Amandine A Novel by Marlena De Blasi

This is De Blasi's first work of fiction although she is a food writer and has written a number of other books. It is a great start. Set in France during the few years before WWII and during the occupation, it tells the story of a young Polish girl, Amandine, born illegitimately to a wealthy young member of Polish nobility, who is placed in a French convent under the care of a young French woman, and all traces of her identity are removed. The first part of the book covers the first dozen years of her life there. Amandine is greeted with varying degrees of welcome, from love from her young governess to hatred from the abbess. The author draws very complex characters, with complicated relationships to each other, and the coming of Amandine brings these to a head.
The second part of the novel follows Amandine and Solange, her governess, as they leave the convent and head across occupied France, trying to get to Solange's village and Amandine's ultimate goal of finding her mother. It is interesting that the two have lived so isolated from normal society and village life that they seem incapable of understanding the changes that the presence of the Nazi's have brought or the dangers of war. I found myself emotionally invested in the characters and fascinated by the story. The ending was predictable but handled in a very delicate way that I appreciated. A well-told story.