Fascination and drama in ‘The Résistance Between Us’

“The Résistance Between Us” is the first book in a planned trilogy by Oklahoma author Phyllis Kimmel Libby.  The trilogy’s name is “Ingrid’s Wars.”

Libby’s book is a tale of woe and wonder, darkness and daintiness, resistance and redemption, hope and horror.  The backdrop is occupied France during the second World War.  Written in first-person, “The Résistance Between Us” is rife with individual drama and insights.

Protagonist Ingrid Fellner, 41, was born in the year 1900. She is a recent widow caring for her daughter Marta, who was disabled in the skiing accident that killed Ingrid’s husband, Emil.  Marta requires extensive physical therapy.  This preoccupation, fueled by enormous love for her child, prevents Ingrid from wallowing in grief.  They live in France near the Swiss border where the Doubs River winds through the farming Franche-Comte countryside.

The Nazis arrive, bringing with them their single-minded brutality. Ingrid holds herself aloof yet is inexorably drawn into the drama as the bodies of a young Jewish couple wash up on her riverbank.

Deciding to risk the sparse security she and her daughter have, Ingrid assists the French Resistance, hiding Jews and political refugees in her basement – even as three Gestapo officers demand entertainment upstairs, threatening Ingrid’s reputation, security, family and life. 

Seeing all this through Ingrid’s perspective makes the conflicts and compromises compelling.  She is trapped in a web woven by others.

Libby, a new author, provides an in-depth examination of what it takes to survive when every choice is fraught with potentially fatal consequences.  It’s all the more interesting because Ingrid is simultaneously searching for her own identity after her husband’s death.

While everyone knows how World War II ended, “The Résistance Between Us” is the story of one woman’s journey into the unknown.  Hard to put down and impossible to predict, “Ingrid’s Wars” is just beginning.

                                                Elizabeth Hurd

                                                for the Oklahoman

Additional Material: 

      Original Review as submitted:

Fascination and Drama in The Résistance Between Us

Phyllis Kimmel Libby

 The Résistance Between Us is Book One of a new trilogy subtitled Ingrid’s Wars by Oklahoma author Phyllis Kimmel Libby. It is a tale of woe and wonder, darkness and daintiness, resistance and redemption, hope and horror. The backdrop is occupied France during the second World War. The Résistance Between Us has an unusual viewpoint as it is written in the first person providing a powerful personal perspective to the story.

Protagonist Ingrid Fellner is 41 years old, born in the year 1900. She is a recent widow caring for her daughter Marta, disabled in a skiing accident that killed Ingrid’s husband, Emil. Marta requires extensive physical therapy. This preoccupation fueled by Ingrid’s enormous love for her child, prevents her from wallowing in grief. They live in France, near the Swiss border where the Doubs River winds through the farming Franche-Comté countryside.

The Nazis arrive. Their fascism barely conceals their feeble-minded, single-minded, brutality. Ingrid holds herself aloof, yet is inexorably drawn into this drama as the bodies of a young Jewish couple wash up on her riverbank. Daring to risk compromising what little security she and her daughter have, to assist in Resistance activities is a hard choice, but impossible to avoid. Living daily with the horrible histories and faces of the Jews and political refugees she hides in her basement, Ingrid is driven to act. Lurking upstairs in her salon, three Gestapo officers must be ‘entertained’ as they threaten Ingrid’s reputation, her other ‘guests’ and her security, her family and even her life.

One is easily and immediately drawn into the story from Ingrid’s viewpoint. She is trapped in a web woven by others.  Ingrid’s dilemmas impact the reader with stark and often dismal dismay.  And, as we examine our own past with regret we apply the same hindsight to Ingrid. There are times where we cry for her, grasp the slim moments of humor with her and ache for her.  There are also times we want to shake her as confronts these inimical events.

The Résistance Between Us, Book One of the trilogy Ingrid’s Wars is available on Amazon and in many book stores. Libby has had the honor of being selected for a Kirkus Review, a very prestigious recognition.  They say “Smooth, in-the-moment prose and realistic dialogue enliven a haunting tale tightly packed with historical facts that should alarm readers even today, seven decades later.”*  Libby is a new author who is bound to amaze with her in-depth examination of those mental processes Ingrid displays as she searches for her own identity and truth.  Edited by Mary Ellen Redmile Cooper, The Résistance Between Us becomes a book that makes it easy for readers to relate to the events as they examine their own reactions to Ingrid’s situation and turmoil. While the end of the war is known, The Résistance Between Us is the story of one woman’s journey into the unknown, hard to put down and impossible to predict—Ingrid’s Wars is just beginning.

*Kirkus Reviews:  To read the Kirkus review visit:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/phyllis-kimmel-libby/resistance-between-us/

For more information about “Ingrid’s Wars: also visit mistraleditionspresentstheresistancebetweenus/facebook.