The Room on Rue Amelie
Summary (from the publisher): For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, this powerful novel of fate, resistance, and family—by the international bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting and When We Meet Again—tells the tale of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish teenager whose lives intersect in occupied Paris during the tumultuous days of World War II.
When newlywed Ruby Henderson Benoit arrives in Paris in 1939 with her French husband Marcel, she imagines strolling arm in arm along the grand boulevards, awash in the golden afternoon light. But war is looming on the horizon, and as France falls to the Nazis, her marriage begins to splinter, too.
Charlotte Dacher is eleven when the Germans roll into the French capital, their sinister swastika flags snapping in the breeze. After the Jewish restrictions take effect and Jews are ordered to wear the yellow star, Charlotte can’t imagine things getting much worse. But then the mass deportations begin, and her life is ripped forever apart.
Thomas Clarke joins the British Royal Air Force to protect his country, but when his beloved mother dies in a German bombing during the waning days of the Blitz, he wonders if he’s really making a difference. Then he finds himself in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and he discovers a new reason to keep fighting—and an unexpected road home.
When fate brings them together, Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas must summon the courage to defy the Nazis—and to open their own broken hearts—as they fight to survive. Rich with historical drama and emotional depth, this is an unforgettable story that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.
When newlywed Ruby Henderson Benoit arrives in Paris in 1939 with her French husband Marcel, she imagines strolling arm in arm along the grand boulevards, awash in the golden afternoon light. But war is looming on the horizon, and as France falls to the Nazis, her marriage begins to splinter, too.
Charlotte Dacher is eleven when the Germans roll into the French capital, their sinister swastika flags snapping in the breeze. After the Jewish restrictions take effect and Jews are ordered to wear the yellow star, Charlotte can’t imagine things getting much worse. But then the mass deportations begin, and her life is ripped forever apart.
Thomas Clarke joins the British Royal Air Force to protect his country, but when his beloved mother dies in a German bombing during the waning days of the Blitz, he wonders if he’s really making a difference. Then he finds himself in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and he discovers a new reason to keep fighting—and an unexpected road home.
When fate brings them together, Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas must summon the courage to defy the Nazis—and to open their own broken hearts—as they fight to survive. Rich with historical drama and emotional depth, this is an unforgettable story that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.
Review: I received an advance uncorrected proof copy of this novel from a Goodreads giveaway.
American Ruby Henderson Benoit imagines a dreamy life as a newlywed in Paris when she arrives with her French husband Marcel in 1939, but as the war continues to encroach on Paris, her marriage also begins to fall apart. Ruby befriends a young Jewish schoolgirl, Charlotte, who lives with her parents in the apartment next door. When the war throws Ruby and Charlotte together, they must fight to survive while also finding the courage to secretly defy the Nazis.
I loved that this novel was based on a true story and I found Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas very likeable characters. This was a fast and entertaining read. However, I did find that many of the characters were thinly fleshed out. Ruby's romance with her husband Marcel takes place on a couple of pages. Little is really known about him or indeed about Ruby's parents and childhood. They simply function as a means to locate Ruby as a character in Paris. Ruby and Charlotte are not too terribly well defined, other than being courageous and fighting to survive while also falling in love. Other details required some suspension of disbelief, most notably the question of Ruby's finances. No mention is made of her income or how she affords her apartment or anything else both before or after Marcel's death.
Despite the gaps in this novel, I was rooting for Ruby, Charlotte, and their respective love interests until the heartbreaking conclusion. An entertaining enough read, but one that lacked substantial depth, characterization, or historical detail.
Stars: 3
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