A Bakery in Paris: A Novel

Written by Aimie K. Runyan
Review by Dorothy Schwab

A little bakery in the heart of Montmartre is the way forward for Aimie K. Runyan’s dual-timeline novel set in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and the post-World War II era. Lisette Vigneau is the fiercely independent, mostly ignored daughter of wealthy parents living in Place Royale in 1870. On an unlikely errand Lisette meets Théodore Fournier, a young National Guardsman. Runyan develops a believable, understandable relationship between Lisette and Théo, a revolutionary and believer in a Paris of the People, who forever changes Lisette’s destiny. During the Prussian siege the main supply lines are blocked, causing famine and leading Lisette to open a bakery to feed her starving neighbors.

The second character is Lisette’s 19-year-old great-granddaughter, Micheline Chartier, now living in the same narrow, crooked streets of Montmartre in 1946. Micheline, raising two sisters since her father’s death and her mother’s disappearance, is befriended by her mother’s friend and neighbor, Madame Dupuis. Central to Micheline’s future, Madame Dupuis lends wisdom and encouragement by sharing memories, cookbooks, and providing tuition for baking school. Runyan’s key plot ingredient is the discovery of Micheline’s great-grandmother’s red leather-bound journal of recipes and kitchen notes. Lisette’s journal connects the timelines in the narrative by transporting readers with the practices of bakeries in 19^th-century Paris.

Runyan uplifts characters through meaningful, sympathetic dialogue that is endearing and emotional. Especially well-scaled is Pierrine, an acerbic prostitute Runyan develops into a surprising and supportive sister for Lisette, a story to celebrate. Runyan brings Micheline’s war-ravaged emotions full circle from abandonment issues, jealousy, and guilt to a need for forgiveness. Through the dark green door of A Bakery in Paris, readers will discover chaotic political scenes, second chances at life and love, and the choices and courage of two young women facing the consequences of war.