This was a DNF for me and pretty early in. The idea of an underground newspaper during WWII sounded cool, but nothing grabbed me and the POV kept shifting which threw me as well. It may be because it was an advanced copy, but some character dialogue didn't start on a new line which made me have to reread the sentence to make sure I knew who was speaking, and words with "fl" together shifted the spacing in the line.

Ramzipoor tells the amazing true story of the The Front de l'Independance (FI) and their newspaper caper. The Nazi's take over many things when the occupy a county, including newspapers. Set in 1943 in occupied Belgium, the FI concocts a scheme to print a satirical faux newspaper. Fed up with the propaganda the Nazi's are spreading, the FI decides to fight fire with fire. They create and manage to distribute their faux paper in a mere 18 days. Its an amazing story. The most amazing aspect is that it's a true story.

This is a fictional account, so there are liberties taken, however it seems shockingly few. Marc Aubrion, the architect of this caper, was in fact a real writer and agent of the FI. Other characters such as Noel Rene, Wellens, and Andree Grandjeen were also real agents of the FI and played a part in the Belgian resistance. This is one of those stories that probably flies under the radar. Creating a satirical newspaper is not as flashy as blowing up bridges or staging armed resistance. Ramzipoor is able to weave fact and fiction into a compelling and exciting narrative. Very well done. Any fan of historical fiction will love this thrilling caper. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review!

I usually love a gritty WW2 historical fiction novel that has a twist in the plot. This one has that in that the protagonist is a street urchin and is involved in the resistance to Nazism. In order to rebel, they decide to print propaganda. This is based on a series of actual events that took place which is fascinating. However for the length of the book, there wasn’t enough character development so that I felt truly invested in specific characters. The storyline also stalled at times. Based on a great premise and potential, I think there will be better books from this author in years to come.
#TheVentriloquists #NetGalley

With the recent 75th anniversary of D-Day, it seems like the demand for novels set in World War II has reached new heights. So why read The Ventriloquists rather than one of the many other offerings? To put it simply, you should read it because this is a different story. It’s not set on the front lines, in the world of espionage, or in a concentration camp, nor does it heavily feature renowned or reviled historical figures. Instead, it covers the 18 days in October when a group of Belgian journalists and resistance fighters were able to create and distribute a satirical newspaper, a once-in-a-lifetime counter-propaganda effort, all while creating a “propaganda bomb” for the Nazi administration. Supplementary characters have been created to flesh out the story, since much of the work was done in secret, but every word taken from Faux Soire really did appear in print in November 1943, with more than 60,000 copies released into the world.

At a little over 525 pages of narrative, this can seem like a hefty read. Fortunately, while the story is written in the first-person voice of Helene, the narration moves easily from character to character. Visits to the “present” are brief and give the reader a break from the action, as well as highlighting particular episodes within the larger story. The details of some incidents are left deliberately to the reader’s imagination, and in other cases too much detail bogs down the story. While the ending is known (an image of the newspaper is in the front matter of the book), and the fate of those who openly defied Nazi rule in occupied countries is well known, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride to get there, even with the heartbreaking moments in-between.
Recommended for historical fiction fans, and those who are looking for a story of resistance through humor.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I just didn’t get this story and was slogging through 50 pages and decided to give it up. I really never heard of an underground newspaper during WW II and thought this would be an interesting read. It would have been helpful to have the characters developed early in the story. It felt as if the story just took off and left the reader way behind on some important missing details.

Thank you Netgalley and Park Row for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars!

“The only way to deal with the absurdity of evil is with equal and opposite absurdity.”

I was intrigued right off the bat after reading the synopsis for this book. Having read many historical fictions that take place during WWII, it was refreshing to read one that doesn’t solely focus on the Holocaust. In this case, the story highlights a group of rogue journalists and resistance fighters who risk their lives to not only undermine the Reich but bring power back to Belgians and give them a reason to smile and laugh again.

This group of misfit journalists developed a secret network that published underground newspapers, but once Marc Aubrion attracted the attention of August Wolff, a high-ranking Nazi official, they were given two options: help the Nazis sway public opinion against the allies with their creativity and linguistic skills...or be killed.

