Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club! We hope you are enjoying In Field of Blue by Gemma Liviero so far, we certainly are! Keep in mind this discussion is for the first half of the book, chapters 1-20. If you’ve read ahead, please keep any spoilers or thoughts on later portions of the book for the next discussion. See the In a Field of Blue Summary Page for the reading schedule details and other discussions.
Brooke’s Thoughts
So far I am enjoying In a Field of Blue. I was a little unsure in the beginning because I am not a huge fan of how descriptive the author is. I like my books to be very fast-paced and to read more dialogue than scenery. Even though it’s descriptive, I sometimes find it hard to envision since the early 1900’s Europe is not a time period I know much about.
I really like the mystery part of it all! I really want to know more about Edgar and Laurence seems like an interesting character too. I’m not sure how I feel about Rudy yet. Since he is in love with Mariette I don’t think he is clear-headed enough to determine what happened to his brother. More of my thoughts on Mariette below.
Favorite Quote:
“Helene believed that you must never dwell on bad things, because they will infect and blacken your brain like the plague.”
– Gemma Liviero, In a Field of Blue
Kevin’s Thoughts
Recently, I’ve started to enjoy historical fiction a lot more. Unfortunately, I’ve had a hard time getting into this book. While it’s set in history, it feels much more like a mystery/romance novel to me. I finally started getting interested once Mariette disappeared and Rudy went to France to try to find Edgar or more clues… And then the whole story moved to Mariette’s childhood and I lost interest again.
I do have some theories on Edgar, Mariette, and Samuel, below, that I want to find out if I’m right. Hopefully Mariette’s story picks up and I can get interested again!
Favorite Quote:
“Children are much more resilient than we think. They need to learn the hard lessons, and that life can change in an instant. Mistakes are the only way to learn.”
– Gemma Liviero, In a Field of Blue
Do you believe Mariette’s story?
Brooke’s Prediction: Her story is not true
There is a lot of lying going on. She’s lying about Samuel’s age, meaning she doesn’t know his actual age or is trying to make her story fit to when she and Edgar supposedly got married. Therefore, I don’t think Samuel is her son. She wouldn’t have been able to leave him so easily either unless something happened to her instead of just running off. I don’t think she stole the jewelry though. I think Laurence set that up to make sure she could never come back. She could be trying to help her sister. Helene could have been Edgar’s wife and Samuel’s mother and this was the only way she thought Rudy and his mom would believe her.
Kevin’s Prediction: Her story is mostly true
I think Mariette’s story is mostly true but with several twists. While I think she is Edgar’s wife and Samuel is his son, I don’t think she’s Samuel’s mother. My guess is that Edgar actually loved Mariette’s sister, Helene, and Samuel is their child. Helene probably died in childbirth or shortly thereafter during the war, sparking Edgar’s mental illness (or worsening it). As a result of Edgar’s mental instability, Jerome and Mariette likely convinced Edgar to the marriage for the sake of Samuel and his inheritance.
However, I’m not sure why Mariette waited four years to come to Lakeland and lay claim to Samuel’s inheritance. Also, if Edgar’s still alive, why didn’t he come with her? There’s still plenty of questions to answer.
Vote
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Discussion Prompts / Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts / questions below:
- Share any theories you have on Mariette’s story.
- Do you think Edgar’s still alive?
- Do you have a favorite character so far? Why?
- What do you make of Mariette’s disappearance? Do you think she really left or something else happened?
- Do you think Samuel will get the inheritance or Laurence will stay in line?
- Are you enjoying the book? How do you feel about the writing style and pacing?
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We hope you’ll enjoy this discussion and join us again in two weeks to discuss the rest of the book! Check the In a Field of Blue Summary Page for details. Also, don’t forget about the genre vote for our next book if you haven’t voted yet.
Three brothers, Edgar, a kind-hearted soul, Laurence a very out-for-himself kind of person and Rudy the youngest and very naive just floats along minding his own business until he falls in love then needs to go out and find his lost.love. Laurence wants to inherit the estate so he will stop at nothing to get it. I can believe that Marietta and her sister were abandoned and after growing up in Jeromes care did meet up with Edgar who was shell shocked from front line battle of the war. Can’t wait to finish the second half if this book mostly to find out if Edgar is alive and what happens to Samual, the innocent child.
I like how different all 3 brothers are. I agree about Laurence he seems like a manipulator and a con-artist. I also can’t wait to finish the book and get some answers to all these questions!
