A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva

A Death in Cornwall is Silva's 24th Gabriel Allon novel and was his 2024 publication. It is one of my favorite series of books and I look forward to a new novel every July. Unfortunately, I am usually 1 July behind. 

Allon, the former head of Israeli intelligence,  has now, in retirement, transitioned to being a full time art restorer working for his wife Chiara in Venice, Italy. They have twins and many times he is responsible for being the parent in charge. However, he still dabbles in international intrigue when it involves something to do with art theft, restoration or forgery. 

Allon has lived in Cornwall off and on during his days as a spy when he wanted to become incognito. It was because of this and his connection to a young detective, Timothy Peel,  that he became involved in the case of a murdered art historian, Charlotte Blake. She had been researching the whereabouts of a Picasso painting at the same time the "Chopper" serial killer was operating in the same area. Was she his/her victim or was there another murderer on the loose?  

The Picasso had belonged to a Jewish family and was confiscated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In tracing its provenance, he discovers that it is being held in the Geneva Freeport. The reader always learns something in Silva's novels. As it is owned by a shell company, one of the many created by the corrupt law firm of Harris Weber, the machinations expose the length and depth the owners will go to protect the painting and its worth, influence the selection of a new English Prime Minister, and discredit an upstanding journalist. 

As is the case in all of Silva's novels, the plot twists and turns as he reintroduces characters from the past - Christopher Keller, Rene Montjean, Sarah Bancroft, Ana Rolfe, and Ingrid Johanson. It is more of a page turner than some of the Allon novels and still lets the reader travel to many European locations. The descriptions of the group in Monaco were especially interesting. 

The 2025 Allon, An Inside Job, arrived today so I must finish book club books before embarking on that one.  
 

The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel

There are some books that grab you from the first page on. The Book of Lost Names was that kind of book for me. It was intriguing that the central character, Eva Traube Abrams, was a librarian and the opening of the book was set in the Winter Park, FL library in 2005. She sees an article in the New York Times that takes her back six decades to her life in Paris during the war and a book that had special meaning to her. Otto Kühn, a Berlin librarian, was attempting to return books that had been stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners. Eva knew that she had to immediately fly to Berlin to try to retrieve it. 

The novel then shifts to her time as a young woman studying at the Sorbonne in 1942 when Paris was under siege by the Germans. She lives with her parents when her father, a Jewish typewriter repair person, is kidnapped by the Nazis, leaving she and her mother, Mamusia, alone. They are warned about the danger of staying in Paris and so with the help of a family friend who shows her how to forge papers, they escape to the countryside and the village of Aurignon in free France. They happen upon a boarding house where Madame Barbier takes them in and gives them advise on being safe. Shortly after Eva goes into a bookstore to purchase pens to help her with the writing she needs to do to forge papers for her father's release. She is introduced to Père Clément, a priest who is also secretly forging papers. Eva becomes part of the resistance and meets Rémy, a very handsome man, who is also part of the resistance and devoted to helping others even if it causes him harm and possible death. In Aurignon, Eva also is reacquainted with Joseph Pelletier with whom she had gone to school in Paris. He would be the perfect husband according to her mother, although Eva is not really attracted to him. He insinuates himself into their lives with the pretense for helping them. As Gérard Faucon, his alias, he becomes involved with another talented forger, Geneviève. 

The novel is consumed with the work the forgers accomplished in providing documents for persons to escape to Switzerland, especially orphans. It becomes a page-turner, when the group is compromised by someone who is leaking information to the Germans. Tragic deaths occur as they are uncovered. The reader has some comfort in knowing that Eva survives at least until 2005.

With the themes of resilience, bravery, love and kindness The Book of Lost Names provides the reader with a few hours of inspired writing. The characters are well-developed and exhibit the full range of human emotions. It is engaging and captures the reader from the get-go. One of the gems that portray the horrors of the Holocaust. 

 

 

The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen Strauss

It was somewhat difficult reading Madness and The Nine at the same time. Both nonfiction and both detailing horrific experiences of two groups of people who were made to endure situations that in many cases would destroy the human spirit.

