Review of THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE by Kristin Harmel

 2.5 Stars

Three years ago, I read Kristin Harmel’s The Book of Lost Names and I was not impressed. The Winemaker’s Wife is a bit better but has similar flaws.

There is a dual timeline, both focused on the Champagne region near Reims, France. One plot is set during World War II, and the perspectives of two women, Inès Chauveau and Céline Laurent, are given. The other timeline is 2019; the perspective of Liv Thierry Kent is provided.

Michel Chauveau owns a winery specializing in champagnes which he manages with the help of his winemaker, Theo Laurent. Theo’s wife Céline ably assists the men. Michel’s younger wife Inès tries to help but she is new to the business, unlike the other three, and she feels useless. When the Germans invade and occupy northern France, lives for the four change. Michel becomes involved in the Resistance. Theo’s sole focus is wine-making, despite his wife becoming increasingly worried because she is half Jewish. Like Theo, Inès tends to be dismissive of the seriousness of the actions of the German occupiers.

In the modern timeline, Liv, a woman in her forties who has recently divorced, is taken by Edith, her 99-year-old grandmother, to Paris and eventually to Reims where she says she has some business. There, Liv meets Julien, the grandson of her grandmother’s longtime lawyer. Liv eventually comes to realize that her grandmother wants her to know about events that happened during the German occupation, events involving her family members that changed the futures of many.

The novel requires some suspension of disbelief. Edith is 99 years old, but shows little evidence of her advanced age. Is it really necessary for her to fly from Paris to New York just to pick up Liv and fly back to Paris a few hours later? Edith’s reluctance to speak of her past is understandable to some extent, but given that she delayed too long to tell David, wouldn’t she be anxious to tell Liv before time runs out?  And if Edith is 99, how old is the person who shows up at the end?!

There are other problematic events. Liv and Julien’s relationship happens so quickly, and does there really have to be that mix-up about Julien’s marital status? There’s certainly a lot of coincidence, especially in the current timeline. I could certainly have done without that scene where a character is welcomed into heaven. And the number of characters who are thought dead but are actually not dead stretches credibility.

There are events which are supposed to be a surprise, but I anticipated many of them. For instance, the title would not be appropriate if the eponymous character were dead. Then there’s the vagueness about the fates of at least a couple of the characters. When Liv gives a newspaper interview, it would be impossible not to guess who will appear. And the ending tying up everything ever so conveniently is predictable.

Most of the characters are unlikeable. Though her youth is obviously a factor, Inès is so immature, selfish, shallow, and naive. She doesn’t like being dismissed or thought of as stupid, but then makes stupid, reckless choices that endanger everyone. We are to believe that growth does happen, but I wasn’t convinced. Edith, at 99, has learned some important lessons, but her comments to Liv sometimes seem almost cruel. And Liv believes that “her grandmother had never really stopped being the naive girl from Lille.” Liv herself just seems oblivious most of the time. And Céline’s choices do not cast her in a positive light.

And the men are no better. Michel chooses a younger wife but then is surprised and frustrated when she behaves like a young woman who does not have his worldly knowledge or experience. He’s so patronizing and impatient. Theo’s treatment of Céline is hard to excuse; he makes no effort to understand her situation.

This novel is less historical fiction and more historical romance, light on history and heavy on the romance. Historical details are glossed over. The focus is on love triangles and extra-marital affairs. The motivation for many events is who loves whom or who cheats on whom or who is jealous of whom.

This book is entertaining, provided the reader is willing to ignore the plot holes and coincidences and enjoys a predictable, sentimental narrative about not particularly sympathetic characters. Learning about the making of champagne was the highlight for me.