French Chic Book Club ~ Skylark

Welcome to the second year of the French Chic Book Club! Each month I select a book for my fellow Francophiles to read. For the month of November I’ve selected “Skylark” by Paula McLain. Her previous book, The Paris Wife is a favorite of mine and I’m looking forward to this one!

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Skylark
by Paula McClain

The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a “lyrical” (The Washington Post) tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.

1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette’s efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.

1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized.

“Fans of stirring historicals won’t want to miss this” (Publishers Weekly) spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—as it chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.

Note: Many of us are doing our best to avoid purchasing from Amazon and a number of other large corporations, for a variety of reasons. I recommend checking the library or purchasing books from local book stores if you have them in your area. If not, Bookshop.org is a great option.

Bookshop.org

Amazon

If you’d like to discuss this month’s French Chic book selection, I’ll have a pinned post in my French Chic Facebook group where you can share your thoughts and observations.

Have you joined the French Chic group yet? If not, here is the link:

French Chic

Be sure to answer the membership questions so your request will be approved.