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Skylark by Paula McLain is an atmospheric, deeply researched novel that brings the darker side of historical Paris vividly to life. I found it highly educational, especially the sections involving the Salpêtrière asylum and the cruel treatment of the thousands of women confined there. Equally fascinating were the Paris catacombs, where human remains were interred after the city’s above-ground cemeteries grew too full of bodies. The images of the bones of more than six million people, carefully arranged beneath the crowded streets of Paris, are absolutely chilling.
The novel follows two parallel stories. In 1664, Alouette Voland, the daughter of a master dyer at the Gobelin Tapestry Works, is imprisoned in the Salpêtrière while attempting to save her unjustly accused father. In 1939, psychiatric resident Kristof Larson risks his career and safety to protect a neighboring Jewish family as Nazi forces descend upon Paris. Their journeys of defiance and rescue connect in surprising and moving ways.
The wealth of historical detail slows the pace slightly, but it also gives the story tremendous depth. There were also a few wrong turns in the narrative, but overall, this was an absorbing, haunting read that left me wanting to learn more about the real places and events behind it.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a complementary review copy. Opinions are my own.