Cheryl's Book Nook

The Siren of Paris by David LeRoy. It is possible that someplace out there a book exists that deals with the point of view of a native French Nazi Collaborator; however I was not able to find one. I don’t think that is a mistake. The French have practiced a form of collective denial about their role in the occupation. At times they have been accused of focusing upon the resistance they gave the Nazis and marginalizing their collaboration. My problem was that in the middle of The Siren of Paris, I expose the reader to the secret world of collaboration and betrayal, but I had no model for what that really looked and felt like. What does a collaborator want? How does a collaborator view the French Resistance? Ultimately, how does it feel to have been a collaborator once France had been liberated? Answering these questions became the most difficult part of my research, and ultimately, as with all tragic figures, the answers did not always help me understand the choices of such indiv...

Book Description Publication Date: June 1, 2012 In German occupied Paris, a group of unlikely people join in collaboration to smuggle Allied airman south to Spain. One of those intrepid heroes happens to be American. The Siren of Paris, the debut work of historical fiction by David LeRoy, tells a searing story of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and war that brings to vivid life the shimmering City of Lights during its darkest hours during World War II. The story starts in 1939, when Marc Tolbert, the French-born son of a prominent American family, takes off for Paris to follow his dream of becoming an artist. Marc’s life soon sparkles in the ex-pat scene in Paris. His new friend Dora introduces him to a circle that includes the famous Sylvia Beach, owner of the bookstore Shakespeare & Company; and he accepts a job with William Bullitt, US ambassador to France. At art school, he finds himself further enchanted by the alluring model Marie. Marc’s Parisian reverie, however, is...