Paula McLain’s ‘Skylark’ explores parallel tales of Paris | Book Talk

It starts with an elusive shade of blue.

In "Skylark," Cleveland author Paula McLain tells of a 1660s woman who dreams of artistic freedom, and a 1940s man determined to help "life unworthy of life."

Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer for the renowned Gobelin dye works in Paris. They live in a gloomy cottage with a thatched roof, where he sits at his workbench combining leaves and roots with toxic ingredients to produce new colors for the factory.

He is in servitude to the dyer's guild, which wields absolute power; when he finds the formula for the perfect red, he has no claim to it. Alouette (Alouette means "Skylark") works as a washerwoman, doing the most grueling labor, but she has her own goal: the perfect blue.

Alouette's work is discovered and the guild sends her to an asylum for "punishment and correction," where she receives "treatment" like bleeding.

Almost 300 later, Dutch psychiatrist Kristof Larson is troubled by the methods used in his Paris hospital, with most patients World War I combat veterans. He becomes acquainted with Alesander, an architectural student with an intimate knowledge of the tunnels under Paris. Alesander takes Kristof on midnight adventures through abandoned quarries and aqueducts, making exacting diagrams.

Kristof also befriends the Brodsky family, including scholarly teenager Sasha. Soon they are required to wear yellow stars on their clothes. Their fellow Jews are leaving the neighborhood. Kristof "starts carrying his identification papers more consistently." Children are being taken off the streets. Patients disappear from the hospital.

The stories begin to align when Alouette, Kristof and Sasha learn that they must take action. Their resilience and daring demonstrate the need for resistance. Alesander's "You think you'll know where the line is ... you don't. You just wake up one day and realize you're on the wrong side of it" is a call for courage.

"Skylark" (464 pages, hardcover) costs $30 from Simon & Schuster . McLain's other books include "The Paris Wife," a fictional memoir of journalist Hadley Richardson, who was Ernest Hemingway's first wife.

'The Vanishing Sea'

Can a sea just disappear? It would take hundreds of years, you might think. But "The Vanishing Sea: The Tale of How the Aral Sea became the Aral Desert," an exquisite picture book by Sagamore Hills illustrator Dinara Mirtalipova , shows how it can take only decades.

Mirtalipova, who was born in Uzbekistan, grew up in the Aral region. The sea, actually a lake, was formed by glaciers. According to the book, before the 1960s it was the fourth-largest lake in the world. Rich with fish and fresh water, it supported a growing population that built villages and factories.

Now the fish and water are gone. Pollution, irresponsible Soviet cotton production and a botched irrigation system turned the lake into a desert. Mirtalipova likens the sea to a "selfless mother [who] gave them all of her resources."

A final plea, "Can the people save Mother Sea?" is a call for environmental stewardship that even the youngest readers can understand.

Mirtalipova's vibrant pastels reflect the imagery of Eastern folklore and storytelling.

"The Vanishing Sea" (40 pages, hardcover) costs $18.99 from Chronicle Books . Mirtalipova is an assistant professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art. As an illustrator, her other books include "Woven of the World" and "Russian Tales: Traditional Stories of Quests and Enchantments."

Mirtalipova will sign "The Vanishing Sea" from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights.

Nominations

"Rage" by Linda Castillo has been nominated for the G.P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, presented by Mystery Writers of America for "the best novel in a series featuring a female protagonist." "Rage" is 17th in the Holmes County-set Kate Burkholder series. Castillo's "An Evil Heart" won in the same class in 2024, as did "Hallowed Ground" for Best Short Story. The winners will be announced in late April.

Delaware County author Kate Hamilton's "Grave Deception," sixth book in a series about an American antiques dealer and occasional private investigator who solves mysteries in England, has been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Mystery Novel by Malice Domestic. The awards will be presented in April.

Events

Barnes & Noble(16700 Royalton Road, Strongsville): Dave Eifert signs his debut novel "Cleveland Curse," noon Feb. 1. At 5 p.m. Feb. 6, James Renner signs "Scout Camp: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America" and "It Came from Ohio: True Tales of the Weird, Wild, and Unexplained." At noon Feb. 7, Lindsay Bonilla signs her storybook "Polar Bear Island" and Jacob Stephen Mohr signs his dark fantasy "Brides in the Dark."

Fireside Book Shop(29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Matthew Suhadolnik signs "Nora and the Sock Trolls: The Legend of Gilimir," 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 1.

Lakewood Public Library(15425 Detroit Ave.): Susan Poole signs her novel "Out of the Crash," 7 p.m. Feb. 4.

Loganberry Books(13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Shalida A. Askanazi launches her memoir "That Girl's in a Wheelchair," in a conversation with memoirist Raechel Ann Jolie, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 4.

Cuyahoga County Public Library(Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.): David Spero, author (with K. Adrian Zonneville) of "A Life in the Wings: My Sixty Year Love Affair with Rock and Roll: A Memoir," talks about "Rock 'n' Roll is the Blood that Fuels Cleveland," 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org .

Cuyahoga County Public Library(South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): South Euclid cookbook author Deneen Wiley-Dean discusses "Simplicity Never Tasted So Good," 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 4. There is a wait list to see Thrity Umrigar talk about "Missing Sam," featured Jan. 25 in Book Talk, from 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 5. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org .

Cuyahoga Falls Library: Vanessa Riley joins the Virtual Author Chat series to talk about "Swashbuckling Heroines and High Seas Adventures" and "Fire Sword & Sea," a historical novel about real-life 17th-century female pirate Jacquotte Delehaye, 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 5. Register at fallslibrary.org .

Cuyahoga County Public Library(Brooklyn branch, 7619 Memphis Ave.): Nancy Johnson discusses her novel "People of Means," 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 5. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org .

Cleveland Public Library(Martin Luther King Jr. branch, 10601 Euclid Ave.): Tameaka Reid Sims talks about "Turbulence" and "A Month of Sundays," noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 7. Register at cpl.org .

Books a Go Go(220 W. Main St., Ravenna): Brandy Schillace signs her mystery "The Dead Come to Stay," 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 7.

Black Cat Books(420 S. Court St. and 119 Lafayette St., Medina): The third annual Valoween Bash features romance authors Kris Renee ("Brat Pack" series), Chelle Sloan ("Guide to Love" series), Kate Komula ("On Ice"), Rae Lipari ("You Were Always the One"), Lindsey Montgomery ("Dating in Decay") and E.D Lee ("The Prince of Ravens"), 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 7.

Email information about books of local interest and event notices at least two weeks in advance to beaconbooktalk@gmail.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

Book Talk: Author Thrity Umrigar returns with 'Missing Sam'

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Paula McLain novel 'Skylark' explores parallel timelines in Paris