Finalist for the 2018 Minnesota Book AwardA graphic designer’s search for inspiration leads to a cache of letters and the mystery of one man’s fate during World War II.Seeking inspiration for a new font design in an antique store in small-town Stillwater, Minnesota, graphic designer Carolyn Porter stumbled across a bundle of letters and was immediately drawn to their beautifully expressive … beautifully expressive pen-and-ink handwriting. She could not read the lettersthey were in Frenchbut she noticed all of them had been signed by a man named Marcel and mailed from Berlin to his family in France during the middle of World War II.
As Carolyn grappled with designing the font, she decided to have one of Marcel’s letters translated. Reading it opened a portal to a different time, and what began as mere curiosity quickly became an obsession with finding out why the letter writer, Marcel Heuzé, had been in Berlin, how his letters came to be on sale in a store halfway around the world, and, most importantly, whether he ever returned to his beloved wife and daughters after the war.
Marcel’s Letters is the incredible story of Carolyn’s increasingly desperate search to uncover the mystery of one man’s fate during WWII, seeking answers across Germany, France, and the United States. Simultaneously, she continues to work on what would become the acclaimed P22 Marcel font, immortalizing the man and his letters that waited almost seventy years to be reunited with his family.
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Really enjoyed the book. The letters and mystery surrounding them made for a great read
I enjoyed this book, as I generally do enjoy books about the Holocaust. However, this book was a bit too long for me. I kept wondering why the main character kept obsessing over the person that wrote the letters, trying to find the family and discover what happened to him. Her obsession seemed to go on for decades, and I began to wonder why her husband didn’t just leave her. It just got old after a while. I also really wanted to see that FONT that she created!
I couldn’t get into this book. She needed a better editor
Based on a true story. Loved the topic.
This is my favorite book ever. I loved the vivid characters, historical connection, and mystery. It is a book I could read again and enjoy as much as the first time.
If you are interested in how inspiration is found and fonts are developed this is a great book. Wonderfully written, great flow. Didn’t want to put down. A great true story of one woman’s quest to find the man behind the letters.
Carolyn Porter is a font designer. In looking for inspiration toward that goal, she purchased several letters hand-written during WWII by a Frenchman named Marcel who was captured by the Germans and forced to work in their manufacturing plants. The letters were written in French, and though she could not read them, she was attracted to his hand writing and wanted to use it to design a font. Her curiosity overcame her and so she had the letters translated, thereby discovering that they were love letters to his beloved wife and daughters. It was then that she wanted to know more about Marcel. What had become of him? Did he make it home to his precious family? Why didn’t they have these letters? Soon Carolyn was obsessed with Marcel and his family. This book captured me from the beginning. I loved Carolyn’s forthright writing style; it was a though she were sitting in my living room talking to me. When Carolyn was thinking about Marcel and his loved ones, I was thinking about Marcel and his loved ones. When she was anxious, I was anxious; when she celebrated, I celebrated. This was a beautiful book, and I highly recommend it. In fact, I’m gifting it for Christmas.
The book suspenseful. My hobby is genealogy so I could not wait to find out more about Marcel and his descendants.
I knew nothing about graphic design and especially about fonts, but gained some appreciation for it from this book.
On the downside, I grew weary of the author’s description of her emotional reactions to each new detail.
Wonderful story. It was hard to put down. My only complaint is the author’s favorite profanity during times of frustration.
Marcel’s Letters was a wonderful story about how seemingly ordinary incidents can turn into incredible, life changing events. Carolyn Porter has always wanted to create her own font and this leads her to purchase a packet of letters, written In French. She likes the way the writer has formed his letters. Something leads her to have one of the letters translated and the trajectory of her life is changed. No longer is the font the focus. Instead, the focus is to discover whether Marcel has survived to return home to his beloved wife and family. Carolyn’s tenacity takes the reader, and indeed her patient, loving husband on an incredible journey.
Great true story. The story of one persons efforts to create a new font and the authors journey to do so. Her hard work and perseverance resulted in some very unsuspected results. Interesting and well written, I highly recommend this book.
I wasn’t too sure about this book at first, but as I read, the search for Marcel captivated me. I ended up loving the book
I would not have read this except for book bub, but I was glad I did. The author’s search for the history behind the letters was amazing. Creating such a beautiful font in his memory was informative and and a touching tribute.
Interesting. A lot about fonts which I did not know and, of course, WW2.
I loved this books so much I asking for one of the Marcel fonts for Christmas. I’ve read hundreds of books about WW II and was pleased to learn more about Frenchmen forced to work in Germany.
The evolution of Marcel’s life and the Marcel font are a wonderful mystery and intriguing story. As a calligraphy student in my youth I loved this complex story.
what an inventive take on genealogy novel
I, unfortunately, lost interest. It was an effort to finish. A lot of book for the topic of a font.
I thought it was going to go into the history of this poor man in the holocaust, but the author spent way too much time describing how you develop a font, and I lost interest.
The characters really came to life.