Tangled Ashes

When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember.  The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and acts of vandalism.

Populated with a cast of complex characters, “Tangled Ashes” follows Becker’s exploration of the castle’s shadowy past as he seeks to cope with an unbearable present.  From the virtually mute recluse who lives in the gatehouse to the feisty and enigmatic nanny of the owner’s children, every one of the château’s inhabitants seems to have something to hide and something to survive—but none more so than Becker himself.

Behind the Story

(Spoiler alert—if you haven’t read the book yet, you might want to save this until after you’ve finished!)

Though some elements of this novel are fictional, many of the places featured in it are not.  The Meunier manor, hidden away in the hills above Lamorlaye, does indeed exist, and it really was the site of France’s only Lebensborn until the Germans evacuated in 1944.  Unlike other “Founts of Life,” Lamorlaye’s seemed to have been devoted just to “willing” mothers who entered the program voluntarily.  Others, across Europe, were much more sordid, their babies the product of rapes and kidnappings committed to expand the Third Reich. Most of the documents that might have helped to reconstruct the WWII period of the manor’s history were destroyed as the Nazis left, but historians have proven that well over a hundred children were born there during the final months of the war.

When I was thirteen, I started attending... for more information - go to Tangled Ashes' site!

I enjoyed this book due to the character development and the descriptive scenery. I also enjoyed learning about a time about which I know little. I look forward to seeing more by Michele. If you're looking for a good read - then you should pick this one up. You can purchase this book from amazon.com.
 
I received a courtesy copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the book. Thank you!