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The Propagandist
The Propagandist | Cécile Desprairies
1 post | 1 read | 1 to read
"Shows why historical fiction matters ... This haunting tale stayed with me."—Cara Black, author of Three Hours in Paris In a grand Paris apartment, a young girl attends gatherings regularly organized by her mother. The women talk about beauty secrets and gossip, but the mood grows dark when the past, notably World War II, comes under coded discussion in hushed tones. Years later, the silent witness to these sessions has become a prominent historian, and with this chilling autobiographical novel she sets out to unmask enigmatic figures in and around her family. Why, she seeks to understand, did they betray their Jewish neighbors and zealously collaborate with the Nazi occupation of France, remaining for decades hence obsessive devotees of that evil lost cause.
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review
Gleefulreader
The Propagandist | Cécile Desprairies
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Mehso-so

I am having difficulty in rating this book. It is a frank look at the unexamined history of those who collaborated with the Nazis in France and their lives, the secrets they carried and the impact of that history on their family. My problem stems from the fact that this is supposedly a fictional novel based on the author‘s family and at times it read more like non-fiction than fiction. It is almost as though the author couldn‘t commit. ⬇ï¸

Gleefulreader The topic is important and there are many observations in this book about the trauma of being raised in a home where the values and beliefs of Nazi Germany are maintained, but hidden behind a facade of funhouse mirrors. I just so wish that perhaps the author just wrote a true non-fiction book of her family rather than a book in where, like life with her family, you aren‘t sure where truth begins and ends. 1d
Suet624 That‘s too bad. 11h
13 likes2 comments