Book Review: Marcel’s Letters by Carolyn Porter
In her book, Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate, Carolyn Porter is a font designer. In looking for inspiration toward that goal, she purchased several letters hand-written during WWII by a Frenchman named Marcel who was captured by the Germans and forced to work in their manufacturing plants. The letters were written in French, and though she could not read them, she was attracted to his hand writing and wanted to use it to design a font.
Her curiosity overcame her and so she had the letters translated, thereby discovering that they were love letters to his beloved wife and daughters. It was then that she wanted to know more about Marcel. What had become of him? Did he make it home to his precious family? Why didn’t they have these letters? Soon Carolyn was obsessed with Marcel and his family.
This book captured me from the beginning. I loved Carolyn’s forthright writing style; it was as though she were sitting in my living room talking to me. When Carolyn was thinking about Marcel and his loved ones, I was thinking about Marcel and his loved ones. When she was anxious, I was anxious; when she celebrated, I celebrated.
This was a beautiful book, and I highly recommend it. In fact, I’m gifting it for Christmas.
Find Marcel’s Letters HERE on Amazon.
