only present in the final chapter, and even then rather tamely. This wasn't just disappointment based on my preconceptions, but on the fact that the story leaves a number of unanswered (or, more accurately, under-answered) questions. Surprisingly for such a natural storyteller, Hilton seeds the plot points poorly and it means the mystery in the final act – the doctor's wife Jessica, for example, or the role of the narrator – can prove underwhelming.

Regardless, it is a charming story for all its flaws. The romance is tender, and I liked how Hilton's understatement, which is a problem for other parts of the story, conveys the doomed couple's naïve and vulnerable communication (the moment on page 151 where Leni says "I love you" for the first time endears the reader to the couple). And the novel has a quality it seems Hilton could paint in all of his books: that quiet cosiness of Old England which he can make to seem more legitimate than mere nostalgia. In all of Hilton's books, there is an "awareness of beauty in peril" (pg. 153), and while it may not be anywhere near as potent in We Are Not Alone as it is in the peerless Lost Horizon, this cute sketch of a couple condemned by "the less tolerable madness of those whom the world called sane" (pg. 59) is a quintessential James Hilton book: a quiet, dignified island against which the cruel world beats its waves. ( )

A nice quick read with a somewhat startling twist at the end....kept me mildly interested at best....did make me think about the sad state of all the people in the world that choose to be with partners they do not like or enjoy being with....and the perils that may go along with those situations. This is James Hilton #4 for me and they have each been rather unique....i've got a few more to go and i think i'll look forward to them. ( )