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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This book told a WW11 story that hadn’t been told very much. It was well written and very interesting.
A very good book of fiction about the Nazi occupation of Normandy during World War II. The Nazi were brutal to the people in the countries they occupied, but the French people survived with whatever means they had. The heroine is smart and likable and serves as a link between the village people by helping them with trading for each other’s needs. Good read and hard to put down.
A small French village does what it can to survive Nazi occupation while waiting for the allies to save them…the Nazi’s are building the fortifications used during the D Day invasion.
Enjoyed very much!
It’s hard to take a common topic like WW2 occupation and be original, but I think Kiienan did a masterful job of taking a mundane, hard villagers life and walking her through the process of deciding to meet needs of one person at a time. There were profound sentences about life, the philosophy of sorrow, pain and hope. I really enjoyed seeing a bit of D-day from the German’s planned defense and also having questions answered afterward by the author, as well as the lead character. Kept me engaged and contemplating throughout.
Shockingly realistic characters sucked me right in to their WWII, daily traumas in humorously simpatico and tragically sad ways. The Baker’s Secret is not your usual formula war story. The baker, our 15 year old protagonist, portrays a refreshing example of someone coming to grips with her environment’s terrifying changes and how, as a determined young teen, she comes to grips with day to day priorities of her small French village in order to survive their occupation.
If you enjoy novels with WWII as a backdrop, you will probably like this one. It’s the story of a young woman in an occupied town in Normandy who fights back against the Germans in the only way she can – by setting up a subtle network of black market trade among her neighbors to make life more bearable and bring hope to some.
Well written historical fiction bringing to light the phenomenal challenges to life during the war.
I loved learning more about Normandy since I was there last year.
This book was a lovely surprise. It was beautifully written and the characters were fascinating. Loved it.
This was an excellent book of the realities of France under occupation during WWII. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Amazing book of courage, survival, and hope in German occupied seaside French town in the year before the allied invasion. The book is told in a third person narrative but almost from the perspective of an observer in the town telling the story. The author beautifully portrays the various towns people some of whom have hope, some despair, some determination. Every character in this story, no matter how insignificant he or she seems plays a role in the stories culmination. Read this book.
A twist on a novel of French resistance
I thought it was well written The characters were so real. The heroine of the story earned my respect,as did her Grand mother.
WWII historical fiction life in occupied France. The main character, Emma, is young, strong, and inspirational. There are many sad events in the book but the human spirit prevails.
Great read. France during the war and how a small town in France survived the German invasion. Le ad character who not only helped a downed pilot but helped her townsfolk survive. Must read.
This book was about the coming of DDay and a small French village that the war affected before the Allies invaded.. it is haunting and horrible how the Germans treated these people. The book leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
A remarkable and unusual book that retells an old story in a new way. This novel takes place in a small village in France during World War II, occupied by the Nazis just as Allied armies are about to invade on D-Day. But the Germans and Americans are peripheral characters. The real story concerns the war-weary French villagers just trying to live their lives and survive another day. For some that means tiny acts of retribution. For others, complete collaboration. In telling the village’s story, you get the full story of anyone in times of war.
At the center of the novel is Emma, a cynical but gifted baker with no faith in the future, who steadfastly shoulders the responsible of caring for her mentally-compromised grandmother, Meme. Around Emma are others (the Monsignor, a veterinarian, a cafe owner, a paper pusher to name a few), nearly all women and old men, who struggle desperately and daily with shortages of all kind and pervasive hunger, while occupying soldiers seem to have more than they need. The beauty of this book is in the smallest details of each person’s life, where we come to understand everything from the value of a single egg to the randomness behind who survives and who does not in wartime.
Despite her cynicism, Emma takes on the job of bartering between her neighbors in an effort to increase everyone’s chances of survival. And in doing so, she becomes her own powerhouse, able to withstand even the harshest treatment. This is a wonderful read, where you will reach deep into the lives of a few memorable characters and find universal lessons about some of the best aspects of our human nature — like courage, friendship, hope, and love.
This story of life in a small French village during German occupation is fascinating, especially the climax of the story on D-Day.
It is frequently difficult to read about life under the Nazi occupation, but this book captured both the best and the worst of humanity under very difficult circumstances. I could not put this book down.