Evensong (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: fairy angel, luck piece, Uncle Philippe, Senator Caradine, Colonel Montrose (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A historical novel of a young woman's return to Europe and her service in the French resistance. The Cross family ekes out a living in hardscrabble Kelly Flatt, Mo., where they have been brought by their father, an opera prodigy who fought in the Great War. When a lightning-felled tree kills her father, her mother turns to drink, forcing the thrush-voiced and raven-haired Christina Cross to find work in a hotel. There, Senator Liam Caradine discovers her vocal talent. Christina accepts the Senator's patronage and performs at West Point under the smitten gaze of one Laurent de Gauvion Saint Cyr, grandson of the eponymous World War I general, who has come to seek American collaboration against French horizons dark with Hitler's rearmament of Germany. In love with the paternal senator, Christina rebuffs Laurent, an infamous paramour, only to find her self again in his company when Germany attacks Austria and she, following in her father's footsteps, travels to France to serve in the war effort. She brings her sister Nicolette to keep her safe from their drunken mother. They arrive in France just as their uncle, General Philippe Petain, is being sworn in as vice premier of France. At first loyal to Philippe, Christina soon rejects his complacency toward the Nazis and her loyalty turns to Laurent and the resistance. She joins Operation Cri de Coeur, rescuing babies from Hitler's camps with a submarine based in North African catacombs. But then the unthinkable happens: Nicolette is captured and sent to a Nazi work camp, eventually becoming a test subject for secret Nazi bio-weapons. Christina mounts a mission to infiltrate the camp and rescue Nicolette.

Written with brio and filled with ecstatic reveries and 11th-hour rescues, St. Sure's prose has a passion . . . action-driven and enjoyable ride . . . spirited work. -- Kirkus Discoveries, June 1, 2008

Clearly unafraid to work hard and think big. One can certainly appreciate her (M. L. St. Sure) careful attention to detail, diligent effort to research the period, and the ambitious scope of the work. -- FOREWORD CLARION REVIEWS. Date written: Feb. 28, 2008

Product Description

M.L. St. Sure's Evensong is a powerful and captivating historical romance novel, set in World War II, about a beautiful, celebrated opera singer forced to sing the singspiel before Hitler. Amidst terrible consequences, after heartbreaking conflict and loss, the heroine's voice carries the ultimate message of courage and freedom.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419668242
• ISBN-13: 978-1419668241
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #855,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evensong, October 30, 2007

By	Susan S. Stone (Baileys Harbor WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

EVENSONG is a riveting book. I loved it...couldn't put it down! It is set during the tragic, poignant, courageous time of WW II in France. The characters are so well drawn...you become a part of the enormity of the situation. I know that I won't forget these brave souls.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LOOK BACK - Written by Linsey Cook, December 17, 2007

By	M. L. St. Sure "Evensong" (Baileys Harbor, WI) - See all my reviews

The Northern Iowan
Written By: Linsey Cook
Northern Iowan Book Critic

With the Iraq War on everyone's mind, sometimes it's a good idea to look back at the past and try and learn some kind of lesson from it. While it's not the original intention of Iowan author M. L. St. Sure, this is exactly what the new book entitled "Evensong," accomplishes.

"Evensong" is the story of Christina Cross who grew up on a farm in Missouri and learns how to sing opera from her war-scarred father. When her father dies unexpectedly, her mother throws her out of the house.

Christina is forced to try and find a job to support herself; she starts by being a maid in a hotel, but she is discovered by the owner, who harnesses her talent and transforms her into an opera singer.

When Christina finds that her younger sister is being abandoned by her older, abusive brother and that her mother is drinking, she decides to take her sister and escape to Europe.

Going to live with her uncle, Phillippe Petain the premier of France in Paris, Christina immediately finds herself in the mix of World War II politics. When her uncle surrenders Paris and all of France to Hitler, she is forced to sing for the Nazis.

Recruited by French underground leader Laurent de Gauvion into the resistance, Christina begins to realize what is really going on in the war. She does everything she can to help, from caring for orphaned babies to infiltrating a kinderkamp in Germany.

Christina's journey makes us realize the costs of war and how they affect everyone, no matter what their role is.

A bittersweet story with a heart wrenching ending, "Evensong" is a beautifully written novel. St. Sure transports us into the vivid world of the 1940s exploring everything from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high in the world.

Readers become extremely attached to Christina and her sister Nicolette because St. Sure's characters are carefully crafted; they're vivid, interesting and provide different perspectives about what is going on in the world around them. St. Sure makes sure that readers are privy to their loves, hate, vengeances and motivations.

The plot is fast-paced, taking you everywhere St. Sure needs you to go, while holding back on some of the more gruesome details. This is, after all, a story of one person's encounter with the war, not an overview of the war.

The ending, while extremely sad, is appropriate and did not leave me feeling upset at the author, which is surprisingly unlike how other books have left me when faced with similar endings.

At only 226 pages long, the author still finds a way to fit everything that is needed to create a truly remarkable story. A lot of novels about World War II are extremely long with all the detail, while the shorter stories sometimes feel as if they don't have enough information to make you feel fulfilled.

With short chapters and an interesting topic, this is a good read for anyone of any age or gender. It leaves you attached to the book until the very end. A great read that leaves you thinking about life while you're stuck inside on a cold winter day.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a page-turner!, December 5, 2007

By	K. K. McClelland "books, books, books" (The Villages, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a riveting page-turner!!! I had trouble setting it aside once I began reading. Ms. St. Sure weaves a truly believable tale which speaks truth to the brave courage of two young women transported from rural Missouri to the horrors of Nazi Germany during WWII. I seldom read a book twice, but this is worth a second reading.