The forger of Marseille :

Select an Action

Title :

The forger of Marseille : a novel / Linda Joy Myers.

Title:

The forger of Marseille :

Author:

Myers, Linda Joy, 1945-

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

342 pages ; 22 cm

ISBN:

9781647422318

Production / Publication Information:

Berkeley, CA : She Writes Press, 2023.

Summary:

"It's 1939, and all across Europe the Nazis are coming for Jews and anti-fascists. The only way to avoid being imprisoned or murdered is to assume a new identity. For that, people are desperate for papers. And for that, the underground needs forgers. Sarah, a young Jewish artist, and her music teacher and father figure, Mr. Lieb, have already fled one home--Berlin. Now in Paris, they meet Cesar, a Spanish Republican who knows well the brutality of fleeing fascism. When the war reaches Paris, they join thousands of other refugees in a chaotic exodus south. In Marseille, they're received by friends and become part of a resistance the government is actively hunting. Sarah, now Simone, continues her forgery work in the shadows, expertly creating false papers that will mean the difference between life and a horrifying death for many. When Mr. Lieb is arrested and imprisoned in Les Milles internment camp, Simone, Cesar, and their friends enlist the help of American journalist Varian Fry--a man known for plotting the escapes of high-profile people like Andre Breton and Marc Chagall--in their efforts to rescue him. Will passion and cunning be enough to keep them all alive?"--Back cover.

Language:

English

Corporate Subject:

Les Milles (Concentration camp) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

War fiction.

Subject Term:

Women artists -- Fiction.

Forgers -- Fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	FICTION MYERS	31330009378526	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	FIC/MYERS	31480011685655	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Merrimac Public Library	F MYE	32125001448981	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

It's 1939, and all across Europe the Nazis are coming for Jews and anti-fascists. The only way to avoid being imprisoned or murdered is to assume a new identity. For that, people are desperate for papers. And for that, the underground needs forgers.

In Paris, Sarah, a young Jewish artist originally from Berlin, along with her music teacher and father figure, Mr. Lieb, meet Cesar, a Spanish Republican who knows well the brutality of fleeing fascism. He soon recognizes Sarah's gift. She will become the underground's new forger.

When the war reaches Paris, the trio joins thousands of other refugees in a chaotic exodus south. In Marseille, they're received by friends, but they're also now part of a resistance the government is actively hunting. Sarah, now Simone, continues her forgery work in the shadows, expertly creating false papers that will mean the difference between life and a horrifying death for many. When Mr. Lieb is arrested and imprisoned in Les Milles internment camp, Simone, Cesar, and their friends vow to rescue him, enlisting the help of American journalist Varian Fry, known for plotting the escapes of high- profile people like Andre Breton and Marc Chagall. In this enlightening and thrilling story of war, love, and courage, author Linda Joy Myers explores identity, ingenuity, and the power of art to save lives.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Memoirist Myers (Song of the Plains) makes her fiction debut with a well-researched if simplistic novel centered on the plight of three WWII refugees. In 1938 Berlin, 19-year-old artist Sarah Rosen gets surrounded by threatening Hitler Youth and is rescued by a Nazi officer who, when he learns she is Jewish, expects sex in return for his kindness. After kissing him, she feels a mix of horror and titillation. Joshua Lieb, violin maker and father figure to Sarah, sees the writing on the wall about the bleak future for Jewish people in Germany and, spurred on by her conflict with the SS officer, arranges for himself and Sarah to get false identity papers, allowing them to travel to France. With new identities as French citizens, they settle in Paris, where Sarah meets a former Spanish doctor named Thomás, who fled Franco's oppressive regime and runs a forgery business supplying refugees with new identity papers. When Germany invades France, the three are forced to flee yet again, this time to Marseille, where the Nazis have not yet infiltrated. Myers captures the desperation and horrors of the times, though the heavy plotting leaves little room for character development. There's not much below the surface of this page-turner. (July)