The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel

"When you're young, you see only the future. When you grow older, you see the past. And the past has a way of showing you things clearly, whether you like it or not."
                        -Grandma Edith, from the novel

Kristin Harmel is a local author and an article about her visit to a nearby bookstore was the impetus for the selection of this novel for the Page Turners. Our plan was to ask her to join us for our meeting to discuss her book. Sadly, with stay-at-home orders in place currently, that will not be possible. We have held a couple of Zoom meetings so perhaps we will invite her to join us virtually. I am hoping!

Those who follow my blog know that historical fiction is my favorite genre. I have read many novels set during or just after WWII and almost always find them intriguing. I think I love reading about heroes and survivors. I found The Winemaker's Wife to be a fascinating story of the French resistance movement during Nazi occupation.

In 2019 Liv Kent is dealing with a personal crisis as her husband of 12 years has left her. Just as Eric has moved his things out, Liv's 99-year-old Grandma Edith shows up unexpectedly with airline tickets for Paris and insists they leave immediately. Liv is confused but Grandma Edith is unwilling to explain her reasoning.

Periodically the reader is sent back in time to the 1940's in the Champagne region of France where much of the plot takes place among vignerons or winegrowers. The Maison Chauveau is owned by Michel Chauveau, married to Ines. The chef de cave, Theo Laurent, and his wife, Celine, are invaluable employees in the winemaking operation and significant to the plot. (Chef de cave is French for head winemaker or cellarmaster.) Other important characters are Edith and Edouard Thierry, owners of a brasserie in Reims. Several of these characters, courageous and patriotic, are involved in La Resistance, at great peril to themselves.

Back to 2019 Paris---Grandma Edith has Liv meeting a family lawyer but still refusing to tell her why they are in France. Later they visit Maison Chauveau and the truth eventually comes out. 

A story of secrets, danger, romance, betrayal and attempts at redemption---all the elements of a page-turner, The Winemaker's Wife gets a 5 rating from me! By the end of the month we will see what the group thinks.

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We had hoped to have our meeting outdoors with a champagne brunch. With current stay-at-home orders, that wasn't possible so our group met virtually via Zoom to discuss The Winemaker's Wife.
The author, Kristin Harmel, who lives in our area, joined us for a while. What a treat that was! Everyone liked the novel to some degree. The average rating was 4. Some liked the characters while others thought they were not developed fully. Some thought Ines was immature and self-centered but others thought she was more interesting because she was imperfect. Most of us appreciated the writer's style and a satisfying ending.

Vineyards, Reims, France

Notre-Dame de Reims