In his melancholy World War II novel, The Barman of the Ritz, French writer Philippe Collin brings readers into the life of Frank Meier, longtime barman at the Petit Bar in the Ritz Paris hotel. Collin explores Frank's inner struggles relating to the complicated decisions he made during the war, and also gives a detailed inside look at the hotel's clientele--including a number of high-ranking German officers--during those difficult years.
Translated from the French by Frank Wynne, Collin's taut narrative takes place during the occupation of Paris. Frank, meticulous in crafting cocktails and managing the particulars of his bar, hides his loneliness and worry behind an impeccably groomed facade. Privately, though, Frank is terrified: he has long hidden his Jewish heritage, and he is determined to protect his secret, along with that of his apprentice, Luciano (also a Jew), and Blanche, the American Jewish wife of Ritz manager Claude Auzello. Frank must maintain an elegant front for the German officers who patronize the Ritz bar, while also working with a clandestine network to secure forged papers for Jewish families to leave France. Night after night, Frank mixes drinks while navigating shifting alliances among his clients and colleagues; worrying that his fragile protections will collapse; and wondering if his choices make him an unofficial Resistance fighter or a collaborator with the Nazi regime.
As complex as one of Frank's signature cocktails, The Barman of the Ritz presents a multifaceted account of life under Nazi rule and a sensitive portrait of a man forced to make impossible choices. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams