I don't often read WW2 historical fiction. But The French Winemaker's Daughter caught my attention and turned out to be a wonderful read. It's a dual-timeline story, and the timelines are connected by a very expensive bottle of wine.
I've been thinking a lot lately about dual timeline novels. Many of the books on my shelf use them. I tend to get distracted by the modern timeline in these novels. I wonder why the author chose to use this structure. Was it simply a way to help the reader connect to the story? And could the story be told well without a second storyline?
In this novel, I think the modern timeline works well. It does a bit of work. First, it provides closure to the past storyline in a way that is satisfying for the reader. It also adds tension to the past storyline by letting the reader know the significance of the bottle of wine. The child character could not have known what happened to the wine, but that matters to the larger story.
For me, the later timeline in this novel helps to balance out the point of view. The main character in the story set in WW2 is a very young girl. Her story is delivered in third person, but it's still the perspective of a child. This is done remarkably well, and this never feels like a children's book. The point of view character in the later timeline (1990) is a grown woman who knows what was done to Jewish people in WW2. Unlike the child in the past storyline, she is free to make choices.
I think this is a remarkable book. It's definitely worth the read.
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