Strauss tells the story of her great aunt, Hélène Podliasky who was part of the French Resistance during World War II and eight others who were arrested for their actions and sent to Ravensbrück Camp in Germany. During the journey there they became a cohesive group. The others in the group were

Suzanne Maudet (Zaza), Nicole Clarence, Madelon Verstijnen (Lon), Guillemette Daendels (Guigui), Renée Lebon Châtenay (Zinka), Joséphine Bordanava (Josée), Jacqueline Aubéry du Boulley (Jacky), and Yvonne Le Guillou (Mena). While on a death march from the camp, the nine decided to escape. Their journey to freedom is the crux of the book.

Strauss through her research of the time and with the survivors of The Nine, presents a book that is nearly unbelievable as to the heroics of these women. Their 10 day journey is told through the eyes of each woman who has her own chapter in the book. It presents a bit of biography and the roles that they each assumed while on their journey. Their goal was to get to the front and cross into the area that was held by the Allies and especially the Americans. With bloody feet, tattered clothing, and a dearth of food, the reader is brought along on the painful journey with them. They struggle to find safe places to rest and German citizens to trust. At times they played into the stereotypical role of women to advance their cause - helpless and ignorant about war.

Strauss also gives insight into how the Nazis treated the prisoners in the camps, babies snatched from mothers while those mothers were raped, slave labor and starvation. It was painful to read.

The nine women formed such a bond that gave them the strength to have hope and survive. It goes without saying that if they had tried to do this alone, none would have made it. They developed strategies for survival, including trading recipes, one of the more upbeat sections of the book.

The book is so well researched with an abundance of footnotes. At times, I had wished for a more linear account, but understood the rationale for Strauss to write the way she did. Another interesting feature was how the author managed to find the women and/or their surviving family members. It was an intriguing, tho painful read.



 

The Cellist by Daniel Silva

The best laid plans are often sidetracked by life's interruptions. Because our book club was canceled for April, I felt I had ample time to read a number of books before the May book club. However, IT,  happened and my free time, airplane, and travel time were usurped. 

It took me a bit longer to finish Silva's 2021 book than I had expected. Drawing on many characters from past novels, The Cellist takes place as the world is in the grip of the pandemic. There are countless references to lock-downs, masks, and COVID-19.

The book begins, as many of his do, with the very suspicious death of Viktor Orlov, a close friend of the Israeli intelligence commander, Gabriel Allon. The body is discovered by Sarah Bancroft, who had worked with Allon in previous novels and is now working at Isherwood Fine Arts. When she finds Orlov at his desks, she strongly believes that he was poisoned by some sort of nerve agent. Her connection to Orlov was in regard to money she was to collect for the restoration of a painting the gallery had sold to a Russian oligarch.She  In a very convoluted way, this leads to the introduction of the cellist in the novel's title - Isabel Brenner, who works for RhineBank, AG in Germany as a money launderer. Allon devises a scheme to find Orlov's killer and recruits Brenner to become his prime operative. 

From a London, to Geneva, to Zurich to France, Jerusalem and even Wilmington, DE, Silva whirls the reader through a maze of banks, concert halls, museums and villas as he delves into the money laundering schemes of Russia and its wealthy leader, Vladimir Putin. The novel's culmination is at the January 6th Insurrection in Washington, an ending that Silva completely rewrote having been an eyewitness that day while being in Washington on business.  One of the hallmarks of the Gabriel Allon and Silva books is how closely they are tied to the geopolitical real-world events. This was no exception and provides the author a virtual soapbox from which he can deliver his political views, which are quite critical of the 45th president and his followers. The author's notes at the end of the book are illuminating and indicative of the research that Silva does for his novels.

This wasn't one of my favorite Allon books, but a good read, nonetheless. It is my intent to finish the 2022 novel before his new tome is released in July, 2023. Too many books and not enough time.

 

 

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

What can be said about one of the most powerful books that I have ever read except WOW! In building on the book The Warmth of Other Suns,  Wilkerson examines the disparity between the words of racism and caste in her discussion of the the state of the United States. She masterfully uses metaphors and simile as she documents the history of the United States' caste system.  

The treatise explores the caste systems of India, Nazi Germany, and the United States. She freely admits that in the United States caste and racism are interwoven and it can be difficult to separate them. But she does define them succinctly on page 70 of the book:

" Any action or institution that mocks, harms, assumes, or attaches inferiority or stereotype on the basis of the social construct of race can be considered racism. Any action or structure that seeks to limit, hold back, or put someone in a defined ranking or seeks to keep someone in their place by elevating or denigrating that person on the basis of their perceived category, can be considered casteism."

