[b:Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis|49150999|Paper Bullets Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis|Jeffrey H. Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596999045l/49150999._SY75_.jpg|74604965]

This was a tough one for me to rate. I really loved the first and last sections of the book, it was the middle that dragged for me and it got so bad I nearly threw in the towel. I persevered, but it was a struggle.

This is the story of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe (aka Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore). Lucy and Suzanne were avant-garde artists in the 1930's. They were also a couple. The first part of the book concentrates on their early years in Paris and then flows to Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, during WWII. Isolated on Jersey, the pair decided to do their part to resist the Nazis. They began drawing and writing pamphlets and scattered them across the island. Eventually they were hunted and apprehended, and imprisoned on Jersey. That is where the story got very dry. The author notes at the back of the book were well worth the time, and explained somethings that had been murky in the text.

I wanted to love this book, I just didn't. ( )

The WWII history buffs will be rooting for the underdogs, Lucy and Suzanne, better known as the artists and lesbian partners, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, two Parian artists, issue insults or paper bullets about Hitler in an attempt to demoralize Nazi philosophies and practices. A voice of the marginalized, Lucey and Suzanne spread hope, subverting Hitler and his troops. History professor, Jeffrey H. Jackson seeks to accurately retell history.

I find myself admiring the way Lucy and Suzanne lived authentic lives which is amazing considering they were born in the nineteenth century. They could have pretended to be straight and ignored their impulses to resist the Germans in the interest of self preservation and safety.

Reading about Lucy and Suzanne distributing propaganda as a form of resistance against the Germans made me realize that we are surrounded by propaganda as a marketing tool for ideas as well as products and services. We need to do a better job of teaching critical thinking. ( )