Skylark

In 1664 Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer in a small village in France. She secretly discovers a new color and is hoping to improve their lives outside of the crushing society she and her father must contend with. When Alouette is imprisoned for his treason we see what life is like inside the nightmare of Salpetriere asylum where she is ultimately sentenced. Deep in the heart of Paris in 1939 Dr. Kristof Larson is finishing his medical residency at a psychiatric hospital. Of Dutch decent Kristof befriends a Polish Jewish family in his building and they invite him into their home for meals and companionship. As France falls to the Nazi’s the hospital is taken over and no-one can be trusted. Every single character was well crafted and interesting. The writing is superb. Unfortunately, the dual time line narration never made sense to me and neither storyline grabbed my heartstrings. I literally had to force myself to finish this winding path to nowhere and even though I adore this author, I am deeply disappointed that I didn’t like this book more. ⭐⭐