This is probably the first book I have ever read that was set a few years after WWI. From the get go I knew that I would like the author’s syntax and diction even if I did not know if I would like the characters or the plot. The description in the first few pages of the road and gardens leading to Rudy’s home and then the manor itself were detailed in such a way that I could clearly picture what the setting was. The rest of the chapters continue this trend not only when describing locations, such as when Rudy is in France crossing through towns that were decimated by the shelling in the war, but also people. The physical description of people such as Andrew and Roger who were soldiers in the war, coupled with the things they say about the war really drives home just how devastated these characters are. Even a character such as Lenore, who didn’t see war, is described so well that you can truly picture this old woman sitting in a dusty house dying with a heart full of resentment.
The author has done a fantastic job of physically describing Rudy, and by extension his brothers, to us. Even more importantly she’s done a great job of showing us Rudy’s inner mind. Originally I found that Rudy’s lack of drive or desire to be anything but ordinary was extremely weird. Probably more odd than falling “in love” with a woman who may have been his dead brother’s wife. However, I like that we see one of the oldest axioms in human society come to life with Rudy. He falls “in love,” he develops aspirations and goals and then he starts to care and want more out of life. There’s nothing like a woman to ignite a fire in a man.
The woman who fans this flame though was a rollercoaster for me as a reader. I have to be honest that originally my opinion of Mariette can be best described by the musician Kanye West (before his mental disorder led to his erratic and dangerous behavior): “Now, I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger/ But she ain’t messin’ with no broke…”. I believed Mariette to be a charlatan from the beginning. The idea of a reclusive and secretive woman showing up with a child that belongs to a now-dead-man just reeks of fraud. As the plot progresses we learn about Mariette’s past and if I hadn’t been suspicious of her before finding out she was Romani I would of felt like a racist. We find out that Mariette was abandoned, abused and lived a nomadic lifestyle. All of a sudden her secretiveness does not seem out of place but a learned behavior for survival. Up to the end of chapter 20 we don’t know Mariette’s true motivator and that makes her mysterious and a character I want to know more about.
The plot of In a Field of Blue is intriguing. It doesn’t seem too out of this world and I feel like I may have seen movies or tv shows that fit it’s particular motif. I will say that a major part of the first portion feels like a romance novel So much so that I thought why aren’t the sex scenes more explicit? Then we get to chapter 20 and children are being sex trafficked and I regretted ever having that thought. Ultimately In the 200 pages I have read of In a Field of Blue I am a thousand times more interested and vested in finding out who Mariette and Samuel actually are than I ever was to find out who killed Amanda in I’ll Never Tell. Maybe it’s the authors writing or maybe it’s the characters themselves but I’m actually thoroughly enjoying In a Field of Blue. I think that Samuel might end up being Helen’s child. I think Lawrence might know more about his brother’s PTSD and maybe even his post war activity than he lead on. And I feel that Rudy is in for the kind of disappointment you can only find in a good book. Looking forward to reading the other half.
I am glad you are enjoying the author’s descriptiveness! I am getting a little more use to it. I like the way she described war-torn France too.
I love the Kanye West reference! But I never got the golddigger or long-con vibe from her. I agree, the family would have thrown her out almost immediately if they knew about her past. I also want to know more about her and what happened to Helene.
I still think I like I’ll Never Tell better but we will have to see what the second half of this book holds.
I didn’t think about how Laurence might know more about his brother after the war than he is letting on. Great thought!
As long as the book gives me all the answers I want, I think I’ll be satisfied with the ending.
I’m torn on the author’s writing style and description. I agree it’s easy to picture the locations but I’d like a better idea of the historical accuracy. It often feels like the clothes and attitudes are too modern while the world and architecture are still devastated by WWI. I also struggle with picturing Edgar’s place in WWI and which battles he was part of. It seems he was stationed in the north of France, near Mariette’s town, for much of the war. I know there were long standoffs with the newly invented trench warfare but it seems odd to me that he didn’t move around more. Perhaps that’s just my lack of knowledge of WWI vs. WWII.
Rudy’s love for Mariette has definitely given him some more ambition. However, with how much he looked up to and loved Edgar, I’m surprised he didn’t go looking for details on his death sooner. Perhaps Edgar / Mariette hoped he would but gave up after four years and decided to show up herself. That could partially explain why Mariette and Samuel didn’t reveal themselves to the family sooner.
