Set in 1943 occupied Paris. Starting with the round up of Jews a desperate mother locks eyes with a young Frenchwoman on the sidewalk and drops her newborn in a rubbish bin, praying that she will be saved and she is.
The occupation is hazardous for all French citizens and Sadie is in a quandary how to bring up an infant in a brothel, because Sadie is a young prostitute, just trying to survive. Neighbours give details of suspicious behaviour to the Nazi and Sadie is terrified of the questioning that will follow if they discover an infant with her. When the Americans free the city and an offer to adopt the little girl comes up, Sadie decides in the best interest of the child to give up the baby she considers her own.
Fast forward several decades and Ellen wants to discover her roots. Taken aback at her beginnings, she discovers her Jewish heritage and the suffering that her mother went through before she was released. Apart from the main characters, there were many women who helped the baby to survive, from a woman acting as a wet nurse as well as the Madame of the bordello who offered her protection to the infant.
The lifestyle at the time of the occupation was horrific and so many did not survive the bombardment, the starvation and the inhuman treatment meted to prisoners.
The story was emotional and heart breaking with so much sadness but for Ellen it ended on a positive note.
Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.
No comments:
Post a Comment