A Fifty-Year Silence

Love, War, and a Ruined House in France

De: Miranda Richmond Mouillot

Narrado por: Miranda Richmond Mouillot

A young woman moves across an ocean to uncover the truth about her grandparents' mysterious estrangement and pieces together the extraordinary story of their wartime experiences

In 1948, after surviving World War II by escaping Nazi-occupied France for refugee camps in Switzerland, Miranda's grandparents, Anna and Armand, bought an old stone house in a remote, picturesque village in the South of France. Five years later, Anna packed her bags and walked out on Armand, taking the typewriter and their children. Aside from one brief encounter, the two never saw or spoke to each other again, never remarried, and never revealed what had divided them forever.

A Fifty-Year Silence is the deeply involving account of Miranda Richmond Mouillot's journey to find out what happened between her grandmother, a physician, and her grandfather, an interpreter at the Nuremberg Trials, who refused to utter his wife's name aloud after she left him. To discover the roots of their embittered and entrenched silence, Miranda abandons her plans for the future and moves to their stone house, now a crumbling ruin; immerses herself in letters, archival materials, and secondary sources; and teases stories out of her reticent, and declining, grandparents. As she reconstructs how Anna and Armand braved overwhelming odds and how the knowledge her grandfather acquired at Nuremberg destroyed their relationship, Miranda wrestles with the legacy of trauma, the burden of history, and the complexities of memory. She also finds herself learning how not only to survive but to thrive--making a home in the village and falling in love.

With warmth, humor, and rich, evocative details that bring her grandparents' outsize characters and their daily struggles vividly to life, A Fifty-Year Silence is a heartbreaking, uplifting love story spanning two continents and three generations.

Not enough France, mystery, or answers.

This book is an historical mystery but as the mystery is researched, the author is on her own journey of healing and self-discovery. Her own journey and love story are interesting and carry life lessons. The story of her grandparents (which appears to be the point of the book) is poignant and inspiring and powerful. Her grandparents unwillingness to just either tell her to stop asking questions or conversely to just sit down and frankly and directly answer her questions creates several rather tedious chapters. But alas, we can suspend logic for a good story.

While I definitely enjoyed the book, the writer's love of France is only sporadically conveyed in its pages. For me, the placement of the story in rural France is the reason I bought the book. So I wanted more old stone house renovation sagas or happy picnics with the stray cats, dodging mistral winds and harmless scorpions. Even laughable anecdotes of dealing with french bureaucracy or old divorce property laws would have been entertaining. But we Francophiles were not indulged during nor at the end of this book.

The middle third of the book was a tangle of voices, facts and ideas and it was hard to grasp the mystery we were trying to solve. Did she want us to solve Why her grandparents got married ? Why they separated ? Were they in love ? When did they break apart ? Where did they live ? What are the life-lessons we were supposed to learn ? Most mysteries have one question we are trying to deduce. This was much muddier. And also during the middle third, the mix of supposed possibilties was hard to separate from the thread that was loosely sewing factual tidbits together. As I write this now, I'm left wondering how much of what I believe was the grandparents story was fact and how much was the authors conjecture. Is that the point ?

I found that the questions that I wanted answered were left unanswered: what happened to her grandmother's house in France ? Who owns it now ? Will it every be renovated ? Why did the author and her capable husband emotionally abandon it ?

Although it was not a favorite book, it was worth a read. To the author, thanks for sharing your grandparent's story (and yours.)

What she learned, brought her closer to family.

She set out to learn why her Grandparents were not together, why they hadn't spoken to each other in 50 yrs. and was hoping to uncover their story of romance and what caused her Grandmother to leave him. The story she uncovers, with Grandmother's approval, is one which takes place during WW2 and they are a Jewish family, however the struggles this young couple face are much more than you could possibly imagine. I have read several books regarding family struggles of this time period, however I must say this is the best. Read/listen to the book, you won't be sorry.

A Great read

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book. The coming-of-age of the author as she tries to understand why her grandparents refused to speak to each other for over 50 years was both moving and unique. I laughed and cried in places, and loved that the author narrated this book herself. I could picture Both of Miranda's grandparents, their feisty desire for her to both remember and let go, to love and to hold at arm's length. The dilapidated house was a terrific symbol of hope, of ruin, of renewal and disappointment.

A well-written, well-read biography, both of the author and of her grandparents themselves.

An Amazing Story

What made the experience of listening to A Fifty-Year Silence the most enjoyable?

Such a personal account

What other book might you compare A Fifty-Year Silence to and why?

None

What about Miranda Richmond Mouillot’s performance did you like?

I loved the way she imitated her Grandmother's accent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole book was moving

bio and auto biography in one

excellent story of reality and strength and growth. wow! captivating.. as if I were just waiting for the very ending and gifts the grandchild was due.