On Mariette, I have to say I feel somewhat the opposite. At first, I was inclined to believe her story that Samuel is Edgar’s son. Although, I was never sure Samuel was actually her son or she Edgar’s wife. But after learning more about her backstory and Edgar’s mental illness, I started to consider plots where she takes advantage of him and the family. Maybe Mariette matures and develops more of a conscience but in what we’ve read of her childhood so far it seems that Helene is the naturally good one while Mariette is often prone to stealing and thinking only of herself. I don’t think she stole the jewelry though, as her plans were bigger than that, and Laurence likely had a hand in framing her.
I also thought the beginning was too much like a romance novel. In terms of the mystery portion, I liked the pacing of I’ll Never Tell much more. I found I’ll Never Tell much harder to put down between discussions whereas I’m not sure I’d mind if I never found out if Samuel is Edgar’s son or what happened to Mariette or Edgar. And, as I mentioned above, the historical fiction aspects aren’t really doing it for me. I was excited about starting this book because I really enjoyed the author’s previous novel, The Road Beyond Ruin, set in WWII. I’m not sure if I just don’t like the WWI time period as much or if the author isn’t portraying it as well.
Laurence might know more about Edgar’s whereabouts and possibly still being alive. He seems like the type to do his research and probably would have pushed for his inheritance sooner if he could confirm Edgar was dead. I hope you’re wrong about Rudy being in for disappointment, as he’s the only character I really like so far. I’m also partial to Peggy and Bert who would be cast aside or treated poorly if Laurence inherits.
This is a period piece, thus all the descriptions of places and what was like in world War 1. The soldiers did not have the luxury of spending time in hospital but put back on the front. PSD was not known then. I found it interesting that if there was not enough hospital beds for those recovering small injuries and thus was place in homes for food and rest. The Europeans during this time period were very stoic not showing emotion especially those in a higher class of people. That’s why the family is suspicious of her because she definitely was not of their class. How could Edger fall in love and have a child by someone from lower class. Rudy idolizes his older brother but again is suspicious of Marriotts. The story though has some romance it is a story of finding oneself . I enjoyed the descriptions of what happened during the WW1.
I have finished the book so don’t want to give to much away.
I think the only other book I have read around this time period was The Great Gatsby but that was in the United States and I really enjoyed that.
I also enjoyed learning a little more about WW1.
That makes sense about them being suspicious of her because of class.
Thanks for commenting! I can’t wait to discuss the whole book with you!
When I first started reading this book I thought it was to much like a romance novel and I’m not a big fan of romance novels. It did pick up when Mariette disappeared and I was so hoping Laurence didn’t murder her but after reading her story realized she is tougher than I thought having such hard childhood. I’m hoping she ran off to get Edgar to convince him to come home or just wanted Samual to be with his dads family and left. Helene could be Samual’s mom or another child they took in like Jerome did for them.
I really like Rudy I’m so hoping he can find out if Edgar is alive and find Mariette and get the true story.
The quote I liked was
Though Peggy didn’t speak French she spoke the universal languages of arm movements and voice tone,which a child always understands. I could see a close relationship was quickly forming.
I do really like Peggy and Bert they seem like grandparents to Rudy and take care if Samual so lovingly.
I liked that quote too! I think there’s a good chance Laurence killed Mariette (or at least tried) but I’m hoping we’ll see her again. At least for Rudy’s sake. In a perfect world, it feels like Rudy should marry Mariette and live at Lakeland with her and Samuel. Unfortunately, Edgar potentially still being alive along with Laurence’s claim will make that pretty difficult.
Samuel could be a random child they brought in, but it would have to have been a while ago based on his comfort level with Mariette and recognizing Edgar’s photo. Maybe he’s in on it, but seems too young for that. Peggy and Bert are pretty cool characters! I hope Rudy gets to take over Lakeland somehow or Edgar comes back since Laurence doesn’t seem to respect them.
Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan of their romance either, especially when I thought she was his sister-in-law. I also thought he fell in love too fast. It seemed like a lot of time had passed when it had only been a couple of weeks.
I didn’t think about the possibility of Samuel being no one’s child and she was just trying to give him a good home.
I also really liked that quote! I love the idea that body language and tone is universal! You might not know what they are saying but a smile and a laugh usually mean they are happy and children are great at picking up on cues like that.
I agree, I really like Peggy and Bert. I also like that Rudy tries to help them out. I’m not really sure I like the mother even though she did come around to liking Samuel.