“The Alice Network” by Kate Quinn
This
historical fiction was one of NPR’s best books of 2017. The true story
of a WWI British female spy ring serves as the skeleton of this fast
paced book filled with intrigue, brokenness and courage. There are two
different time lines, one starting in 1915, the other one in 1947. They
weave together to tell a gut wrenching, heartbreaking story of brave
women determined to make a difference in the most difficult of
circumstances. The first story is about a British spy network operating
in German occupied France. Most of the agents were women led by
“Lili”. She was joined by “Marguerite”. Marguerite worked in a French
restaurant, serving German diners and passing along tidbits to Lili, her
British handler. The second story, in 1947, is that of Marguerite, now
aged, and a 19 year old American girl who has come to France with her
mother to obtain a safe, legal abortion in Switzerland. She escapes
from her mother and is determined to find her cousin Rose who
disappeared during the war. To do that, she must get to London and find
Marguerite, the one woman who might help her. It is a wonderfully told
story and a page turner.
“The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel” by Anita Diamant
Set
on the high ground at the heart of Cape Ann, the village of Dogtown is
peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, whores, free Africans and
“witches”. Among the inhabitants of this hamlet are Black Ruth, who
dresses as a man and works as a stonemason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious
madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her brothel; Oliver
Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of his aunt;
and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave. At the center of it all lies Judy
Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless
builds a life for herself against all imaginable odds. It is an
extraordinary retelling of a long forgotten chapter of early American
life.
“Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay
This
historical novel brings to light a disturbing and deliberately hidden
aspect of French involvement and responsibility for the killing of
13,000 Jewish families in WWII. It switches back and forth between the
lives of two people. One part takes place during 1942, involving the
life of a young Jewish French girl, Sarah during the time of the Vel
d’Hiv roundup arrests in July 1942. At that time, Sarah attempts to
save her little brother Michel by locking him in a hidden cupboard with
an innocent promise to return for him. Her story is told in alternating
chapters about Julia, an American journalist, living in France in
2002. Julia is researching the 60th anniversary of the tragic events of
Vel d’Hiv. As her research continues, she becomes obsessed with
finding out what happened to Sarah, despite the effect it is having on
her own family. This book is a stirring and emotional read.