Aubrion was a fantastic character! While the Nazis might have considered him immature compared to his colleagues, he was actually quite clever and his quick wit helped keep those dark times much more light-hearted, both for the characters and the reader. I loved the idea of them publishing a fake newspaper that poked fun at Hitler and Stalin, and I loved even more that this was based on true events. The fact that the ventriloquists were willing to risk their lives for a joke that had never been told, showed just how dedicated they were to their cause, and as E.R. Ramzipoor said in the acknowledgements, they realized the world was theirs if they stood up and made it so.

The only part of the story that bothered me was when Aubrion mentioned that he probably wouldn’t see when the Americans joined the war...but it was 1943 and the United States has already joined the war. Now I understand this is a book of fiction based on true events, so I don’t know if the author did that on purpose or not, but it immediately stood out to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! At times the story dragged on a bit, but the beautiful writing and the dynamic group of characters brought to life by E.R. Ramzipoor made it worth reading. I think she did a wonderful job honoring the memory of the real-life ventriloquists who inspired the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2861260640

Brussels 1943 and a group of resistance writers and fighters are picked up by the Nazis. The new Minister of Perception Management is a fan and has a unique proposal - write a paper with made up articles and news about how horrible the Allies are. The group knows their days are numbered as soon as the paper is printed so they decide to go out their way by turning the tables on the Nazis and producing their own satire paper at the same time. Their story is told by a young street urchin who helps sabotage the Nazis and lend help to the cause. A witty and quirky cast of characters whose plan to stick it to the bad guys will warm your heart and keep you guessing until the very end who exactly the bad guys are. This is based on a true story and many of the actual characters like Marc Aubrion are center stage but E.K. Ramzipoor's debut breathes life into the little known story and makes it an epic tale of everyday heroes turning the tables. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

The Ventriloquists by E. R. Ramzipoor was a fascinating read. Set during the Second World War Belgium, the novel tells the story of journalists who used satire to elevate the spirits of soldiers. While some aspects of the story felt drawn out, it was gripping nonetheless. What was even better was that this was based on a true story. We oftentimes forget that heroes are not always wearing some kind of a badge but can simply be civilian. Absolutely stunning story worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Based on true events, The Ventriloquist follows a band of misfits who set out to make fools of the Reicht during the German invasion of Belgium in 1943. Each brings to the table a particular skill, and without each of them, their plan would not succeed. They've been recruited by the German Grupperfuhrer Wolff to write an issue of Le Soir, a Belgian newspaper, in which they promote the German ideals in an effort for the Germans to gain credibility with the Belgian people, thus allowing their invasion to be met with little to no resistance. Led by Marc Aubrion, the group accepts the Gruppenfuhrer's offer.
The Ventriloquists have other plans though, as they create a parody of the requested Le Soir, using materials provided to them by the Germans. And so Faux Soir is born.
Told in a flashback style narrative, Gamin/Helene (an errandboy - who is actually a girl in disguise - for Aubrion) guides the reader through the twenty days leading up to the printing of Faux Soir. The book jumps between memories and present day, as Gamin recounts her experience to the Scrivener, who we know only as Eliza.
While I really enjoyed the story, and loved how the book came full circle at the end, it did leave me with a few questions, and I was a little put off by some of the narrative style. There were a lot of events that were recounted by Helene that she had no way of knowing, as she was not present for those events. Private meetings with Aubrion and the Gruppenfuhrer, meetings between Lada Tarcovich and Andree Grandjean, meetings between the Gruppenfuhrer and The Gastromancer, even some of the events recounted of the time Faux Soir was being written. Whether the story switched from being told in the first person, to being told as a third person story. The reader was privy to a lot of information that could only have come from the characters present at the time.
The story starts a little slow, and I admit that I did have a hard time getting into it, often putting it down in favor of something else. I forced myself to soldier on though, and am glad that I did. I had no idea that Faux Soir was based on true events, and I became much more engaged with the characters and their roles in carrying out the hoodwinking of the century the further I got into the story.
There are a lot of characters in The Ventriloquists, and it can, at times, be extremely difficult to keep track of who goes by what nickname. The chapters (if they can even really be called chapters) are labeled for the character who is the key player in it. There is a key at the beginning of the book that explicitly states who is who, but it is easy to forget as you get to reading.
Overall I'd recommend this book as I did quite enjoy it, and found all of the characters, and the story, to be quite wonderful.

"The Ventriloquists" eBook was published in 2019 (August) and was written by E.R. Ramzipoor (http://www.erramzipoor.com). This is her first publication. 

categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence, Mature Language, and Mature Situations. The story is set in 1943 Brussels. Belgium has been occupied by the Germans since May 28 of 1940. The primary character is twelve-year-old street orphan Helene, who is living in disguise as a boy.  

