The Two Hotel Francforts is set in Lisbon in June of 1940, and revolves around the rapidly entwining lives of two American couples, the Frelengs and the Winters. Having left America in order to live la belle vie in Paris, narrator Pete Winters and his wife Julia are reluctantly en route back home following the Nazi occupation of France. A chance meeting with the enigmatic Frelengs, Edward and Iris, in a Lisbon cafe leads not just to an illicit affair (to say between whom would be to spoil a delightful plot twist), but also the uncovering of secret pasts and an unravelling of plans and people alike.

By now, World War II is well-trodden territory in literature, but the strength of this novel is its focus on the inner lives of the protagonists, so swept up in their own romantic drama that they are unable to appreciate the gravity of the political situation, or the mortal panic of the less fortunate refugees around them. It is not an unsympathetic portrayal, but a compellingly realistic one: the characters are flawed and complex.

The style of the writing is artfully naturalistic and feels very classic, reminding me of Richard Yates or Graham Greene. Rich detail and keen observations of human nature add depth to a deceptively simple narrative, and Leavitt successfully conjures the heady, apocalyptic atmosphere of the time, bringing a menacing strangeness to a familiar story. There is also a highly evocative sense of place in his beautiful descriptions of Lisbon, infused with occasional real-life stories of refugees at the time (something I discovered from the afterword). Leavitt has certainly done his research and this, combined with his craftsmanship and multi-faceted characters, brings an old tale very much to life.

Charlotte Colwill