Tag Archive | The Paris Sisters

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman

Jul8

The Torchbearers

The Paris Promise by Suzanne Kelman is a powerful dual timeline novel that totally consumed me. It is the third book in The Paris Sisters series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in Paris in 1943 and in England in 2012. We also journey to Brazil in the latter period. The stories are linked by family as a grandmother’s life becomes the focal point of a search.

Life in occupied Paris was hard, and even harder for the Jewish population. A young mother vows to relentlessly search for her Jewish husband. Only the hope of being re-united keeps her going as events push her to the limit.

We see that people did what they did in order to survive. “People made hard choices to survive.” The bravery of a young mother is to be applauded. “We can’t judge the past by our current standings.” The past needs to be viewed with a very different pair of eyes.

A Stradivarius violin links the two timelines as a granddaughter seeks to unite a family with their violin after the Nazis had looted it during the war. What she uncovers is the stuff of nightmares. “The violin wasn’t just an artefact – it was a bridge to her father’s history.”

Brave people of Paris joined the Resistance. “We must join them [Resistance]. We cannot stand idly by while our city is torn apart by hatred and fear.” We learn that even in the darkest of times, beauty can be found. “Amid all the darkness, there was still beauty to be found.”

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The Bookseller Of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Jun17

Echoes Down The Years

The Bookseller Of Paris by Suzanne Kelman is a powerful, heart-wrenching dual timeline novel that I loved. It is the second book in The Paris Sisters but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is mainly set in Paris in 1941 and also in 2011. This is a cosmopolitan read as in 2011 we travel from London to Scotland to Berlin and to Paris. In 1941 we journey between Paris and Berlin.

In present day a granddaughter is trying to piece together her grandfather’s past. She wants to know her heritage – could she really be related to a high-ranking Nazi? Her grandfather has been a recluse tainted by his father’s stance. He has spent a lifetime feeling guilty for the sins of his father.

Books are central to the story. In both time periods, the leading ladies are passionate about books. Novels by Jewish authors were smuggled out of Nazi Germany during World War II or they would have been lost forever. Books and writings tell our stories. “Our personal stories… They connect us to the past and remind us of who we are.” Books are more than just a social commentary on the time. “Books are our testament to having lived, loved and learned.”

We see the courage needed to stand up against the Nazis. “Love can drive us to do the most courageous things, especially in the darkest of times.” We never know what is in our core until it is called out of us.

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Sisters Of The Resistance by Jina Bacarr

Sep30

Daisy Chain

Sisters Of The Resistance by Jina Bacarr is a powerful and heartbreaking historical novel. It is the sequel to Sisters At War which I recommend reading first for maximum enjoyment.

The novel opens in 1942. The action is mainly set in Paris with alternating chapters between the two sisters, Eve and Justine. They both ‘fought’ very different wars. “Not everyone fights the Boches with guns and ammo.” Both were in opposition to the Nazis – one in the resistance, the other from within the Nazis as a spy but posing as a mistress, after events took a dreadful turn in the opening of book one. For safety’s sake, secrets and silences were kept, even when it meant others thought badly of them.

The battle for France was played out not just on the battlefields but in homes and streets, the people fought back however they could, holding on to the hope that one day France would be free again.

Family is important. Family ties and their safety saw one sister denying herself in order to preserve her family. “Winning the war is what counts, not me.”

There were some truly awful atrocities committed by the Nazis against women. Jina Bacar has realistically and sensitively portrayed some very hard to read scenes of the violence and attacks against the women of Paris.

Round-ups and the treatment of the Jewish people was horrific. A sister declared “I need to know. Then someday I can tell the world what I saw.” Survival was essential to tell the world what really happened.

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The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Feb29

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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