runs deeper than one initially expects, calling up the expected Greek allusions (Daedalus, Oedipus) with aplomb. There is also unexpected tenderness many fathers will recognize, when Rémy—otherwise jealous of his own son—reads a note from Alexandre and is moved: “Peut-on désavouer un enfant qui nous appelle papa?” (147). The best part of this novel, though, is neither its narrator nor any of his family members. It is “Gwyneth,” an imaginary secondary character who floats through Rémy’s narration in many forms—sometimes a voice, sometimes a visually imaginable sexual fantasy, sometimes a mere name. Appearing first as a GPS unit Rémy and his wife are using during the Australian vacation that opens the story—a device the couple nickname “Gwyneth Parletrop”—this character quickly becomes Rémy’s principal object of desire, both a fleeting version of Rémy’s ideal female and a counterpoint to the real-life actions of both Carole, Rémy’s wife, and Rémy himself. The film references that pervade the novel (including a filmography in the last chapter) all feature the actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who rescues this otherwise underwhelming novel in a uniquely Gervaisian flourish. University of Wisconsin, Madison Ritt Deitz HUNZINGER, CLAUDIE. Elles vivaient d’espoir. Paris: Grasset, 2010. ISBN 987-2-24677291 -0. Pp. 246. 19 a. “Elles” refers to Emma and Thérèse, two interesting and complex women living during a crucial time in French history: World War II. Closely connected at the beginning of their careers, their lives go in different directions; however, their political involvement keeps them faithful to their ideals and causes them to maintain hope as they challenge both the Nazi occupation and also the prevailing sexual norms of the era. The novel’s unique framework is built around the author, Emma’s daughter, who reconstructs her mother’s life based on four notebooks containing journal entries, photos, and letters. The book’s format requires some effort of its readers, but the reward comes as they mentally construct the character of Emma, her lovers, her husband, and primarily Thérèse, the only recipient of Emma’s enduring love. It is Thérèse’s martyrdom, discovered when Emma’s daughter Googles Thérèse Pierre and finds two public schools that bear her name, which inspires the investigation of her mother’s and Thérèse’s lives. The historical context in Hunzinger’s novel is provided by Emma’s writings about her German and Jewish friends, and later her life in Alsace as the wife of Marcel, a man whose loyalties are first to the French, then waver as the Germans take control of Alsace. Emma, professeur de Lettres Modernes, has a successful teaching career, first at smaller villages scattered around the country, later at Perpignan, and finally in Colmar. These transfers, plus her fear of marriage, yet her desire for children cause Emma to vacillate between confidence and self-doubt, which is revealed in the shift of perspective seen in her notebooks (going from first to third person and back again). The gradual development of hostilities in Russia, Spain, and Ethiopia become drastic as Emma experiences the re-annexation of Alsace. As a result her life changes radically. She can relate to very few friends, argues frequently with Marcel, usually over politics, is forbidden to speak or read French, and thus she becomes a self-imposed hermit in her own home. After the Reviews 787 Liberation, trials to purge the country of suspected Nazi collaborators start. Marcel is censored because of his association with the Nazis and Emma because she has supported Marcel. Claudie Hunzinger, the author, being Emma’s daughter, uses her mother’s notebooks and photos to analyze her relationship with both parents, and specifically her animosity towards her father which she finally begins to understand. The novel shifts to a more active mode as Thérèse now becomes the focus: Thérèse’s strength of character, her decisiveness, her ability to judge people, and her skill in organizing the Resistance in her area paint her in a very different light from the way she was depicted during her liaison with...