Skylark

A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

De: Paula McLain

Narrado por: Alexa Davalos, Michiel Huisman, Paula McLain

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK!

The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.

1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette's efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.

1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized.

A spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—Paula McLain’s unforgettable new novel chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.

Narration can make or break a book

I really wanted to love this book, but I could not finish it. Alexa Davalos is a lovely actress, but narration is not her niche. She spoke so slowly (even at 1.5x) and in such a monotone that at 40% into the book, I had no idea what it was about. I will have to read this book in print.

Never ending story

The two time periods did not connect until the very end making for a very long disconnected read!