She cites numerous examples of how this system of caste has evolved in the United States and most are quite painful to read. Her comparison of the crowds in Germany waving Nazi flage in supporting Hitler's campaign against those in the lower caste (Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies) to those who gathered in the South to witness lynchings. The violence exhibited against those in the lower castes were nothing less than sadistic and dehumanizing. In our country even the lowest whites, so far down in the caste system consider themselves above the highest Blacks. The Obama presidency has led to a backlash and realization that by 2042  the majority of the citizenry of the US will be people of color. Such resentment by the whites and the desire to maintain caste contributed to the results of the 2016 election. 

Perhaps one of the most painful examples of this caste system is in Wilkerson's discussion of the Eight Pillars of Caste - Purity versus Pollution. The upper caste does not ever want to touch anything from the castes beneath. In 1951 in Youngstown, Ohio, Al Bright, a little league baseball player was forced to sit outside a swimming pool while watching his other teammates frolic and revel in their championship victory. When one of the coaches finally convinced the life guards that Al should be at least allowed a few minutes in the pool, he was put on a float and never allowed to touch the water. 

I was so privileged to hear Wilkerson speak as a part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures Ten Evenings series. Her articulate examination of caste and her emotional discussion of it was inspirational. It was heightened when the son of Al Bright introduced himself to her and the audience. 

This book deserves a second and third read as we try to come to an understanding that it is humanity and an appreciation that we are all in this together as the only way to escape the hate and derision that a caste system fosters. It should be required reading for all.                                                     

The Order by Daniel Silva

It is definitely an unusual situation here that I have actually caught up on all the Daniel Silva books. This was Silva's 20th book in the Gabriel Allon series and it really took a different tack than most. Allon is the art restorer, but also head of the Office for Israeli intelligence. In that position, he really misses the field work. 

As the novel begins, Chiara, his wife, arranges for Allon to take some time off and accompany the family to Venice for some R & R. The reader knows that this won't last long and it doesn't as he is summoned to Rome by his friend Archbishop Luigi Donati after the death of the Pope Paul VII. Silva's fictious pope had previously appeared in 3 of his books and owed his live to Allon. What ensues is the mystery surrounding his death, the disappearance of a Swiss Guard, the uncovering of a new Gospel, and the influence that a new organization will have on the conclave of cardinals. 

 Of course Allon leaves Venice and finds himself teaming up with Donati in solving a complicated plot and what, eventually, is discovered as a series of murders. The action, which is very unusual for an Allon novel, is concentrated between Rome, Obersalzberg, Munich, and Assisi. Having been fortunate to travel to all those places, I was able to visualize the settings. This book was a page turner and presented some incredibly intricate alternative historical scenarios. The description of Rome and the convening of the Cardinals in the chapel were particularly interesting and brought back the memories of being in Rome following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and hearing the bells when Pope Benedict XVI was elected. 

 Silva loves to bring back his favorites for his novels and The Order is no exception. His children are growing up, Carlo and Veronica Marchese whose tragedy is recollected, and one who figures significantly in the plot line, Eli Lavon. For once, though, Ari Shamron is not among them. In Munich, Gabriel returns to the spot where his son was killed and where his wife was severely injured by a bomb exploding. Obviously edited after the onset of the pandemic, Silva introduces it as an aside in the novel. There is much foreshadowing about Gabriel Allon's retirement from The Office and it saddens me that Silva might be set to end this series.

The role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust is the major them of the novel and throughout it and antisemitism are addressed. It was interesting to read the Author's Notes and find mention of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in Squirrel Hill

The majority of reviews on The Order have been critical, protesting the heresy that it promulgates against the religious tenets of the Catholic religion. In fact many have compared it to a Dan Brown novel such as The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons. That isn't a bad thing for me. There is a place in my reading for both and I enjoyed the "on vacation" Gabriel Allon and his escapades just fine. Just, please don't let him retire.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I had really wanted to read this book and was disappointed when I wasn't going to be able to attend our neighborhood book group when we were going to discuss this. I tend to read my own selections when this happens. But, then, the date was changed and I ordered the book for my Kindle and got to reading. What an incredible read - an historical lesson, a page turner and tearjerker all rolled into one remarkable book.

