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  • Today, "Where are your roots" by Ellen Marie Wiseman published on March 14, 2023 by Éditions Faubourg Marigny.

Sophie de livresdesophie, bookstagramer and contributor to the reading group 20 Minutes Books, recommends "Where are your roots" by Ellen Marie Wiseman, published on March 14, 2023 by Éditions Faubourg Marigny.

His favorite quote:

War turns some people into delinquents, others into criminals, but what is certain is that we are all victims. [...] Fighting does not mean believing in war. »

Why this book?

  • Because it's a very different novel. Much has been said and written about the fate of the Jewish people and those who protected them on German territory during World War II. Here, the author shows us another side of history, that is, how German families lived through the war years, how they coped with the disappearance of some of their neighbors and how they felt about the activities of those in power.
  • Because the author's pen allows us to immerse ourselves in this atmosphere, to feel the anguish, fear and disbelief of the characters.
  • Because it is a novel full of emotions, inspired by real events, testimonies of the author's grandparents, which makes the story even more touching.

The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot. Christine works with her mother at the Bauermans, a Jewish family of aristocrats. She has an affair with Isaac. Unfortunately, the future she envisions with him looks bleak when the country sinks into Nazi rule. A story of love, but also of resistance.

The characters. Christine, the protagonist, a young girl who works as a domestic servant. But there is also Isaac, her lover; his sister Maria, his best friend Kate, his parents and his two little brothers.

Places. In Germany, in a small postcard village in the depths of the country and also in Dachau.

The time. The novel is set during World War II. The story begins in autumn 1938 and until the liberation of the camps.

The author. Ellen Marie Wiseman is an American of German descent. She is the author of several novels, such as La vie qu'on m'a choisi or Ce qu'elle a laisse derrière elle (both published by Faubourg Marigny). This is his first novel, the third translated into France.

This book has been read with tears in its eyes many times. Ellen Marie Wiseman offers us a novel sometimes painful, but also full of hope, as often with this author; a novel full of love, suspense and a dark reminder of what man's inhumanity can do.

To buy this book

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