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Le secret du coffre bleu
The true story of how a young Québécois nun ended up a prisoner of war in Buchenwald and how her daughter discovered her secrets.
In this true story, Armande Martel, a young nun from Quebec, is arrested by the Germans in 1940 during a stay at her religious order’s mother house in Brittany. She spends the war years in a German concentration camp. After her return to Canada, she leaves the Church, finds the love of her life in Montreal, and adopts Lise Dion.
Growing up, Lise is familiar with only a few facts of her mother’s past. It’s when she clears her mother’s small apartment after her death that Lise Dion discovers the key to the blue trunk, which was always locked. This key unlocks the mystery of Armande’s early life, and Lise decides to write The Secret of the Blue Trunk.
In this true story, Armande Martel, a young nun from Quebec, is arrested by the Germans in 1940 during a stay at her religious order’s mother house in Brittany. She spends the war years in a German concentration camp. After her return to Canada, she leaves the Church, finds the love of her life in Montreal, and adopts Lise Dion.
Growing up, Lise is familiar with only a few facts of her mother’s past. It’s when she clears her mother’s small apartment after her death that Lise Dion discovers the key to the blue trunk, which was always locked. This key unlocks the mystery of Armande’s early life, and Lise decides to write The Secret of the Blue Trunk.
210 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2011
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570 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
March 4, 2015
Wow. I had no idea what I was getting into when I opened this book.
I heard Lise Dion interviewed on CBC while driving along the highway. I immediately called the next book store I was passing and asked them to set aside a copy for me. It was in my hands less than 30 minutes after hearing the interview.
But even the author's interview didn't prepare me for what I was about to embark on. Like any other layman born long after WWII, I've got as much of a sense of the horrors as I can. I've read a handful of other stories on the Holocaust, all of which haunted and informed me.
But I simply had absolutely no idea that a young orphan/nun from Little-Town-Quebec could have been so deeply and thoroughly thrown into those horrors. I just didn't know.
The author (and her mother, who wrote the journals) so eloquently set out the woman's true experiences, and yet with such a matter-of-fact approach. I appreciated the honesty. I learned so much -- not just about the labour camps, but also about being a nun, a human, a woman, a mother, and about friendship and security -- and feel this book deserves more readership. Does it belong on the curriculum of Canadian high school history classes? I think there is an argument to be made that it does.
I agree with other reviewers that the book could have been filled out and made much longer -- although I recognize Dion's desire to be true to the legacy her mother left her, and not muddle it with fictitious details that her mother didn't leave. But I could have read on and on.
I do not agree with some reviewers that the story was lacking in writing skill, translation or even "character development." I just don't. I was pulled in from page one, both from the writing and the shocking story and history lesson.
Thank you Armande (and Lise). What a true gift you have given us, and how sorry I am that any human has to endure what you did.
I heard Lise Dion interviewed on CBC while driving along the highway. I immediately called the next book store I was passing and asked them to set aside a copy for me. It was in my hands less than 30 minutes after hearing the interview.
But even the author's interview didn't prepare me for what I was about to embark on. Like any other layman born long after WWII, I've got as much of a sense of the horrors as I can. I've read a handful of other stories on the Holocaust, all of which haunted and informed me.
But I simply had absolutely no idea that a young orphan/nun from Little-Town-Quebec could have been so deeply and thoroughly thrown into those horrors. I just didn't know.
The author (and her mother, who wrote the journals) so eloquently set out the woman's true experiences, and yet with such a matter-of-fact approach. I appreciated the honesty. I learned so much -- not just about the labour camps, but also about being a nun, a human, a woman, a mother, and about friendship and security -- and feel this book deserves more readership. Does it belong on the curriculum of Canadian high school history classes? I think there is an argument to be made that it does.
I agree with other reviewers that the book could have been filled out and made much longer -- although I recognize Dion's desire to be true to the legacy her mother left her, and not muddle it with fictitious details that her mother didn't leave. But I could have read on and on.
