The World That We Knew

What if The Terminator was sent to Nazi occupied France to protect his future creator's great grandma from being sent to Auschwitz? That sounds awesome. It's not exactly the plot of this book but also not a bad idea? There is hint of that idea in this book so I think you should read it. Alice Hoffman is more known for "magical realism" than writing Terminator fan fiction but this book is worth reading anyway.

It's hard to pull off a Nazi book that doesn't get dangerously close to manipulatively sentimental. While this one doesn't cross it it still has this IMPORTANT BOOK vibe. It's hard to pull off magical realism with Nazis but she nails it. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets opted for a movie. 

If my movie was made I think Gal Gadot would be a good Nazi defeating terminator. I like the idea of corny anachronistic lines like, "Hey Goring, this is from Miss Israel 2004." (Puts on sunglasses--blows him away with a rocket launcher). "How about a shrimp on the Klaus Barbie..." (blasts him with a flamethrower). 

There is no terminator but you should read this book anyway. It's mostly kids scared of getting caught by Nazis and the people that help them. She weaves real historical facts in the story so you'll learn things. There is one eye rolling scene but nobody's perfect. Well, except Gal Gadot.

It's a wartime novel so we can always use a little Penicillin (also bees are a plot point believe it or not): 2 ounces of scotch, 3/4 ounce lemon juice, 3/4 ounce honey simple syrup, 1/4 ounce smoky Islay scotch, 2-3 coin size slices of fresh ginger. Muddle the ginger and add the rest into a cocktail shaker with ice except for the smoky scotch. Shake and strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a toothpick with a speared piece of candied ginger. 

A Woman of No Importance (and Agent Zigzag)

I hate Nazis but I like spies. Who doesn't? This non-fiction book is about an American spy in France during WWII named Virginia Hall who gave the Gestapo fits. It's pretty inspirational. She wasn't groomed to be a spy but volunteered. Things were extra rough for her as she still had an accent and a fake leg. She rarely, but occasionally, had to hide stuff in the fake leg. Ok, now, she lost the leg in a hunting accident, she didn't cut it off on purpose so she could hide stuff. I mean, she was tough but that would be taking it to the next level on the whole spy-craft thing.

This book is more about sabotage in Vichy France then military strategy. I learned way more about Vichy France and my main take away was that  Phillipe Pretain was an horrible old idiot. Military strategy is not really my thing anyway. To me, the Battle of the Bulge is the name of my Mom's old Weight Watcher's pamphlet from 1978. I really wished I kept those things they had intricate drawings of sweets surrounding cartoon devil with a goatee and with tail. Good stuff.

This is a fine book of a truly inspirational woman.  A better spy book but the spy was a sketchy dude is Agent ZigZag by Ben Macintyre. That book reads like a movie script. Eddie Chapman was a "reformed" criminal that fell into becoming a double agent. He was a hero but also an ass. I don't think Virginia and Eddie ever met but I'd like to think she would have whopped him upside his head with her fake leg.

A perfect cocktail for spies is this bourbon based one called The Revolver: 2 ounces of rye heavy bourbon, 1/2 ounce coffee liquor, 2 dashes orange bitters. Stir or shake in a cocktail shaker (or mixing glass) until well chilled, strain and pour into a cocktail glass. Put a large strip of orange peel and twist to release the oils in the glass. Enjoy while looking suspiciously at others.