The Germans are trying to sway public opinion away from the Allies. A German comes up with the idea to publish a fake issue of a resistance newspaper turning it into a Nazi propaganda bomb that will sway the public. They approach journalist Marc Aubrion and force him, and his associates, to create the paper. 

Aubrion, along with an odd group of resistance fighters and newspapermen, come together to publish a very special issue of Belgium's most popular newspaper, Le Soir instead. Le Soir has been taken over by the Nazis and is being used to publish their propaganda. The small group, including the young Helene, come up with the wild plan of secretly publishing an issue full of Zwanze [meaning farce or spoof] poking fun at the Germans. 

They have only 18 days to pull their plan together, write the articles, then publish and deliver the papers under the noses of the Nazis. 

I enjoyed the 18 hours I spent reading this 544-page WWII thriller. This story is based on fact. A spoof issue of Faux Soir was published on November 9, 1943. While I thought the story was interesting, I also thought it was very slow reading. I almost declared a Rule of 50 and abandoned it. I have to say that it did get better towards the end. There were unusual several characters in the story. It was certainly an interesting plot, almost unbelievable, yet it really happened. The chosen cover art is OK, though I think something closer to the story could have been chosen. I give this novel a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

This is the story of people working against the Third Reich during World War 2 to produce. work of propaganda. While the story is told from multiple characters' viewpoints and it could have been an engaging story, the writing sometimes let the idea down. It was an interesting story but character development was not as strong as it could have been. I was left feeling cold about most of the characters.. Good ideas, but the execution was only so-so.

I found “The Ventriloquists” by E. R. Ramzipoor is based on true events that occurred during W.W.II in Belgium. Helene is a twelve-year-old street orphan, dressed as a boy, who is drawn into a secret network of journalists and resistance fighters by Marc Aubrion to deliver messages and collect items needed for their work. She sells a popular newspaper Le Soir which has been turned into Nazi propaganda. No one knows that she is, in fact, a girl.

Aubrion’s team is apprehended by the Nazis and given a choice: They can turn their resistance newspapers into Nazi propaganda that will sway public opinion against the Allies or be killed. They pretend to do as the Nazis ask. They instead decide to publish a fake edition of Le Soir that ridicules Hitler, the Nazis, and Stalin. They know they will be killed in the end anyway.

I was amazed at the interaction between the resistance, the journalists and the local Gestapo as this project comes together. The Nazis officers are determined that this will change the opinion about the Allies to further their acceptance by the Belgian people.

I thought the book was very good, but I had a hard time following what was going on and what expressly they were going to come up with. It seemed an exercise if futility to me, but knowing that this story is based on true events, makes it more exciting.

I was granted a download of this novel by NetGalley.com in return for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this. However a lot of the history and references even in just the first few chapters flew right over my head. While well written, and Eliza being an interesting character, I just couldn't get into the whole of the story.

Therefore this is yet another DNF arc at 35%.

The Ventriloquists started out interesting, but about forty percent of the way through the book my attention wavered and then I just gave up reading it. While I liked the characters, especially Eliza’s eagerness to know the truth of what happened and how things became as they are, the amount of french, politics, and historical things within was over my head and didn’t keep my attention in the slightest. My apologies to the author, but I do believe this book was meant for more serious history buffs than myself. While I adore historical fiction, even I was a bit befuddled by a lot of things that were going on in this book.

Overall, I may try to read this book again in the future but I highly doubt it. My thanks to the publish for allowing me a copy of this book to review, and I do wish that I could have given a better review than ‘it was alright’ or a 3/5 stars. Perhaps I may try the authors other works as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was well written, The story was told from multiple perspectives, but the narrative was never repeated (a.k.a each character's story picked up where the last left off) which kept the narrative fresh and engaging. I thought the character development was fantastic, and each character really came to life through the author's descriptions. The story itself was complex and rich, but never confusing. Really it was a gem. From a teacher's perspective, it's a great read to help illustrate life under Nazi occupation, and the lengths to which people went to assert their defiance over German rule.

