Smoke & Mirrors

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curan is a powerful dual timeline historical novel that totally consumed me.

The action is set in Paris during the Nazi occupation from 1940 and also in America in 1984. Chapters alternate between the two time periods which are linked by a granddaughter hearing of her grandmother’s wartime exploits.

We see that not all Germans are Nazis who agree with Hitler. “I was … taken aback by how normal they [Nazis] looked.” Evil does not look so different from anyone else.

As young French and German people mixed in a hotel kitchen, hatred did not come easily. They were all united in their love of cooking. “The whole point of war is to get us to hate each other, but for what?” War seemed even more futile when the enemy was just like us.

A young French pastry chef is conflicted in her mind between the dreadful treatment of her Jewish friend and also the kindness of a German cook. Her emotions are tossed by the wind.

The non-Jewish pastry chef shows her loyalty to her Jewish friend by wearing the star of David on her clothes too. “I’m choosing not to see it as a target … I’m choosing to see it as a sign of how much I love you.” Resistance comes in many forms as seen when the two women dress up in their posh frocks, wear a smile and sing.