Great quote: "In honor of you and Riki finally setting a wedding date, I'm sending you a dozen of Mom's recipes." ~ Page 279 (And then the book actually does contain some FABULOUS recipes for traditional German breads and desserts! YUM!)
Book summary: Modern day Reba, a reporter looking for a nice simple Christmas story, finds modern-day Elsie and her intriguing World War II past.
My thoughts: Filled with literary flashbacks and side stories, The Baker's Daughter reads like two books in one. A portion of the book takes place in modern times (circa 2007) but a vast majority of this book exists in World War II time in southern Germany. The stories flow back and forth, tied together by Elsie, who was the girl in World War II and is also the modern-day bakery store owner who lives in Texas.
Elsie during World War II is trapped in a sad, war-torn world that is heartbreaking and yet inspirational. The choices the family is forced to make during that time may sometimes seem confusing to a modern day person, but author Sarah McCoy has done a wonderful job of explaining the circumstances that would have surrounded a non-Jewish German family of that time.
The modern-day characters in this book are not as well-defined as the World War II families, however. The modern storyline didn't seem as compelling and even Elsie, as a now-80-year-old woman, isn't as charming and sympathetic as the younger Elsie. Together the book is an entertaining read, but at times The Baker's Daughter really does feel like two books merged into one.
And on a side note, as I mentioned up above already, I really did LOVE all of the bakery talk! Loved reading about those wonderful German pastries and even some traditional Mexican food such as conchas. The recipes in this book look very tasty and I can't wait to taste some Lebkuchen Hearts!
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pages: 289
Year originally published: 2012
You might want to know: You can read more reviews by visiting the TLC Book Tour page.
Author information: Sarah McCoy has a website, a blog, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account.
Source: I received this book complimentary from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review but the opinion in this review is all mine.
Purchase on Amazon: The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
All the bakery descriptions would make me want to go out and get a pastry.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it! The WWII portion sounds fascinating. I'm seeing the author at Booktopia in October. I can't wait!