Tag Archive | Suzanne Kelman

The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Keep The Fires Burning

The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman is a marvellous dual timeline novel that I loved. It is the first book in The Paris Sisters series which promises to be fantastic.

The novel is set in present day and Paris during World War II. We ‘see’ the Nazis collecting and collating works of art to be shipped back to Germany. These treasures are more than their canvases and their worth, they are the very heart of the French people. Art speaks to souls. We witness the lengths some will go in order to protect it.

There are those who want to preserve the art for future generations to enjoy. In contrast, we see black marketeers who merely want the art for personal wealth. These unscrupulous people come in some surprising forms.

We follow a family of three generations. They are strongly bonded with each other and also have a bond with a painting done by their father. This is a microcosm for the value placed on art by the French people as a whole.

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Under A Sky On Fire by Suzanne Kelman

A Chord Of Three Strands

Under A Sky On Fire by Suzanne Kelman is a powerful historical novel set in London in 1940-1941 at the height of the blitz.

The novel follows the fortunes of three women – two WAAF’s and one who works in Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. They are all brave young women fighting on the home front for a better tomorrow.

The reader witnesses their bravery and their bulldog spirit as lives continue living and loving in spite of the bombs falling. There is camaraderie where souls help each other get through the darkest of times.

There is a hope, a hope that life will get better and families will be reunited. Evacuation of children was hard but necessary. Both parents and children found it difficult to do.

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A View Across The Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman

Ordinary Heroes

A View Across The Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman is a powerful historical novel about ordinary men and women who performed extraordinary acts of bravery during a time of pure evil.

The novel is set in Amsterdam 1941-1945. It is the height of the Nazi occupation and a time of terror and unspeakable horrors. The Jewish people begin to disappear and no one said anything. Rumours of roundups began. Only when blood lands on a character’s doorstep do they wake up to the horrors all around. “When had all this become normal?” Now a character feels compelled to act.

Suzanne Kelman has captured the horrors of war and persecution. Man’s inhumanity to man knew no bounds. In contrast there were exceedingly brave acts performed by ordinary men and women who refused to let evil wash over them. “One doesn’t realise how brave one is until the cost outweighs the fear.” There were those who could not stand by and do nothing, those who went above and beyond, those who gave their all.

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