I do not agree with some reviewers that the story was lacking in writing skill, translation or even "character development." I just don't. I was pulled in from page one, both from the writing and the shocking story and history lesson.
Thank you Armande (and Lise). What a true gift you have given us, and how sorry I am that any human has to endure what you did.
January 15, 2015
I read this book for book club and it is based on a true story. The story is taken from a woman's journal she kept while being a prisoner of war during WWII.
A very good read!
A very good read!
September 11, 2024
Gros coup de coeur! Je me sentais vraiment au camp avec ces femmes.
January 14, 2024
Another hit from la bibliothèque à M. Gaby as usual💅🏼 et oui j’ai versé des ptites larmes ✨
July 30, 2020
A true story of strength and love
Lise Dion takes us through her diseased mother’s journals as she learns the full story behind her mothers past. I loved the feeling of reading along with her and found it hard to put down. We follow Armande from her start as a quebecois nun to her time in a German concentration camp during WWII and return to Canada. I learned a lot about religious life, resilience and the strength we gain from those that surround us.
Lise Dion takes us through her diseased mother’s journals as she learns the full story behind her mothers past. I loved the feeling of reading along with her and found it hard to put down. We follow Armande from her start as a quebecois nun to her time in a German concentration camp during WWII and return to Canada. I learned a lot about religious life, resilience and the strength we gain from those that surround us.
March 7, 2014
Trite! I am sure this must have been translated from the original French and it leaves something to be desired. A sad story but told without any emotion. Could hardly wait for it to be over.
July 25, 2018
J'ai lu ce livre pratiquement "toute d'une frappe", tellement facinant pour "Lise" de decouvrir qui etait sa mere.
J'aurais meme aimee en lire plus!
J'aurais meme aimee en lire plus!
April 23, 2023
J'ai pris ce texte au hasard dans ma liste des gratuits de mon abonnement audible. Je ne connais pas Lise Dion et je n'attendais rien. Et c'est une belle surprise.
Ce récit est difficile à définir. Lise Dion raconte la mort de sa mère adoptive. C'est touchant, cru et vrai. Elle décrit ses ressentis sans tomber dans le pathos. Et puis vient l'ouverture du coffre bleu et elle nous emmène avec elle dans l'histoire cachée de sa mère. Cahier après cahier, elle lit, sans intervenir. Une mise en abyme que nous pourrions oublier si les chapitres n'étaient pas introduits par le numéro du cahier lu. Je ne dirai rien de cette histoire (car cela dévoilerait le secret du coffre bleu) sinon qu'elle nous plonge dans un moment noire de l'Histoire.
J'ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture. J'ai beaucoup aimé ces femmes. Lise Dion, sa mère et toutes les femmes que l'on croise dans ce récit.
Il m'a juste manqué quelque chose sur la fin. J'aurais voulu en savoir plus sur la "suite" de cette découverte et ce qu'elle a pu changé dans la vie de l'"autrice".
Si vous croisez le chemin de ce récit, attardez vous, il vaut la découverte...
Ce récit est difficile à définir. Lise Dion raconte la mort de sa mère adoptive. C'est touchant, cru et vrai. Elle décrit ses ressentis sans tomber dans le pathos. Et puis vient l'ouverture du coffre bleu et elle nous emmène avec elle dans l'histoire cachée de sa mère. Cahier après cahier, elle lit, sans intervenir. Une mise en abyme que nous pourrions oublier si les chapitres n'étaient pas introduits par le numéro du cahier lu. Je ne dirai rien de cette histoire (car cela dévoilerait le secret du coffre bleu) sinon qu'elle nous plonge dans un moment noire de l'Histoire.
J'ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture. J'ai beaucoup aimé ces femmes. Lise Dion, sa mère et toutes les femmes que l'on croise dans ce récit.
Il m'a juste manqué quelque chose sur la fin. J'aurais voulu en savoir plus sur la "suite" de cette découverte et ce qu'elle a pu changé dans la vie de l'"autrice".
Si vous croisez le chemin de ce récit, attardez vous, il vaut la découverte...
April 10, 2023
J’ ai adoré se livre !
