A story of love, lies, betrayal, espionage, confusion, redemption and true love.The story takes place in a huge winery in France during the war.Two couples, the owner and his wife,and the manager and his wife caught up in a love triangle that gets more involved as they are involving themselves with hiding Jewish refugees,and arms to fight the Nazis. A grandmother, seventy years later trying to explain things to her granddaughter that she never had the nerve to explain to her son. I must say, each time it tried to explain things, I had to read the passages over several times before I "got it". She tells a good story,and it was a very emotional read.
This is a beautifully written story set in the second world war. It is amazing that Kristin Harmel is able to blend historical drama with modern-day stories; you are able to relate to the women in the story of real, relatable women and the characters will probably stay with me for a long time. Although a novel, her research helped me learn quite a bit about the Champagne region in France and the conflict of the war. The book weave joy, life, love, loss, deception. There is determination, perseverance, resistance efforts for the war. I even learned do details of winemaking. Although I don't often drink Champagne, when I do, I will look at the bubbles differently. It is a long book and took some time for me to read it aloud for my husband, as I usually read in the car while he is driving. Since high school, I have been interested in books, factual and fiction about the world wars and this one does not disappoint.
A popular author for sure, but I really disliked this book, which I admit to not finishing. Hard to finish a book where there isn't a SINGLE character that I like. It is gimmicky and predictable, so very predictable. The modern day heroine thinks the man is married, and when he tries to explain that he isn't, she cuts him off...the grandmother tries to tell her but she cuts her off with an insult. We know where this is going. So overdone. How realistic is a 99 year old woman hopping a transatlantic flight from Paris to "pick up" her granddaughter with a terse, "Pack. We are going back to Paris." The history isn't even fulfilling. Enough said.
Nice historical setting for anyone familiar with WW II.
