The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

This is the first book by Jojo Moyes that I have read.  In fact I only came across her as an author earlier this year when people started to rave about the book, and then the film 'Me before You'.  I have been given a copy of that book but haven't read it yet. 

The first part of this book tells the story of Sophie Lefevre.  In the early 1900s in France the artist Edouard Lefevre paints a portrait of his wife Sophie.  The story begins in October 1916 when Sophie has returned to her home town of St Peronne to help her sister Helene to run their family hotel Le Coq Rouge as their two husbands have gone off to fight in the war.  The Germans take control of St Peronne, regularly requisition items from homes and impose curfews. Undeterred, Sophie hangs the portrait in the bar for all to see as it reminds her of Edouard.  The new Kommandant is often seen to openly admire the portrait and, as an art lover, he tries to engage Sophie in conversation about the picture, her husband's life at the Academie Matisse, and the other artists who also studied there. Sophie does not want to collaborate with the Germans but she needs to obey orders given and not upset the Kommandant in order to keep her family safe. 

The story then jumps to 2006 to Liv Halston who has the portrait hanging on the wall of her London glass house, which was built by her Architect husband David before his sudden death.  The portrait was given to Liv by David as a wedding present.  Liv is struggling to come to terms with David's death and to move on with her life.  

Upon undertaking an audit of the paintings by Edouard, the Lefevre family discover that there are some paintings missing and, due to the lack of paperwork available to prove a sale of the work, 'The girl you left behind' becomes the subject of a restitution request.  The story then goes backwards and forwards in time to investigate what had happened to Sophie from 1917 onwards.  Was the painting stolen?  Can Liv hold on to it as she so desperately wants?  There are a few twists and turns along the way as new information emerges to help or thwart both sides of the case! 

I really enjoyed the story and felt a lot of compassion for both Sophie and Liv.  They have both struggled to hold on to the life they love and they certainly have shared a great love for their husbands and for the painting.  They are both prepared to fight for what they love the most regardless of the emotional and/or financial costs.