“Forgiving someone is the bravest thing you can ever do”
The French Photographer is an emotive journey set between wartime Europe and Jessica May, a female photojournalist who captured the turmoil, and Paris decades later, D’Arcy Hallworth who is come to Paris to manage the works of an enigmatic wartime photographer. Along the way, both protagonists both learn the overwhelming repercussions of secrets and the damage they can cause.
From Manhattan to Paris to travelling across war-torn Europe, Jessica May, a successful model come photojournalist, determined to make a difference documenting the war. She meets Dan Hallworth, a paratrooper and an orphan named Victorine in one of the field hospitals. Jessica finds herself impossibly drawn to Dan and Victorine as the war rages on. While her success as a photographer grows, so too those that would wish women were not doing men’s work and her determination to document the difficult truths of war.
A world and lifetime away, D’Arcy Hallworth arrives in a chateau in Paris to manage a collection of photographs. As she peruses the collection, she is drawn into the world of the mysterious photographer behind the photos, and by so doing, dredges up a long forgotten past that might be connected to D’Arcy herself.
“Mosquito bites didn’t itch like the devil”
I have to admit I’m not someone who takes particular interest in fashion, and so, I was a bit nervous about how I would go in reading Lester’s work for the first time, knowing fashion is a pointed interest in her writing. It took me some time to warm to the style of writing that went into the complexity of particular clothes and fashions. I definitely had a stronger appreciation for the wartime era’s fashion by the end of the book, but its not an aspect of Lester’s style that I am particularly drawn to.
What I was drawn to in Lester’s writing was the dual narrative featuring two women with seemingly different lives who, as the story progresses, we see their worlds gradually intertwining. Lester writes with a high level of skill weaving an interesting and moving plot through multiple time periods.
Jessica May is an endearing and memorable heroine, historically inspired by female war photojournalist, Lee Miller. By the end, I was somewhat torn about saying goodbye to this character. I particularly enjoyed the focus on women throughout the book and the reality of what happens to women in war, as well as the struggle for recognition and equity in their careers and broader lives.
“The only person who can change your future is yourself”
I was honestly moved by this story by its end, in ways I wasn’t expecting. Lester weaves an enthralling story in wartime Europe while keeping the present day in play and brings these two timelines together beautifully, before ultimately drawing to the novel’s climax.