The Nightingale begins with an elderly woman, about ready to move into an assisted living facility, going through some memorabilia in a trunk in her attic. The reader is told of an old passport that obviously has had some disturbing memories tied to it. The in flashback, the novel begins its story of two diametrically different sisters who live in rural France during the Nazi occupation of the country. Vianne lives on the family homestead, Le Jardin, while Isabelle is being disciplined at a boarding school for showing her defiant and rebellious attitude.  The sisters' mother died when they were young leaving their father to try to cope with raising the two girls. He couldn't cope with this and virtually left the girls to fend for themselves. Vianne marries the postmaster, Antoine,  the village in the Loire Valley and has a daughter, Sophia. Their life is then torn apart when Antoine goes off to war and Vianne is left to maintain the house, teach in the local school, and raise Sophia.  Add to this the arrival of Isabelle, who has been sent by their father when he shuns her living with him in Paris.

As the novel unfolds the horrific crimes of the time are revealed without sugar-coating the events or feelings of the time. Vianne's home is requisitioned by a Wehrmark officer and he billets there. Isabelle joins the resistance movement and guides downed airmen over the Pyrenees to Spain and safety. Jewish friends of the family disappear overnight and children are left as orphans. The result of this is a heart-wrenching story of a time that was filled with calculated torture, persecution, and lack of compassion for the human race.

Kristen Hannah has given her readers a novel that takes twists and turns and will, ultimately, keep the reader not wanting the book to end. A definite must read that will stay with her readers long after the book is closed.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Sitting on the top of the NY Times Best Sellers List for the last two years is the complex novel of wartime France and Germany. But All the Light We Cannot See is so much more than that. It has been sitting on my bookshelf since its publication and the impetus to read it now comes from the lecture to be held 4 April 2016 as part of the Ten Literary Evenings of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lecture series.

The basic premise (if there can be such a concept) of Doerr's work is the parallel lives of two young adults during the ending days of World War II. Werner Pfennig is an orphan who has an incredible gift for understanding, building, and using radio transmissions. Living in the Zollverein section of Germany, he found an old radio that he repaired and on which he and his sister, Jutta, listened to broadcasts from France. He is selected to attend a "prestigious" technical school where he will hone his skills and be trained for military maneuver and tracking the resistance movement. He is stationed in Germany, Russia and, finally, Saint Malo.

Marie Laure LeBlanc, blind since the age of six, lives in Paris with her father, Daniel, who is the locksmith at the Museum of Natural History.  Her father is a loving and doting person. He builds a model of the neighborhood in which they live that includes every drainpipe, house, and even manhole covers so that Marie Laure can have some independence when she is out of their residence. As the Germans occupy Paris, the two flee to the countryside, described by Doerr in haunting and realistic narrative. Entrusted to Daniel is the extremely valuable "Sea of Flames" diamond, the possession of which held a curse and a promise. It was so precious that other models have been made to divert any treasure seekers, such as the nefarious Reinhold von Rumpel.  They finally reach the Britanny coast town of Saint Malo and the home of her great uncle, Etienne and his housekeeper, Madame Manec. There again Daniel builds a model of the area surrounding Etienne's house. The house holds many secrets including many radio transmitters, a false backed wardrobe and the mysterious activities of the agoraphobic Etienne. The model that Daniel constructs holds these secrets and even more.

The story that unfolds in these two different worlds is gripping and compelling. The will to survive, overcoming fear and the presence of life are underlying themes. It would be impossible to count the number of times light or the absence of it was referenced in the book. Perhaps the most powerful  quote is uttered by the French radio broadcaster: "Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever." Doerr utilizes a complex narrative style as he alternates focusing on Werner and Marie Laure and moving back and forth in time. The reader knows that the two lives will cross paths, but is not sure whether the intersection will be as good and evil or as another encounter. The conclusion of the book is intricate as it intertwines the lives of the characters in a time far distant from the original period of the novel. I am intrigued by Saint Malo and would love to visit the city. Although complex, the chapters are short, manageable and conducive to a emotional and wondrous read.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

So much attention has been paid to the 1936 Olympics and how Jesse Owens was such a hero. Hitler was trying to show how wonderful Germany was and did everything in his power to create a venue that would elevate the German people. Imagine his mortification when Owens won 4 gold medals. But Owens wasn't the only thorn in Hitler's side. The U.S. rowing team with member Joe Rantz was another group of unlikely winners.