A novel, partly based on fact, that takes place in Belgium in 1943 during the Nazi occupation. The story unfolds in a day by day format and relates what the characters are doing and how they interact. It provides a vivid description of what the occupation must have been like for the local citizens. I enjoyed the book but found it had to be read in smaller amounts than I normally read. Sections must be read, digested, and mulled over by the reader to fully understand what is happening.

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley to be read for my unbiased review.

The Ventriloquists is a bit slow, but stick with it because it is a interesting true story of a fake publication. This is not a easy read with the writing.

The idea of this book was very interesting, and I enjoyed reading about the true story of how some Belgian journalists conspired to write a fake newspaper during WWII to combat Nazi propaganda.

But for me, the writing fell short. The beginning was especially difficult to understand, and it took me awhile before I truly understood what was going on. It was also, unfortunately, a bit boring and hard to get into. I almost gave up a few times, but because I'm a fan of WWII historical novels, I pressed on.

The novel did get better about halfway through, but I never felt truly invested in the characters as much as I could have been. Part of the problem might have been the point of view--we learn about this story through the eyes of an old woman who was just a child when all this occurred. She tells us the thoughts of the other characters, which didn't make a lot of sense. She couldn't have known what they were thinking or even what they were doing a lot of the time. Plus, there were a lot of things she wouldn't have understood with a child's mind well enough to recount it later or remembered it so well years later. A third person omniscient point of view might have worked better.

The ending was done well, and that's why I ultimately ended up giving this book a better rating than I might otherwise have. The writing also got much better, too. Perhaps with a bit of editing in the beginning and more character development so that we care right away about the people we meet, this could be a novel worthy of such an interesting historical story.

I wanted so badly to like this one, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I found the beginning to be confusing. I had to reread the first 15% of the book several times to figure out what was going on. Ultimately, the writing style just didn’t work for me. The writing didn’t flow well in my opinion. I also wasn’t as invested in the characters as I wanted to be. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this one. I’m sure others will like it more than I did.

The year was 1943. Gruppenfuhrer August Wolff headed the Ministry of Perception Management administered by the Gestapo. Wolff, Germany's book burning crusader, was primarily involved in Black Propaganda. "Propaganda is 'black' if it is supposedly from one side, but is actually from the other." The citizenry of the city of Brussels was dispirited. "When the Nazis invaded Belgium taking our printing presses, our radios, our books...they took our words and thoughts, too..." Le Soir, arguably Belgium's most important newspaper, was turned into "a cheap propaganda machine".

The Front de l'Independance (FI) was a resistance organization that published the infamous La Libre Belgique. The Belgians and the Germans ultimately wanted the same thing, "to sway the public". Before the war, Marc Aubrion was a theater critic and playwright who also wrote newspaper articles. Aubrion, a gifted linguist, used puns and jokes in his writing to entertain and create hope for the downtrodden Belgians.

La Libre Belgique newspaper, published by the FI, was on Gruppenfurer Wolff's radar. Targeting and arresting Aubrion and several of his cohorts, he gave them the choice of death or the impossible task of creating and distributing Le Soir. He demanded that they make it a large propaganda bomb. "...turn all of Europe against the Allies". The Front de l'Independance, with director Rene Noel at the helm and principal writer Marc Aubrion had a plan of their own. Aided by smugglers, saboteurs, counterfeiters, printers, judges and a pyromaniac street urchin, they were determined to produce Le Faux Soir, a four page satire to be distributed at newsstands in lieu of Le Soir. They must raise funds to supplement Wolff's piddly budget offering and comply with his firm publishing deadline of 18 days.

"The Ventriloquists" by E.R. Ramzipoor is an amazing work of historical fiction with a cast of well defined characters. Author notes reveal that Marc Aubrion was indeed the writer of much of the Faux Soir's satire. The "false" newspaper was published by the Independence Front in Brussels on November 9, 1943. One article was titled "Effective Strategy". "...thanks to the autumn campaign, the winter campaign followed the summer campaign...So the course of these three campaigns in order show that the German general staff have not lost at any time control over the sequence of the seasons, an element whose importance should not be underestimated." Author Ramzipoor's tome shined a spotlight on a group of journalists and resistance fighters with the courage of their convictions and the willingness "to die for a joke". An excellent read I highly recommend.

Thank you HARLEQUIN-Trade Publishing, Park Row and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Ventriloquists".

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review.

Based on a true story, The Ventriloquists takes the daunting task of telling a story from multiple voices and almost pulls it off. The story is still engaging while clunky.

3 out of 5 stars.