A tale beautifully, wisely, and masterfully told.” — Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun
From the multiple-award-winning, critically acclaimed author of The Hummingbird and The Curiosity comes a dazzling novel of World War II—a shimmering tale of courage, determination, optimism, and the resilience of the human spirit, set in a small Normandy village on the eve of D-Day.
small Normandy village on the eve of D-Day.
On June 5, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle is making the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country.
Only twenty-two, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at thirteen, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing. She was likewise powerless to help when they pulled Ezra from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again.
In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back. Each day, she receives an extra ration of flour to bake a dozen baguettes for the occupying troops. And each day, she mixes that precious flour with ground straw to create enough dough for two extra loaves—contraband bread she shares with the hungry villagers. Under the cold, watchful eyes of armed soldiers, she builds a clandestine network of barter and trade that she and the villagers use to thwart their occupiers.
But her gift to the village is more than these few crusty loaves. Emma gives the people a taste of hope—the faith that one day the Allies will arrive to save them.
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I enjoy historical fiction and find stories set during World War II particularly interesting. This book did not disappoint. A small, coastal town in France has been overtaken and occupied by German troops for years with the villagers starving and controlled by the occupying troops. One girl, Emma, is a baker and has been ordered to bake twelve loaves of bread each day for the Kammandant or face the penalty. She discovers a way to make 14 loaves leaving 2 that she can secretly share with people in the village. Unwittingly she becomes the “black market gypsy” of goods traded among the villagers for survival.
There are many memorable characters in this story, and the author does a good job of letting the reader understand why they do what they do to survive. But underneath it all, they treat their community as a family with a common enemy. There is a lot of suspense, examples of bravery, and action in this story.
I did not give this book 5 stars for a couple of reasons. First, I found the writing a little choppy and hard to follow at times. Second, I had to read a publisher’s description to confirm what I suspected, that the historical event the story revolves on is D-Day and that the village was in Normandy. The author never specifically mentions the event or place (or I totally missed it). Maybe this was intentional to keep the focus on Emma, but I would have found it more meaningful to know for sure.
Aside from that, the author uses a baking metaphor throughout the book, using how something tastes to describe the feelings at the time. Ending on the taste of hope was a good way to end. I recommend this book!
Emmanuelle is bitter. The traumas she suffers and witnesses age her beyond her twenty-two years. The war is consuming everything and everyone she loves, and she has lost all hope that the Allies will help. And yet…
Her youth and her intelligence call her to action. One small act of defiance (adding a bit of ground straw to her flour rations as town baker) allows her to increase her yield from twelve to fourteen loaves–enough bread to satisfy the demands of the Nazi occupiers, with two left over to secretly distribute to the townspeople.
Yet it is not enough.
Each deception exposes a new desire. Each desire inspires a new idea on how to undermine the Nazis to obtain it. Each little triumph keeps the spark of hope glowing in the people of the town. Even for those Emma dislikes or who dislike her, they are bound together in their shared wish to see the destruction of the oppressors.
THE BAKER’S SECRET beautifully demonstrates the power of small acts done with great care, and the ripples that expand outward from those acts. In spite of how hardened Emma has become, she is a protagonist with whom the reader forges a strong alliance. Her sorrows are ours. Her pain is ours. Her joy, ours.
Kiernan is a writer of enormous talent, and this novel is a triumph. The reader knows D-Day is coming, and can hardly wait for Emma to find out. In spite of knowing the catalyst for the climax, there are still many surprises; so much is revealed when June 6th, 1944 finally arrives.
I read the novel in a weekend, and it made my “Best of” list of 2017. I give it my highest recommendation.
This was a wonderful depiction of the days leading up to D Day in Normandy told from the aspect of the villagers near the beaches. Highly recommend.
Very good. Reminds us of how many sacrificed in Europe and how they looked out for their neighbors as well.
I really enjoyed this book. It took me a lot of reading to realize where the story was taking place but I did figure out when and what was happening. Great story!
Loved it!!
I want to thank Goodreads First Read Giveaway and Stephen P. Kiernan, author for the copy of The Baker’s Secret I won in the Giveaway.
In a small village on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle, a young woman is constricted into baking twelves loaves of bread for the occupied forces of Germany. She starts a defiance movement that offers the village hope by mixing ground straw with the floor and making two extra loaves of bread a day that she shares with the starving village people. She works with other local people to do small defiance to give them hope for rescue and an end to the war.
The realistic story is the appeal of The Baker’s Secret and a story that honors all the resistance movements that helped bring the end to WWII and assist the allied troupes when they came to fight the Germans and drive them back to Germany.
Good historical fiction novel concerning an occupied French village near the D-Day beaches on the eve of the invasion.
What a rare find. Totally enchanting!
I continue to be amazed that in the 20th century people who should have been civilized could act like animals. The attempted extermination of a race is unimaginable to me.
I sad tale of survival during the Holocaust both for Jewish people and German civiians.
This book was a wonderful read! Relatable characters who were both heroic and flawed! A bit of history, too! A great read!
I like WW2 history, and this story personalized the experience of the French as they were occupied by the Nazi’s.
Never forget.
Very slow. Didn’t finish. Nothing about this book made me want to turn the page, so I didn’t.
Such a rewarding story of courage and creativity in the face of unsurmountable difficulties.
French resistance to the Nazis wasn’t necessarily blowing up bridges, train tracks or fuel depots, returning pilots to the Allies, or sighting targets. Protagonist Emma shows resistance can be embedded in life’s routines, which in her case, is baking baguettes. In the vividly painted world of a small Normandy village we see Emma’s web of resistance grow to enable her fellow villagers to survive. Emma brings us to know the emotional underpinnings of resistance and what it means to be brave, when an occupation is measured in years but to survivors undoubtedly feels like it lasts more than a lifetime. Mr. Kiernan draws a sharp contrast between violent war scenes of Nazi atrocities and later D-Day, and simple village life, that brought The Summer Before The War to mind.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid world war based fiction reader and author. You can read more of my takes at https://brodiecurtis.com/curtis-takes/.
Having just visited Normandy last year for D-Day, this was a great read.
Interesting and well written. The story was different. Not the usual. Held my interest.
I could not wait to pick up this book each night.
Took awhile to get into it but it was an interesting story about what the villagers were doing during the days leading up to and including the Normandy invasion.