Although the story of the 8 man rowing team, Brown focuses his account on Rantz and his life and place on the team.The book, in addition to being a life history focuses on the themes of survival and perseverance. Rantz overcame so much to be even able to make the rowing team in Washington as  well as the Olympic team. His home life was basically nonexistent as he was virtually abandoned by his father after his mother died and his father remarried. At a time he survived by foraging in the woods near his home for food. 

Brown also brings the reader into the world of the sport of rowing. The descriptions of the building of the rowing boats and the training that is involved in becoming a part of a world class rowing team. The sport was usually considered for the rich and elite of the East Coast in the 1930s, but the team from Washington dispelled this legend. Can you imagine a ticker tape parade for a rowing team in today's world? 

Upon arrival in Germany, the team faces an even greater obstacle to success - the inequitable treatment of teams not from the Nazi and Fascist countries. At Kiel, where the rowing events were held, the U.S. team was given the outer lane, subject to the wrath of the winds and weather of the North Sea, while Germany and Italy were given the inner lanes, protected from those conditions. 

The book reads like a novel and, although you know the results, the ending is a real page turner. Brown's list of references gives evidence of his thorough research. The interviews that he conducted with Rantz add personal touches. I will be anxious to hear Brown when he speaks in Pittsburgh on 14 March 2016. It should be an interesting and entertaining evening.

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Oops! Read this a bit ago and did not post. The 39 Steps is more like a novella than a full-fledged novel. It was written in 1915 and first appeared in serial form in a popular British magazine. It has served the basis for a loosely conceived adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock for his film  of the same title that was released in 1935. It is also the parent work for the stage adaptation now appearing in London.  I wanted to read it before seeing the play in London later in the year. Like the film adaptation, the play is very LOOSELY based on the book. 

Set in 1914 The 39 Steps is one of the earliest examples of the spy novel. Its protagonist and narrator is Richard Hannay who becomes entangled in intelligence that informs him that the Greek premier is going to be assassinated by German operatives. The informant who delivers this message to Hannay is found the next day murdered in Haney's flat. Figuring that he is the most likely suspect, Hannay escapes London for Scotland. What ensues is twisted series of escapes, retreats into hideaways, and the culminating solution to the intelligence report. Typical of even today's spy novels, there are a multitude of characters and plot layers designed to confuse the reader. 

This was a fairly quick read and I was anxious to see the movie. However, Hitchcock took much liberty in his adaptation. To say loosely adapted is an understatement. From reading reviews of the theatre performance, it seems evident that The 39 Steps has been turned into a somewhat comedic play with only 4 actors. 

A good read to give some literary background to a standard genre today.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

I don't think that I have ever taken so long to read a book in my life. I actually started this book back in October, 2010. It wasn't that Fall of Giants wasn't good, it was life got in the way. Classes, book club books, and the Anglican Adventure trip were bumps in the road to finishing it. In fact, it really was just the opposite. The book was incredibly interesting and enjoyable. Follett has woven a story that just begins in this first installment of The Century Trilogy.

The novel opens in Wales in 1911 when the 13 year-old Billy Williams makes his first trip down into the coal mines. After a near brush with death, he asserts his leadership and becomes a force with which to be reckoned. Billy's sister, Ethel is a maid in the household of the Fitzherberts, a wealthy earl whose home is a mansion compared to the humble abode of the miners. She is a conscientious worker and moves up the ladder to become a head of the household staff. She also becomes the lover of the earl and when becoming pregnant is sent from the estate with hush money.

Intertwined with these characters are Russian peasant brothers, a Russian princess, a son of a U.S. Senator, Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, and diplomats from Germany. It is so very helpful that the author includes six pages of a listing of all the characters. The scene of actions is as diverse moving from Wales to Russia, London, and Buffalo. It is enlivened with descriptions and the actions of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Although Follett may take some liberty with historical accuracy, the book is so very informative and educational. I have never studied the Russian Revolution in such depth.

