The Paris Architect by Charles Belfour

Published: Random House Audio
Publish Date: October 8, 2013
Format: Audio
Discs: 9
ISBN: 978 0804190817

Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews.  So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn't really believe in.  Ultimately he can’t resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces – behind painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe – detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye.  But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.

My Thoughts

I love all things Paris period.  When I saw this haunting cover I knew that it had to be add to my Paris must read list.  During a trip to the library I happened to see this available on audio so I snatched it up.  I loved the narration minus one small factor-he was not very good at dialogue especially the women characters.  But that was such a small aspect in a much larger picture.  While it wasn't an amazing work of fiction that will withstand the test of time, it was an amazing novel.

WWII was such a devastating time period that I sometimes find novel set during this time very difficult to read, especially when children are involved. I believe that 1942 Nazi occupied Paris is a very important time in history and this novel gives a glimpse of just how horrifying this time was.  There is so much historical details that is portrayed very realistically.  Be warned though - this is not a light hearted story and can be pretty graphic at times.  I loved the plot, loved the characters.  This novel was powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting.  Oh, and a lot of great architecture.  Read. This. Book.

My Rating: ««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy

Publisher: Broadway Books

Publish Date: January 24, 2012

Format: download library

Pages: - 

ISBN: -

In 1045, Elsie Schmidt was a naïve teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she was for her first kiss.  But in the waning days of the Nazi empire, with food scarce and fears of sedition mounting, even the private yearnings of teenage girls were subject to suspicion and suppression.  Elsie’s courtship by Josef Hub, a rising star in the Army of the Third Reich, has insulted her family from the terror and desperation overtaking her country.  So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep in the dead of night Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door puts all she loves in danger.

Sixty years later, in El Paso, Texas, Reba Adams is trying to file a feel-good Christmas piece for the local magazine.  Reba is rolling stone, perpetually on the run from memories of a turbulent childhood, but she’s been in El Paso long enough to get a full-time job and a full-time fiancé, Riki Chavez.  Riki, an agent with the U.S. Boarder Patrol, finds comfort in strict rules and regulations, whereas Reba knows that in every good story, lines will be blurred.

Reba’s latest assignment has brought her to the shop of an elderly baker across town.  The interview should take a few hours at most, but the owner of Elsie’s German Bakery is no easy subject.  Elsie keeps turning the tables on Reba, and Reba finds herself returning to the bakery again and again, anxious to find the heart of the story.  For Elsie, Reba’s questions have been a stinging reminder of darker times: her like in Germany during that last bleak year of WWII.  And as Elsie, Reba and Riki’s lives become more intertwined, all are forced to confront the uncomfortable truths of the past and seek out the courage to forgive.

My Thoughts

What can I say besides wow, wow, WOW!  I absolutely fell in love with the mesmerizing story.  It was haunting and heartfelt and even humorous at times.  I thought it was just so beautifully written and kept me so intrigued I lost quite a bit of sleep over this one.  This is my first novel by Sarah McCoy I've read and she did not disappoint me.  This novel came with zero recommendations and I'd never heard of it or the author, I just happened to see the cover of this book and instantly knew I would love it.

I love how the story is don't in different decades by a number of different characters.  You start out in a very difficult time, Germany during WWII, and present in El Paso, Texas  and the reader is taken on an amazing journey of life lessons and self discovery of both main characters Elsie and Reba.  I really liked that even the sub characters had their self discovery stories woven in as well.  The author tells this amazing story in both first person and a series of letters.  The very last letter is sure to tug at your heart strings.

Beautiful novel.

My Rating: ««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: September 30, 2008
Pages: 320
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312370848 

Paris, 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60^th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past.  Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah.  Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv, to the camps, and beyond.  As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

The beginning of Julia's story alternating with the girl's was strong. The need to find out what happened to Michel (Sarah's brother) and who exactly Sarah would turn out to be. Also enjoyable is Julie's own family drama and the mystery she uncovered that connected her to Sarah and her sad story, not only through geography but emotion as well.

While the story is fictitious, The novel is about actual events which were not well known nor spoken about. The author managed to switch seamlessly between Sarah’s’ story set in 1942 and Julia’s story in 2002. It is an amazing book which evokes all kinds of emotions. It is heart wrenching and though provoking.

My Rating: «««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.