Imagine a beautiful June in 1940 and you’re living in a chateau in Normandy, France with your nobleman father. You awake one morning to learn you are ruled by Hitler and at the mercy of Nazi soldiers because some government officials in Paris decided to surrender. In World War II, life was upended like that. And life-altering, split-second decisions had to be made.

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson is a rich, intriguing book that draws the reader into this astonishing place, exploring a labyrinth of emotions. Dobson weaves present and WWII stories into an intricate, well-balanced tapestry. Gisèle Duchant navigates those precarious WWII days fraught with danger, betrayal, and the ironies of courage, secrets, and choices made for survival. The depth of the struggle is exemplified as young Gisèle ponders how to continue:

German soldiers, Paris, June 14, 1940

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
The Germans had killed … and now they were destroying her country. How was she supposed to care for the men who had killed him? And even more, how was she supposed to love them—love evil? She despised everything they were doing.”  [p 191]

Years later her granddaughter Chloe Sauver tries to unravel the stories into truth and piece together facts, hidden for decades, as she assists a documentary filmmaker.

I often find split-time novels slightly disappointing when the story or people of one era are not as interesting as the other, or following storylines is confusing. Chateau never falls into those but is always clear, crisp, and compelling.

I’m drawn to stories set during the 1940’s, have read many, and seen movies of even more. Yet Chateau introduced me to startling and new things I’d never learned about WWII. In telling this story, the “Sophie’s Choice” type decisions people faced are so real, I ached for them.

* photo credit: Bundesarchiv, on Wikipedia