It’s 1939, and all across Europe the Nazis are coming for Jews and anti-fascists. The only way to avoid being imprisoned or murdered is to assume a new identity. For that, people are desperate for papers. And for that, the underground needs forgers.
In Paris, Sarah, a young Jewish artist originally from Berlin, along with her music teacher and father figure, Mr. Lieb, meet Cesar, a Spanish Republican who knows well the brutality of fleeing fascism. He soon recognizes Sarah’s gift. She will become the underground’s new forger.
When the war reaches Paris, the trio joins thousands of other refugees in a chaotic exodus south. In Marseille, they’re received by friends, but they’re also now part of a resistance the government is actively hunting. Sarah, now Simone, continues her forgery work in the shadows, expertly creating false papers that will mean the difference between life and a horrifying death for many. When Mr. Lieb is arrested and imprisoned in Les Milles internment camp, Simone, Cesar, and their friends vow to rescue him, enlisting the help of American journalist Varian Fry, known for plotting the escapes of high- profile people like Andre Breton and Marc Chagall. In this enlightening and thrilling story of war, love, and courage, author Linda Joy Myers explores identity, ingenuity, and the power of art to save lives.
Linda Joy Myers has always been deliciously haunted by the power of the past to affect people in the stream of time. She has integrated her passion for history and her own struggles with intergenerational trauma into her work as a therapist and writer. The power of the truth to educate current generations about the past led Linda Joy to explore the little known history of WWII in the weeks following the fall of France.
Her new book is inspired by the daunting courage of ordinary people who worked together to save the lives of thousands of refugees, British soldiers, and other lost souls during the cruel and chaotic outbreak of the war in France. She is the author of two memoirs Don’t Call Me Mother and Song of the Plains and four books on memoir writing. She’s also the founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers. You can learn more about Linda Joy’s work at www.namw.org and www.lindajoymyersauthor.com.
My Thoughts
1939, Sarah, who changes her name to Simone, and her father figure and mentor Mr. Lieb who also has changed his name to Mathieu. They are both Jewish and the times are not favorable to Jews. They meet up with Cesar and the three of them make their trek to Paris. There Simone wishes to attend art school. In Paris Cesar works as a doctor, of which he is, to do what he can to help the injured to heal so that they can escape to freedom.
Along the way, they meet other people who belong to the Resistance. Simone, Mathiew, and Cesar want to help to do what they can to help other people who want to leave Paris. They end up in Marseille and Simone uses her skills to become a forger, passports, birth certificates, and other papers that enable the people to leave France as it is no longer a safe haven but a dangerous place to be if you are Jewish.
The reader is introduced to a myriad of people, all working for the cause and some on the other side, the enemy. Mathieu is captured and sent to a concentration camp. Simone and Cesar believe that Mathieu will not make it there so they make it their mission to rescue him.
I have read quite a few WWII books and each one is sad in its own way, the narrow escapes by the characters really bring into focus how difficult life during the war was and the extraordinary lengths that the heroes of the story will go to 'slap the faces of the Nazi's'. Goodness always outweighs evil.
I really enjoyed the book, another aspect of the war is told with impeccable research. I give the book 5 stars!
I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.
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