Jul 29, 2023

WWII Novels: The Last Masterpiece and The Forgotten Bookshop of Paris

 TBR List

I couldn't resist these WWII historical novels, since I love Morelli's other historical novels on art and any novel with the word Bookstore in the title 


Publication, August 1, 2023 by William Morrow & Company

Genre: WWII, historical fiction, art history novel, Italy

In a race across Nazi-occupied Italy, two women—a German photographer and an American stenographer—hunt for priceless masterpieces looted from the Florentine art collections.

In 1943, Eva Brunner is taking photographs of Nazi-looted art hidden in the salt mines of the Austrian hinterland. Across the ocean in Connecticut, Josephine Evans is working as a humble typist at the Yale Art Gallery.

When both women are called to Italy to contribute to the war effort, neither imagines she will hold the fate of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces torn from the Uffizi Galleries and other Florentine art collections in her hands.


My review of The Last Masterpiece on Goodreads and NetGalley.



The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood

Published October 22, 2022, Avon Books UK

Genre: historical fiction, WWII, Paris

From an exciting new voice in WWII historical fiction comes a tale of love, loss and a betrayal that echoes through generations…


Paris, 1940: War is closing in on the city of love. With his wife forced into hiding, Jacques must stand by and watch as the Nazis take away everything he holds dear. Everything except his last beacon of hope: his beloved bookshop, La Page Cachée.

But when a young woman and her child knock on his door one night and beg for refuge, he knows his only option is to risk it all once more to save a life…


See my review of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris on Goodreads. 


Post WWII


The Wide World by Pierre Lemaitre

To be published December 5, 2023; Little Brown and Company

Description

The sweeping saga of one prominent French family in postwar Paris, Beirut, and Saigon—an electrifying novel of passion, greed, murder, and revenge....Epic in scope, a vivid depiction of French life in the booming postwar years. (publisher)


What's on your reading schedule this week and/or the rest of the month?injuly202

3Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated BookreviewerAlso,  It's Monday: What Are You Readingand Sunday SalonStacking the ShelvesMailbox MondayParis in July 2023

28 comments:

  1. Pierre Lemaitre is a very intriguing author — I’m always looking for new-to-me French writers. I should check the lists of the Prix Goncourt, which he won for an earlier book.
    best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  2. All of these do look really good...but I'm especially drawn to the bookshop in Paris one because I love reading books about bookshops...and books set in Paris, too. :D

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  3. I hope you enjoy all of these when you get a chance to read them. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Reading the Last Masterpiece right now, and eying the Forgotten Bookshop next.

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  4. Enjoy! Personally, I much preferred Lemaitre when he was writing thrillers.

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    1. I read his thriller, Alex, some time ago and gave it 4 stars

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  5. You're right - the word bookstore/bookshop/library, etc are almost always a sure thing topic! Forgotten Bookshop sounds like a good one in that genre.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
    https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/sunday-post-57

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  6. Just started 'Heart Beguiling Araby - The English Romance with Arabia' by Kathryn Tidick. After that will be 'A Study in Scarlet' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Oh, and I have a number of WW2 novels coming up in the last part of the year too...!

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  7. These sound good. I'm especially intrigued by The Last Masterpiece since a trip to Florence to see art is on my bucket list.

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  8. Your books look good! Thanks for sharing, and enjoy.

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  9. All beautiful covers and the time period is an interesting one. Hope you love all three!

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  10. Such gorgeous covers! Happy reading!

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  11. I love WWII fiction although I don't read it as often as I could. As our society ages. moves on from those years I feel like it's so important to remember.

    Forgotten Bookshop and Wide World sound great.

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  12. I do enjoy WWII fiction books. These sound excellent. I'm going to add them to my TBR. Have a great week!

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  13. I hope you enjoy these! The first two look particularly intriguing to me.

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  14. The Wide World looks good! Could be a doozy.

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  15. I don't often reach for historical fiction, but when I do WW II-era is the setting I gravitate to most.

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  16. All of these books look beautiful! Enjoy your week!

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  17. Italy...and Paris? Yes, all three of these have fantastic settings. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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  18. These all sound good. I have been taking a break from stories set around WWII because I was feeling burnt out after reading too many in a row. I'll have to look into these. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  19. All sound very interesting; I'll have to keep an eye out.

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  20. All of these sound amazing. The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris has been on my mind.

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  21. These all sound good to me. I can't resist a book with bookshop in the title either!

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  22. I love that first cover. I was eyeing The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris at the airport this week. Happy Reading!

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I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

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