Summary

Before World War 2, the Berenzon family, a prominent and wealthy Jewish family, ran the most successful art gallery in Paris, representing some of the greatest artists past and present. Max, the only son, wanted desperately to prove to his father that he was qualified to join the business, but instead his father chose a young woman as his apprentice. Though deeply hurt and angered by his father’s decision, Max soon found himself falling in love with the lovely new apprentice.

Then the war changed everything. The family fled the German invasion and sheltered in the south of France. Upon the liberation of Paris, father and son returned to discover that they had lost everything. Their home, their business, their friends, everything was lost. Max had always been an angry and somewhat impetuous young man and these losses threatened to destroy him.

Review – 4/5

An important, intense, and heartbreaking story. Though fiction, this book is based upon the actual looting and destruction of art that occurred in France during World War 2. With beautifully intimate language, the author shows the reader not just the atrocities that happened during the war, but also the emotional, physical, and financial brutality that the surviving Jewish community faced in the years following the war. Moreover, Houghteling highlights that it wasn’t only the Germans who victimized the Jewish community.

Max has clearly been deeply emotionally damaged, as anyone would be, by both family trauma and World War 2 and the Holocaust. It is obvious that his mental health is precarious so it isn’t always possible to find him entirely likable. Nevertheless, his character feels very human.

At times the pacing felt a bit slow and some scenes felt a bit superfluous. But overall, Houghteling’s writing is strong and impactful.

I’m not going to lie – this book is emotionally devastating. It’s one of those that so shook me that I couldn’t even cry, but it is a book I would nevertheless recommend for anyone interested in historical fiction, WW2, the art looting, or issues of anti-Semitism.

Potential Triggers or Disturbing Events

World War 2 

I’m not sure these are necessary given the summary of the book, but just in case

• The Holocaust, genocide, Anti-Semitism
• Violence – some of it graphic
• Death of children
• Sexual harassment

About the Author

Sara Houghteling has received numerous fellowships and awards including a Fulbright fellowship to Paris, the city in which this book is set. She graduated from Harvard University and then received an MFA from the University of Michigan. A former high school English teacher, she is currently working as a lecturer at Stanford University where she also teaches creative fiction.

Cover art from Goodreads