Concomitant with the war story is the crusade for women's suffrage in the U.K. The political activists present cogent arguments for the expansion of the franchise and the equalization of wages for women workers. In The Fall of Giants the theme of liberal activism and furthering the rights of all people is most evident. One needs to be broadminded and not provincial, forward thinking, and not beholden to the status quo.

To relate completely all the actions and intricacies of the plot would take more time and space than the 850 pages of the novel. With the end of the wars, the peace negotiations and signing of the Versailles treaty, the novel ends in 1924, leaving the reader anxious to have the second part the trilogy at hand. The characters have changed and are at pivotal places in their lives. It doesn't seem fair that we need to wait another year for the continuation of the story. A grand novel with some flaws, yes, but so intriguing and captivating.

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

So I took a break from Fall of Giants' 985 pages to read the November selection for the Flower Memorial Library Book Club. Chris Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast was a quick read, but not an easy one. Taking place at the end of World War II, it is a chronicle of the horrors and atrocities of war. Bohjalian was given a diary that belonged to a friend's East Prussian grandmother, Eva Henatsch, kept from 1920 through 1945. The novel was as absorbing as it was horrific. I was thankful that there were sections that lightheartedly broke through the darkness.

Skeletons at the Feast is a novel with 3 concurrent story lines. Taking place as World War II is drawing to a close, men, women, and children from Prussia are streaming to the west as refugees trying to escape from the Russian army. We first meet the Emmerichs, a well-to-do family who own a beet farm. Mutti and Rolf, parents to Werner, twins Anna and Helmut, and Theo. Their home, Kaminheim, is well-appointed and comfortable. Mutti is a strong supporter of Hitler and has a portrait of him hanging in the parlor. They have received help in working the land from British POWs, one of whom, Callum Finella, has fallen in love with Anna. As the family is poised to leave their beloved home for the west, Helmut and his father join up with the German army to fight in a counteroffensive mission. Werner has already left and with no word of him in months, he is presumed to be dead. Mutti, Theo, and Anna continue on with the carts full of possessions and their horses leading them. Callum goes too, often hidden under the grain and oats.

Uri Singer is a Jew, separated from his family, as the Nazis took Jews as prisoners. He finds himself on a train to Auschwitz and realizes what will happen there, tho most of the transported prisoners have no clue. He throws himself from the train, eludes the guards and eventually assumes the identity of Manfred, a Wehrmacht officer. As time passes and he struggles to reach the west and the American and British lines, he meets with the Emmerichs and joins them in their flight. He searches for his sister Rebekah and is determined to undermine at any point the German army.

The third element of the story is the plight of French refugees, namely Cecile. Cecile is a privileged young woman who show incredible character and resilience. She and others whom she meets are moved from work camp to work camp as the fighting grows closer. Through her and her friends Leah and Jeanne we gain another insight into the atrocities that were committed in this war.

Bohjalian masterfully weaves all these stories together and creates a strong and compelling narrative. His descriptions of the march, the horrendous conditions during the winter months, and the morally corrupt Red Army are vividly portrayed. At times it is painful to read. His strong craft, tho, is his character development. Each person in this novel brings a point of view that allows the reader a glimpse at this war through many different lenses. All together they present a pictures that are disturbing and yet enlightening. The romance and true love between Callum and Anna, the acceptance of Uri (Manfred) by Mutti, her realization of what the Nazis were actually doing, and the sheer courage of all remind us that we are sometimes human beings that cannot always control what goes on around us, but we can, at least, carve some of our own personal destiny. Human beings when allowed to be just that without superficial barriers, can and will find a way to survive even in the most atrocious situations.

This was an inspirational and incredible read.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

The novel opens with the question, "What would you think of a postmistress who chose not to deliver the mail?" It is question that engages the reader and gives pause for thought. At first I was incensed that someone would do this, but then I realized that there must be a reasonable back story. Set in the small village of Franklin on Cape Cod, London and other venues in Europe, The Postmistress is the story of Frankie Bard, a reporter who works with Edward R. Murrow in London, Emma Fitch, newly wed wife of Franklin's doctor, and Iris James, the postmistress and how their lives become intertwined.

