How does the author use French culture, setting and history to add depth to the story? Could the novel have been set anywhere else? Did you learn anything new from the book about the country, culture or the history of the area?
I enjoyed how the author used the tour guide to reveal the city’s history, especially during WWII. It was a nice offset to the romance, which I thought was predictable.
The history of the Gypsy culture was interesting and their persecution in so many geographic areas was new to me, though I’ve known that they were not loved in the Baltics. That background and Nazi occupation of the area made the bakery family more interesting. I also enjoyed the conflict between preservation of old buildings and some of the traditional occupations of the locals and the desire to rebuild something more modern. For such a young country we have not done a very good job of preserving our " old " architecture and buildings as the Europeans have. That makes me very sad
The book actually made me reconsider my avoidance of Paris. Maybe i would enjoy visiting a smaller town like Compiegne that is rich in local history and lore. The setting of this book is imperative to the story. I liked how the local tour guide is instrumental in providing context to the story and cahelps carry the plot.
I enjoyed the author’s use of the tour guide also. Learning about the history and culture did add depth to the story for me. I felt this made it so much more worth reading. I learned quite a bit!
The tour guide enhanced the French setting. It added a level of French history which made France seem appealing to most. This book was perfectly set in France…I’m not sure another country would have done the story justice,
It is important, I think, to include the history in this romantic adventure. Very few people in America know in depth the facts that MANY people were terrorized by Nazis. The Roma were one of several different groups and it is very important to be learning their story while enjoying the French culture. It adds so much to the story of the bakery to know what the Roma people were going through.
France is critical to the themes of the story. Bread is a national treasure of France. Probably no country does bread better. France has a long tradition of attempting to protect the underdog, notable through the French worker revolutionary history. Sadly, France suffered privations and citizen persecutions throughout its history, notably during the 1900’s. These themes permeate this story.