If it hadn't been for World War II Ida, an English woman, and Sidney, an American, would not have met. He probably would have married his fiancé and Ida would have tried to find a way to advance her musical education. But, the war did happen and as a result, Ida's and Sidney's lives intersected. Surviving horrific situations, they married and moved to the US. On the surface, all looked great. They lived in the suburbs with their two young daughters. They even had a white picket fence. The war left an undercurrent in their lives and it erupted when their neighbors showed off their newest acquisition: an original Man Ray photograph. Ida knows Man Ray had nothing to do with the photo because she knows who really took the photo. She leaves her family and travels to California to confront Man Ray. What she didn't know was that Sidney and their children would set out to find her. They had survived too much for Sidney to just let her walk out of their lives.
A PROMISE TO ARLETTE, by Serena Burdick, is a work of historical fiction that takes readers from England to France and finally to America. It is what happens along the way that is where the power of the narrative comes from. The character development is stellar. Ida has never known anyone like Arlette and starts out mesmerized by her. Even though she is savvy enough not to trust her completely, she finds it almost impossible to resist. Of all the characters, Arlette is perhaps the most perplexing. She is a force of nature and highly complex, possibly even dangerous. Their relationship is complicated and difficult to understand. As the war continues the violence in their lives escalates. Both women experience horrors of their own. Each, in her own way, leaves indelible marks on each other's life that they will both now have to confront.
A PROMISE TO ARLETTE is a cleverly plotted and moving story. Beautifully and skillfully told, it is a memorable and powerful story. Highly recommended.
With the scope of a saga and the heart of a thriller, this is an evocative historical novel following a married couple whose idyllic 1950s suburban life is threatened by the promises they made during World War II.
Sidney and Ida Whipple are living the suburban 1950s American dream, complete with two children and a white picket fence, which didn’t seem possible when they first met at the height of WWII in France. Reveling in the present, they can almost convince themselves that their past is behind them. But when their neighbors show off a newly purchased Man Ray photograph, Ida comes face-to-face with the person she loved and lost in the war: Arlette.
Only Ida knows the truth about the photograph, and why it can’t possibly be authentic. In an attempt to right past wrongs, she travels to California vowing to confront Man Ray. Sidney wakes to find his wife is missing, the photograph in question stolen, and all the secrets they’ve tried to bury come rushing back. With his daughters in tow, he travels after Ida, hoping to forge a new path together. Instead, their sojourn leads to a shocking discovery that could pull their family apart in this sweeping, unforgettable story about love and friendship, trust and betrayal, and how promises made, broken, and ultimately renewed, can determine our fate.
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