I read this as a standalone and really enjoyed it. It has made me want to read the first two books within the trilogy

Teacher Louise wants a baby to love but, despite having many lovers, she has not conceived. When an old man commits suicide in front of her Louise is forced to confront her life and relationships of her late mother. New recruit Gabriel tries to conform in his army unit but is 'befriended' by con-man Raoul and that causes problems. Desire is a practised fraudster who sets up a commune to help those fleeing from the German invasion.
This is the third volume in a trilogy but can be read as a standalone novel as Lemaitre is brilliant at creating small stories that draw the reader in. All the key characters are linked somehow and the journey towards the end is a wonderful tale. I love the human aspect of Lemaitre's writing, the translation is fantastic.

I thought the title and the book description sounded intriguing, which is why I was interested in this.

The writing style had a certain elegance to it that I found appealing. Another thing I will say about the book is that it surprised me. I was surprised by the use of profanity, and the open discussion of sexuality, although I don't mean that as a negative comment.

The protagonist, Louise, was a character that interested me, and as I read on. I found myself interested in some of the other characters too, even if some of them were unlikeable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

This is the last in the Les Enfants du désastre trilogy and I loved these books, the characters, the complex plots and how the history mixed in the personal stories.
Lemaitre is a master storyteller and this story ends with WWII after we followed the characters in nearly twenty years.
I loved what I read and it's an excellent series of well plotted and intriguing stories.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Mirror of our Sorrows is the final book in Pierre Lemaitre's excellent "Paris between the wars" trilogy,though the final few chapters take place during the German invasion and the fall of Paris in World War 2 .
The book begins with a naked woman, Louise Belmont, running screaming down a busy street in Paris after a rather strange encounter in a hotel room that turns her life upside down. With all kinds of accusations flying Louise discovers that events in the hotel room hold the key to her past.
As ever in this series there is a diverse cast of characters,the best and the worst of humankind ,the mad,the bad and the positively saintly. In a parallel story line a group of soldiers find themselves similarly under suspicion and in trouble as, like Louise, their story is doubted.
This series is pure genius ,all 3 books have plenty of action, scenes that anger,stories that move and plenty of laugh out loud humour. This one is no different, some of it is brutal, parts of it are heartbreaking and only a master storyteller like Lemaitre could get away with dropping a couple of outrageously over the top characters right into the middle of it and making the whole thing work.
It's not strictly necessary to have read the previous 2 books before this one but if you don't you're missing a real treat.

*A big thank-you to Pierre Lemaitre, Quercus Books, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Wonderful, emotionally charged novel on love, loss, deception and hope.
Mr Lemaitre is not afraid of presenting France during the phoney war and just after the attack on Francee by the Nazi Germany, with insight into the rank and file as well as decisions regarding the politics and war made at upper levels. These moments are bitter-sweet, as uncharmed history usually is.
The plot develops slowly towards the momentum in which the main characters finally arrive at the destination.
Mr Lemaitre knows how to create characters that are unlike any others, and I enjoyed meeting them, especially the two whose unlikely friendship forged painfully and developed slowly.
I am more than encouraged to read more of Mr Lemaitre books as I read just one, several years ago.
My fifth star is for the book being captivating and deeply engaging for me.