I remember hearing about this apartment and how it had been shut and unopened for so long. I thought to myself, at the time, what a mystery. What could have happened to the people that lived there? I knew they could not have been Jewish and that apartment left alone.
I was so excited when I was approved to read this book and see what story the author had imagined or had pieced together. I loved reading about Marthe and her life and her joy in fixing up the apartment. Later, meeting her granddaughter and sharing her life and the apartment with her.
Then, the story just kind of dropped off. The rest of the granddaughter's life (Solange) after Marthe died was told in about three pages and the book was over. I realize the author was starting to compensate for the 70 years but why did Solange never go back? There were a lot of unanswered questions and the ending, for me, was just kind of spoiled. After a wonderful beginning, I just felt incomplete.
Thanks Berkley Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
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