Paris 1934-1940
Marie-Laure and her father live in a four room flat in the middle of Paris. Nearby, amidst the cobble stone streets, is the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. To Marie-Laure, the city smells of flowers, bread and traffic. Parks, trees, flower carts and little shops line the streets of the city. In the winter, the aroma of roasted chestnuts fills the air. In the summer, the city becomes drowsy, as if it has fallen under a spell. No matter the season, Paris will always feel like home to Marie-Laure. Soon, Paris is no longer safe for Marie-Laure and her father.
|
Zollverein 1934-1940
Werner and Jutta grew up in the Children's house in Zollverein, a four-acre coal mining complex in Germany. Night and day workers trudge in and out of the coal mines, some as young as fifteen. The Children's house is a small brick orphanage two stories high, full of the orphans of the men killed down within the coal mines. Dead trees, smokestacks and smog are the only scenery as far as the eye can see. Piles of refuse and dirt litter the streets of Zollverein. The snow is never white and even on the cleanest of days, the air is thick. Growing up, Werner wants nothing more than to escape far from the Children's house and Zollverein.
|
Saint-Malo 1940-1945
Water surrounds Saint-Malo on four sides, only a spit of sand connects it the rest of France. Medieval granite walls encompasses the entire city. At low tide, you can see the tops of shipwrecks poking out of the blue waters, the sea stretching on past the horizon. In the middle of the city is number 4 rue Vauborel, a six story rickety and neglected house high above the other rooftops. Marie-Laure has lived here with her great-uncle for several years. It is rumored that the Germans that occupy Saint-Malo have built tunnels under the city itself, complete with rooms of ammunition and a hospital. Fear lingers constantly in Saint-Malo.
|
Schulpforta 1940-1941
The best of the best, only the most elite boys in all of Germany attend school at Schulpforta. Werner is one of them. Nestled in the hills, Schulpforta is made up of eight or nine stone buildings with rust coloured roofs. The air is cleaner than any that Werner has ever experiences. Werner describes it as something out of a story book. The facilities are of the highest quality. There are several grass athletic fields with a river winding through them and classrooms full of the finest equipment. In every room there is a portrait of the führer surveying the room, watching over the Hitlerjugend.
|