Skylark
A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel
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4.2 • 72 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK!
The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.
1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette's efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.
1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized.
A spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—Paula McLain’s unforgettable new novel chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This ambitious slice of historical fiction finds characters struggling to shed light on dark times during two different epochal eras in Paris. In 1664, Alouette is a brilliant dyer’s teenage daughter who shares her father’s gift, but her independent spirit lands her in a notoriously brutal sanitarium. In 1939, young psychiatry resident Kristof navigates Nazi occupation and struggles to aid his Jewish neighbors’ teen daughter Sasha. Skylark alternates between the two battles against oppression, with a key connecting thread: Paris’ mysterious underground tunnel system. Paula McLain’s artistry almost transcends the literary—scene after scene is simultaneously poetic and painterly, even when describing some of the darkest circumstances imaginable. And she tells this story so vividly that even minor characters can lay claim to your heart. It’s full of fascinating historical details, but at its core, Skylark is all about celebrating the inner strength of souls that are put to the test.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Winding through the vast network of tunnels below Paris, McLain's riveting latest (after When the Stars Go Dark) combines the stories of a 17th-century prison break and a WWII physician's role in the French Resistance. In 1664, Alouette Voland falls in love with Étienne Duchamp, a mason who is working on expanding the city's catacombs. But their relationship stalls when Alouette's efforts to free her wrongfully imprisoned father land her in Salpêtrière asylum. After hatching an escape plan, Alouette and some of her fellow prisoners descend into the tunnels below the asylum. In a parallel narrative, psychiatrist Kristof Larsen bonds with his Jewish neighbors during the German occupation when he helps with the birth of their youngest child. After the family is arrested by the Nazis and their teenage daughter, Sasha, is freed, Kristof helps Sasha and other Jewish teenagers navigate the tunnels to get away from the Germans. McLain expertly juxtaposes the courageous actions of both Alouette and Kristof as they seek freedom for themselves and others and embrace the challenges and dangers of the subterranean maze. Fans of stirring historicals won't want to miss this.
Customer Reviews
Skylark!! Waiting for this to come to the screens….
Amazing story telling!! I didn’t want it to end….. But needed to know how the story would end ✨✨Will be going to France in the fall and looking for skylarks and every shade of blue!