Ann Mahta's Novel, "The Lost Vintage": A Story of Love and Loss

Love My Bookish LifeLove My Bookish Life: A lost diary, a lost vintage, a lost love. And unknown relative and an unknown hidden seller; both discovered. Beautifully descriptive and seamlessly woven between present characters and time, and the past with Helene's diary. Past and present, mystery, family drama, love, and history. All come together for a rich and delicious story.

United States on Oct 31, 2023

Reed Goldsmith: I loved this book! Food and wine, World War 2 history and intrigue, and the author goes back and forth from the present to the past seamlessly. What a great find!

United States on Sep 23, 2023

janet bond: I found the book thoroughly engrossing on three counts: I learned a lot about wine making in France; I learned much more about the loyalties and betrayals in times of war; and I was enthralled by the characters’ trials and triumphs. A great summer read, any time of year!

Canada on Jul 29, 2022

Karin B: Disclosure: Ann Mah is an acquaintance of mine, I met her on a few occasions when I lived in Paris, and I consider her a friend. That all being said, I was truly and honestly captivated by the stories of Hélène and Kate, and how they intersect. Taking place in both WWII occupied France and the present day, Kate learns her family has secrets, and she endeavors to solve the mysteries revealed to her when she learns of a relation, Hélène, whom she has never heard about prior to discovering Hélène’s belongings in the cellar of the old family home located at their vineyard and winery. The mysteries are shadowed by the Shoah and both the collaboration and resistance occurring in occupied France. Those who say that they think novels taking place during the Shoah in France have been written too many times would do well to recall the admonition “Never Forget.” It’s an important theme to keep alive in fiction and non-fiction so that we will, indeed, not forget. This novel should proudly take a place on the shelf with similar novels as Sarah’s Key, The Paris Library, The Nightingale, and All The Light We Cannot See. I don’t think we can have enough good books about how a...

United States on Jun 14, 2021

Mrs Tupper: A fun read for Francophiles and oenophiles. A lovely novel overall and a bit too sweet in spots for my own taste but was a fantastic read.

Canada on Sep 04, 2019

P. Blevins: The Lost Vintage is by Ann Mah. It is set in the Burgundy area of France in 2015 with parts back in World War II. It is a novel about family and family secrets as well as the resistance to moving forward. It is an excellent book and really grabs your attention and pulls you into its grasp.
Kate had never thought she would be back in this part of France after the death of her Grandfather. She had spent summers here with her Mother but with her Grandfather’s death, it was as if that gave her Mother permission to stay away. Her Uncle Philip and his son Nico ran the vineyard now. Nico and Heather lived in the old family home with their children. Kate has been taking the tests and studying for the Wine Master designation. Her mentor noted she had problems with the Burgundy whites and suggested she go to Franc and live in the wine area and taste the various wines. She would join her cousin in the harvesting of the grapes and making of the new wine. She would learn as much as she could and would get that designation after her name.
Meanwhile, she would enjoy being with Nico and Heather. She and Heather started clearing out the old cellar which had gathered junk over the years....

United States on Aug 21, 2019

Constant Reader: The premise of this novel and its structure will be familiar to you. There is a romance to be rekindled and a mystery to be solved with jumps back and forth in time. The contemporary story line features Kate who has returned to her family’s vineyard in Burgundy to study for her Master of Wine examination. The vineyard is now under the care of her cousin and uncle since Kate’s wing of the family left France long before. Kate’s cousin is married to her best friend from her study abroad student days. When Kate pitches in to help her friend Heather clear the cellar, the second story line begins. That second line tells the story of the family and the vineyard during the Occupation. The novel switches back and forth between the contemporary plot and the historic. There are overlaps as Kate and Heather discover the walled off cache of precious wines that had been hidden from the Germans and investigate a mysteriously unknown family member. The story is reasonably diverting even if it is at times predictable. The contemporary adversaries are little more than untrustworthy petty problems, but perhaps they just pale next to the Nazi’s. The glimpses of occupied France are...

United States on Jul 29, 2019

Joanna Miles: Very moving story wrapped in a mystery. Very well told and will leave you a little shook in that the very way wrongly accused women were treated after the war is happening today. Everyone deserves their day in court and when mob mentality rules the day, we are all lost.

Canada on Jul 01, 2019

Ashlee Parks: The Lost Vintage is a wonderful read. I truly felt connected to Katherine and her search for the truth. I appreciated that France was not a kind place in the war years, but Helene's journal opened up a view that, as 21st Century readers, would not be able to see for ourselves. Decisions wouldn't be easy during that time and watching the struggle of emotion felt real.

Canada on Mar 21, 2019

Leanne: I really liked this novel. It kept drawing me back each evening to read. I am going to recommend this book to my book club.

Canada on Aug 17, 2018