I have been reading the book, “All the Light
We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr for the Pioneer Memorial Library, book club. This is a 2015 Pulitzer award winning book written about World War II as a historical fiction genre. Protagonist, Marie-Laure
LeBlanc cannot sleep in her home at Number 4 rue Vauborel. She lives with her
great uncle who has not returned home in over 24 hours. She worries about him but must stay home and
wait. In the middle of the night she is
caressing the miniature model of the city in her bedroom. She hears the roar of
planes overhead. She makes her way to the window and gently pushes it up so
that she might hear what else is happening.
In the midst of this, a piece of paper sits gingerly on the windowsill.
She picks it up, feels and sniffs it. It
is smells of fresh ink, is crisp and new.
What it says she does not know. She is blind. Now the author introduces us to a second
character, young private named Werner Pfennig. He is in the German Army serving
in France. He is eighteen years old and
is on his way to the cellar of the L’hotel de Abeilles (Hotel of Bees). The
ground is shaking, the plane engines are roaring overhead. D-Day was two months
ago. But their little island had not
been liberated by the Americans or English.
Cherbourg, the town is about to experience the crushing blow of the
Allies against the Germans. Those within
this French town just received thousands of leaflets telling them to leave the
city, go to the open fields and wait out the attack. Marie does not know this. She must just wait.
As Werner is moving quickly to the cellar he thinks this may be it for him; his
day of meeting his maker. Doerr gets his
reader right where he wants them, then he back tracks 10 years. He tells of their childhood in several
chapters, then springs us back to 1944 in part two. This book reads at a good pace. The dialogue
is easy but engaging. I think we will
find this a thought provoking and interesting book to read. Join me in finishing the story.
The
next novel is also a historical fiction item: “The Nightingale,” by Kristin Hannah. The
book starts with an elderly woman living through old age, cancer and now the
necessity of moving into a smaller home and away from her beloved house called
the Peak. She was a young woman during
WWII, when the Nazi’s invaded France.
She and her sister take different paths during the struggle against Nazi
oppression. Their lives will be changed
dramatically. Both will fight this enemy in ways they never thought possible. The Gestapo are looking for the Nightingale,
and the search is being broadened until it comes to one of the sisters.
She is in danger, but cannot tell those in the resistance, they have their own
problems. She must find a way around the suspicions and death threats. This
book will keep you captivated. I actually liked it better than the one above.
A third item from World War II and France is “Sarah’s Key,” written by Tatiana DeRosnay. This is a profoundly
important book to read or listen to. The author creates an historical fiction
piece that is so clearly close to the real happenings of original setting that
it is excruciatingly painful to consider. This story is about a Jewish family
that becomes part of the now infamous Vel’ d’Hiv roundup which occurred on July
16th and 17th in 1942. The roundup was perpetrated in
collusion between the Nazi’s and the French National Police. In this story,
Sarah’s family is taken by force to the national bicycle velodrome called the Vélodrome
d'Hiver. From there
they are taken to Auschwitz. Sarah’s story is captivating and challenging.
I hope
like me, these novels will make you reflect just what you would allow to go on to a group of
people in your town, county, state or nation. It will also make you consider
your heritage, just who do we think we are and how did we get where we are, and
what have we lost in our heritage from the past.
