The Sweetness of Forgetting
Book - 2012
Baker & Taylor
In this heartwarming story of love, family and baked goods, bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal the secret she has kept for 70 years, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life. Original. 50,000 first printing.
Baker
& Taylor
Bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal a long-kept secret, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life.
In this heartwarming story of love, family and baked goods, bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal the secret she has kept for 70 years, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life.
Simon and Schuster
A baker in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, must travel to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother&;and what she learns may change everything. The Sweetness of Forgetting is the book that made Kristin Harmel an international bestseller.
At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she&;s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.
Now, Hope&;s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer&;s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.
Hope&;s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie&;s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family&;s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family&;s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she&;ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake...
In this heartwarming story of love, family and baked goods, bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal the secret she has kept for 70 years, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life. Original. 50,000 first printing.
Baker
& Taylor
Bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal a long-kept secret, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life.
In this heartwarming story of love, family and baked goods, bakery owner Hope McKenna-Smith, the divorced mother of a surly preteen girl, is summoned by her aging grandmother who, ready to reveal the secret she has kept for 70 years, sends her on a journey across the world that will forever change her life.
Simon and Schuster
A baker in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, must travel to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother&;and what she learns may change everything. The Sweetness of Forgetting is the book that made Kristin Harmel an international bestseller.
At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she&;s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.
Now, Hope&;s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer&;s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.
Hope&;s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie&;s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family&;s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family&;s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she&;ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake...
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Publisher:
New York : Gallery Books, c2012.
ISBN:
9781451644296
1451644299
1451644299
Characteristics:
353 p. ; 21 cm.
Comment
Add a Comment**** loved this book-neat characters that we can, for sure, identify with, the everyday events that occur in life! Lots of very in-depth history regarding WW2 with real facts and insights into those who worked behind the scenes in saving innocent lives. Would recommend this one to anyone-the author did a lot of research putting this book together--nice work!!
This book has a good amount of history, the Holocaust, lost loves, family dynamics. It's a decent read. It's sort of a tear jerker but more or less sorts it all out by the end of the book. If you read Book of Lost Names (same author) nd liked it, you should like this book as well. The history part was nicely woven into the story line.
Even though it was repetitive and sometimes sappy it was informative and it did bring me too tears
Author is very repetitive and found the first third of the book so depressing I didn't know if I could continue but the historical part was good, did not know Muslims helped Jews escaped from occupied France.
I loved this book! The story was both as sugary-sweet as the pastries from Hope's bakery and strong and solid as faith. It's a story about family and never giving up, about stars in the night sky and all the brave souls who were killed during the Holocaust. Recommended - and keep the tissues handy!!
If you care about good writing at all, this book is not for you. It was repetitive and utterly unimaginative.
The plot was predictable and the contrived sequence of events was laughable. Even the main characters name - Hope McKenna Smith- is just hopelessly cheesy.
I loved this book! Could not put it down. This book has it all... history, mystery, love, life lessons and real characters who are flawed and brave. I highly recommend this book.
I'm wavering between 4.5 and 5 stars on this bittersweet saga of a granddaughter who goes on a journey to discover her family's past. This book made me weep as new discoveries were made about Hope's family members and how the holocaust changed their futures. I also learned something new about how Jews were kept safe in Paris by an unexpected group of benefactors. Fascinating and convicting. Keep the tissues handy and clear your schedule. You will not want to put this one down.
Loved this story. Always enjoy getting a history lesson as well as being entertained with an interesting plot. Characters well developed.
This was a great read! I learn more about the world wars and history now that I'm 40 then I ever did in school.