A review by ashleysilver7
The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton

3.0

This is a very detailed and informative book about a woman, Nanee, who helps refugees escape occupied France during WWII. Nanee (based on a real woman, Mary Ann Gold) is an American citizen who went to finishing school in Italy, and somehow ended up in Paris. She really is remarkable...however it took a while for me to get into this book, and about 100 pages into it I almost didn't finish...I really had to power through. I enjoyed reading about the Surrealists and other artists who defied French Nationalism (mostly Nazi ideals) and the Nazi government in Germany. I also learned that "Nazi" was a colloquial term that meant "uneducated," "peasant," and/or "bumpkin" and the Anti-Nationalist political group used that term in a derogatory manner, until Hitler rose to power and they decided to embrace the term...

If you enjoy reading about art, and the importance of art/expressionism, you will enjoy this book. I am a musician/artist (although on a very minor scale), and I am glad I finished the book. I would love to learn more about Mary Ann Gold and her amazing contributions to the French Resistance.