Saturday, March 23, 2019

The Altarpiece by Lauren Fogle Boyd


Title: The Altarpiece
Author: Lauren Fogle Boyd
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Anke Junger and Erik Brossler both inherit a love of art from their respective fathers and grow up to become art historians. When the Nazi's begin to rise in Germany, the Brossler family move to the United States and become citizens. The Junger family's choice to stay in Germany spells disaster for Anke and her father. Erik and Anke are both working for their governments in order to preserve historic and irreplaceable pieces of art from being destroyed by the war. Little did they know what great effect this would have on their lives.



My Thoughts

This book was recommended to me by a colleague with similar literary interests. Having read the work of non-fiction, Monuments Men, I have heard of the great work that was done to preserve art from destruction in WWII. In this fictionalized account, Erik Brossler becomes one of those historic men. This novel fleshes out what it was like to be part of that team and the type of people who were interested in working to save art as part of the war effort in only the way that a work of fiction can. The author provides backstory, motivation, and the inner workings of the Monuments Men.  
The second protagonist, Anke Junger, works from inside Germany to save art. It is intriguing that while forced to help Hitler and the members of the Third Reich loot and catalog artwork, Anke uses her proximity to the art, to help preserve the pieces of art she considers most important. This includes the inspiration for the title of the book, The Ghent Altarpiece. 
While few of the main characters in this novel are real, most are based on figures from history.

If you are interested in art, WWII, the Monuments Men, or stories of survival and love, this book is for you! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

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