"Beautifully written, it is touching, funny, sad and uplifting – basically it has everything you could want in a good novel."
A charming story involving a young man searching for information about his late grandmother’s family, interwoven with descriptions of acts of bravery undertaken by a French family in Sablé-sur-Manse as part of the French Resistance in World War Two. Ben Griffiths is a young man grieving for his Nana who died of pneumonia in a care home in North Wales during the Covid 19 pandemic. Now she has gone, he is saddened as he realises how little he and his parents actually knew about her early life. He recalls that his father had stored a bag belonging to her in the attic of their house when his grandmother was being admitted to the care home five years ago, and asks his father if he can look at it. The bag contains watercolours, ink sketches and letters addressed to Amélie Maurois. During drinks after a work marketing event, Melanie, one of the presenters is struck by the likeness between Ben, and a man in an old photograph that she has. When Ben decides to change career and open an inn for ramblers he seeks marketing advice from Melanie. He shows Melanie the old paintings from the satchel which are now framed and hung in the inn, and amazingly, Melanie recognises the landscape as that of a village in France where her grandparents live. Melanie is hopeful that her grandparents may be able to help Ben understand who the people are featured in the paintings outside the village and suggests a trip to see them. As the book progresses we are treated to a beautiful description of how one French family undertook incredible acts of bravery by hiding local people, supplying them with forged documents, and planning their safe exits out of France, as well as hiding valuable possessions from “Les Allemands.” This is a remarkable novel which explores relationships both past and present as well as highlighting the important work undertaken by the French Resistance. Beautifully written, it is touching, funny, sad and uplifting – basically it has everything you could want in a good novel.
Kathryn Carruthers, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Indie Author Books |
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