The strength of the novel is in the character development, the way Blake creates independent individuals who are also products of their time. I can picture Iris in her uniform carefully sorting and delivering mail. How is it that she didn't carry out her duty? Emma is so quiet, so innocent. She keeps to herself after Will has gone to London to regain the confidence and put off the guilt he feels after a devastating tragedy. She endures the day to day life opening herself to few who look to support her. Frankie is adventurous and outspoken. Her radio broadcasts are filled with human interest at the same time urging those to listen and be aware of the world situation even though a listener might not be directly affected. Her call to action against the Germans falls, for the most part, on deaf ears. As she travels throughout Germany, France, and Spain she interviews and records voices of refugees and Jews who are being forced to relocate. Their stories are deeply touching, but we still turned away from help.

There is also a quiet to the book, a poignancy that allows the reader to contemplate the action that happens. Whether it is Iris dealing with a moral dilemma, Emma waiting for letters from Will or Frankie comforting a young child, the reader is deeply affected. As the seasons and pages turned, the realization that war is horrible on so many fronts stands out to the reader and becomes the real message of the book.

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky

Suite Française is a posthumously novel published by Irène Némirovsky, a Russian Jew who lived in Paris during the German occupation. It had originally been intended to be a five-part work, modeled after a Beethoven symphony. However, Némirovsky was arrested and deported in 1942 and eventually died at Auschwitz before the work was completed. The work that exists today was found in a suitcase by her daughters Denise and Elizabeth who could not bear to read their mother's words. The novel was eventually published in 2005.

The first part of the novel is "Storm in June" and recounts the massive exodus of Parisians at the time of the German occupation through the eyes and actions people of people trying to flee the city. The Péricands are a wealthy family who have their servants pack all their belongings for them. They will be traveling to Nimes. Gabriel Corté, a writer, is fleeing with his mistress. The Michauds are a couple that work for a Parisian banker. They originally believed that they would be evacuated with the rest of the bank workers, but were left behind when there was no room for them. They were given orders to meet the bankers by a given time. Charles Langelet goes it alone by trying to steal gasoline from unsuspecting motorists. At times comical, poignant and very satiric, this movement of the symphony is allegro.

The second part of the novel is "Dolce" and is told through the eyes of Lucille Angellier whose husband is a prisoner of war. Her disdain for him because of his unfaithfulness leads her down the path of guilt as she must come to grips with her romantic feelings for Bruno, a German soldier who is billeted in the house that she shares with her mother-in-law. Their platonic relationship grows into what will more than likely become a romantic one. Or will it? To complicate matters, a German officer is shot by a local hunter and Lucille is drawn into the situation when asked to harbor the criminal. The novella is the adagio movement, told slowly and serenely. The descriptions are incredibly beautiful with the reader dwelling on each phrase as to breathe in the scene that is being created.

Némirovsky was a devout fan of Tolstoy's War and Peace and also Turgenev and Chekhov. As we think what would have been if she had finished this literary symphony, we can only surmise that it would have been on equal standing with Tolstoy's masterpiece. She was an accomplished writer at the time of her death and we can be thankful that at least we have a portion of her masterly crafted opus magnus.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Christmas vacation, some airport and flying time was enough to finish The Reader. I am driven to try to read a novel before seeing a movie and knowing that Kate Winslet would probably be nominated for her work in the adaptation of Schlink's work, this novel was next on my "to read" list. It was a fast read, but one that posed many ethical and moral issues.

Set in a post-Holocaust Germany, Michael Berg, a 15 year-old, gets ill on his way home from school. Hanna Schmitz, a middle-aged streetcar attendant, helps him. Determined to thank her, Michael returns to her home and is seduced by her. The next months see both Hanna and Michael consumed with the trysts that ensue. Michael reads classic literature to her, they take a long bicycle trip, and are passionate about each other. Then one day Hanna vanishes without notice to anyone. Michael grieves for her and blames himself for her disappearance.

Part 2 opens with Hanna being tried as a war criminal. Michael is attending law school and happens to be observing the trial. He faces a moral and ethical dilemma as to whether to help her and possibly free her while at the same time revealing information about her past that she surely would not want made public.

In the last part of the book, Michael and Hanna meet again. She is in jail and he sends her books on tape. He has kept her secret and their secret. To say anymore would give much too much away about the book's end. Suffice it to say that The Reader will engage the reader as it portrays Germany in the 1950's and the way that it must reconcile the horrendous atrocities of the Holocaust with the role its citizens played during and after the Nazi regime.