Generally, I avoid World War I and II-era novels because I feel they've fallen into a predictable pattern of a female protagonist falling in love with a male soldier on the battlefields of Europe, the climax being one or the other thinking the other has been killed, then they live happily ever after at the end. It's not just that the general plot beats are the same, the setting is as well, making the novels sort of blend together in my mind as it's hard to differentiate them from one another.

Author Ann Bennett avoids this by setting the majority of her novel towards the end of World War II, within the lush tropical landscape of Indochina, known now as Vietnam. Young Arielle, the daughter of a French father and Vietnamese mother, grows up relatively well off within the French Quarter of Hanoi. Her mother has passed away, but her father is a government official and they lead a fairly prosperous life. When a rich French businessman named Etienne comes courting, Arielle is surprised but agrees to marry him. From then on, she finds herself drawn into the cultural resistance formed by the Viet Mihn, and her life veers down paths she never could have imagined.

Unlike other novels I have read where an author creates a multicultural protagonist in turbulent times and then calls it a day, the multicultural aspect totally ignored, Bennett pays attention to the French/Vietnamese cultural connotations Arielle is forced to deal with. While she can physically pass as fully Vietnamese, her father is an important French official, so most of the people in her town and other important officials are fully aware of her half-French heritage. As both the invading Japanese and the rebel Viet Mihn factions are anti-French for various reasons, Arielle struggles to maintain connections to her French father while hiding that side of herself. This take was immensely refreshing in a genre bloated with fully European World War II stories and gave it a unique feel that I absolutely loved. Bennett is talented at descriptions as well, bringing to life the vibrant colors, sights, and smells of Vietnam so much that I could almost taste the tea and smell the pho bubbling in the pots of street vendors.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh take on stories set in the World War II era.

The action in "The Lake Pagoda" is mainly based around Hanoi and it's environs from 1935-45. It is the story of a naive mixed race girl who comes of age in this war-torn region. With a French father and a native mother Arielle can usually fit in to both worlds but when the Japanese seize power this is no longer possible. Along the way Arielle gets involved in politics, including communism, but always keeps her faith and visits the pagoda of the title whenever possible.

This is an atmospheric and revealing story which casts some light on the events in Indo-China at this time.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Ann Bennett has done it again! Such a wonderful mix of history, life during war time, coming of age, and a bit of romance thrown in. What a great read!

The Lake Pagoda takes us into the life of Arielle, half French and half Vietnamese, as she experiences an early teenage, arranged marriage, witnesses the degradation of fellow Vietnamese countrymen, reluctantly aids the Viet Minh by copying Japanese intel ,and becoming a freedom fighter being trained by the Americans.

In the mix is a love story, compassion, heart-ache, loss, betrayal and horror all in the midst of the French Colonial rule of Vietnam. Bennett gives us a small history lesson while watching young Arielle grow from a shy teen to a sharpshooter patriot.

My favorite of Bennett's writings!!

My thanks to #NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this wonderful read and this opinion is my own.

The Lake Pagoda, by Ann Bennett, is a historical fiction with all the feels. While it's a serious book that goes into detail about this horrible time in history, there's also joy woven throughout. I really liked the main character, Arielle. She's brave, kind and strong. I also appreciated learning a lot more about what led up to the American-Vietnam War.
It's 1945 in, what's become known as, French Indochina. Arielle's, working in the offices of the colonial government, along with her French father. While she escapes being sent to a Japanese prison, (only because her mother was Vietnamese), when the Japanese invade, she's forced to work for them when they take over the colonial office building. Then she's cornered by a Viet Minh agent who threatens her if she doesn’t do as he says.
As Arielle finds herself becoming part of the rebels’ dangerous world, she ends up finding what she's been longing for.

This was such a beautiful read. It is well written with a compelling and heart-breaking storyline and well developed characters especially Arielle who I took to my heart. It was a gripping read that had me in its hooks right from the start and I couldn't stop reading, I loved it and will be looking out for more from this author.

This was a heartbreaking and beautifully written book. From start to finish I was captivated by this story of a young woman and her personal journey in 1930s and 1940s Hanoi and Paris. The story was gripping and the characters were so intriguing that I could not put this down.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Wow what a nail biting book a real page turner just love this author