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Michael Whatling

Auteur de The French Baker's War

2 oeuvres 43 utilisateurs 5 critiques

Œuvres de Michael Whatling

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It's reported that in the Second World War, French food rationing was more stringent than that of any other Occupied country in Western Europe.

The following foods were restricted: bread, meat, cheese, fats (lard, oil, etc.), sugar, milk, chocolate, and milled products. Other essentials could be obtained but it was hard to get them.

Can you imagine trying to operate a pâtisserie with the shortages listed above?

Throw into the mix an increase in stunting and tuberculosis morbidity due to lack of proper food and living arrangements.

This storyline definitely depicts the vulnerabilities, economic/ social decline, and psychological consequences of war.

The story begins with a small family operating a pâtisserie during the Nazi occupation in France.

André goes out to hunt for butter and his wife Mireille and four-year-old son Frederic stay behind at the pâtisserie. Andre returns to find Mireille is missing. A Jewess, Emilie, is in his shop.

While André hunts for his wife, he encounters his parents, recognizes how friends become deadly enemies, and examines his love for his son - stating, "He's my life."

I believe, in the end, André comes full circle as he finds common ground by taking his father's advice. Brings to the forefront that when parents love you, they sacrifice much, for your well-being.

I received a copy of this book from the author Michael Whatling.
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Signalé
LorisBook | 4 autres critiques | Apr 17, 2022 |
I really liked the characters that drove this story, learning more about them, and watching their pasts and futures unfold. I loved that André decided to take a risk by helping Émilie, but I was a little confused by some of their decisions that seemed unnecessarily risky given their situation. The mystery of what happened to Mireille was intriguing, and the danger of a Nazi investigating her disappearance adds to the tension. I thought Whatling did a great job bringing the story to life, and it's easy to believe the characters were real people, and that if you could travel back in time you'd be able to meet them. A great historical fiction.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
LilyRoseShadowlyn | 4 autres critiques | Nov 15, 2021 |
occupied-France, bravery, deceit, bitterness, loss, love, family, family-dynamics, friendship, culture-of-fear, historical-novel, historical-research****

The publisher's blurb is a great hook, but only hints at the pathos and self delusion contained in the story of the essence of five people and those all around them in a time of occupation in a sleepy village in France. The wife disappears, the husband is undone, the fugitive becomes important, the child cannot comprehend the changes in his world, the bookseller sees them all as his family. It is a wrenching tale that kept me reading on relentlessly.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you also to Mortal Coil Books.
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Signalé
jetangen4571 | 4 autres critiques | Aug 29, 2021 |
This is another great WWII novel, it is a bit different than the others I have read in that it is a bit more of a storyline amongst family life during that time. André Albert has a pastry shop that him and his wife run, although with the war and rations, it is getting harder and harder to fill their bakery with various pastries. They’ve learned to cut back and how to change recipes to use what is available to them as time goes on and the war starts to accelerate.

After striking out for baking supplies for the bakery, André returns home to an odd, unsettling scene. Their non-talking four year old son is outside, the door to the baker is left wide open and his wife is no where to be found. But her apron is laying in the street, abandoned in a haste it appears. Frantic, and becoming more and more worried, André cannot find her, and no one will talk. Everyone claims they did not see anything and no one is helping him.

Not only does he have a missing wife, and upset child missing their mother- upon his return a starving, dirty Jewish woman was hiding behind one of the bakery cases. Quickly realizing he is all on his own in finding his wife, he does the right thing and allows the woman to stay- she is helping comfort his son after all and has showed she means no harm. André has a caring heart, and his wife would want him to help this woman as well.

As André begins to do his own interviewing of others in the area, he starts to fear the worse. Not only was his wife more than likely taken against her will, there is a missing Jewish woman the Nazi’s are looking for, and they’ve been in his bakery acting as though they want to help look into his missing wife, or are they? Is this worth risking his and his son’s life and will he ever find his wife, or the truth behind what happened to her?

Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed that this novel was a different side of the war, in that it had mystery involved but the forefront of what was also happening to families and those who risked everything to save others. I would suggesting adding this to your WWII novels pile!
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Signalé
Chelz286 | 4 autres critiques | Jul 22, 2021 |

Prix et récompenses

Statistiques

Œuvres
2
Membres
43
Popularité
#352,016
Évaluation
4.0
Critiques
5
ISBN
6