We hope you enjoy this book review by
Nancy Eaton.
The books shown at the left are the most popular Gilles Rozier
books. Click on them to see details.
This story takes place in occupied France during World War II. A
teacher of
German at an all girls' school is recruited by the Gestapo to translate
sensitive documents.
The storyteller of this book has a love for literature
which
was not allowed during this time. As a result, the storyteller builds
a
secret library in a basement.
Each week, the teacher must wait outside the commander’s office for the
next
assignment. Sometimes the teacher would wait for hours and would see
many
people pass by. One day, a very handsome Jewish soldier, Herman, is
among
the prisoners. The teacher was surprised to see this soldier. He was the
same
man noticed by the teacher some time ago although he was now more mature.
The teacher knew a rescue attempt had to be done. The teacher hides
Herman
in the basement. This was the beginning of their affair. During this
time
the two share not only love but also their love of literature.
What happens to Herman?
This is a haunting story. The one thing that certainly makes it
interesting
is that the author never reveals the gender of the teacher. Some hints
are
given but you still keep guessing if it is a man or woman. The author
does
a good job of taking the reader back to occupied France and you can
just
feel the history of this time period. Readers will have many opinions
about
the teacher. Read this one and see if you can figure out the gender!