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March 7, 2016 I am impressed and grateful that this book speaks to the values of friendship and laughter. The secrets in the trunk are the very private memories of author, Lise Dion's mother, Armande Martel. This book is broken down into "Notebooks". The book begins abruptly with the death of Armande and proceeded directly into the discovery of the notebooks. Notebook One is all about life in a convent. Interesting insight into a whole different world -- this was pre World WAR II. Book Two is about an adventurous trip to France, taking her vows and being arrested by the Germans because Canadians in those days were British Subjects and Germany was at war with England. Book Three is a difficult one to get through as it is about the conditions of her imprisonment in German camps. Book four continues with the struggles and challenges but ends with liberation, abandonment by her religious community and eventual return to Canada where she found love.
I cannot begin to even try to imagine the fear, the pain, the cruelty and the sadness. Lest we forget we should all read this novel but we should especially encourage our young people to do so. It is educational and inspirational and written from the heart of a survivor. Thank you to Lise Dion for publishing this book.
I cannot begin to even try to imagine the fear, the pain, the cruelty and the sadness. Lest we forget we should all read this novel but we should especially encourage our young people to do so. It is educational and inspirational and written from the heart of a survivor. Thank you to Lise Dion for publishing this book.
July 6, 2012
Je dois avouer que j'ai été agréablement surpris par ce livre. Bien que j'adore Lise comme humoriste et comme être humain (j'ai eu la chance de la rencontrer quelques fois et je l'ai toujours trouvée incroyablement authentique, sympathique, généreuse, drôle il va sans dire), je ne savais pas ce que donnerait ce livre. En principe, la plus grande partie du livre a été écrit par sa mère adoptive, mais c'est une écriture limpide, simple sans être banale. Une écriture riche et qui transmet très bien les émotions. Bravo, Lise... et bravo, Armande !
July 28, 2013
A memoir by a Canadian nun who, after spending four years working as a slave labourer for the Nazis, never told anyone about her experiences until revealing all in journals discovered after her death. Her daughter wrote her memoir for her. The writing style is simple, and the author combines the mother's narrative with historical research to give it context. A fascinating story including close-up snapshots of life in both a convent and a Nazi labour camp. Lise Dion has indeed honoured her mother's life, as she intended.
January 31, 2015
A heartbreaking true account of an amazingly strong woman but written more like a list of events, which as it came from a journal, is to be expected I suppose. If you read this book to find out more about the subject you will like it. If you want to connect to the people in the book or want a creative piece of writing that is engaging you will be disappointed. I believe that this poor woman's story could have reached far more people if the daughter had been given greater assistance with the writing or translating of it.
November 4, 2013
Imagine your parent leaving you the key to a blue trunk that was always kept locked. What life did your parent have before you were born? What secrets does the blue trunk hold?
Emotional and riveting. A daughter learns more about who her mother really was and what she had to endure.
Some violence and sexual allusions, but suitable for teens.
Emotional and riveting. A daughter learns more about who her mother really was and what she had to endure.
Some violence and sexual allusions, but suitable for teens.
December 31, 2021
Je l'avoue, j'ai écouté ce livre plutôt que de le lire. Étant moi-même québécoise, j'avais surtout envie d'entendre cette histoire de la bouche de notre célèbre humoriste.
Quel histoire, quel drame et en même temps, quel espoir. Elle donne un point de vue canadien (et même québécois) sur les impacts de la 2e guerre mondiale pour nous.
L'écriture est génial ! Je ne sais pas si je dois remercier Lise ou Armande pour celle-ci. Narration parfaite. J'ai envie de remercier tous les femmes qui on pris soin d'Armande ! Ça donne espoir de voir d'aussi bonnes personnes. J'aurais aimé avoir des nouvelles de ce fameux admirateur secret.
La lecture (ou l'écoute) se fait rapidement, je vous encourage à découvrir ce ti-bout d'histoire !
Quel histoire, quel drame et en même temps, quel espoir. Elle donne un point de vue canadien (et même québécois) sur les impacts de la 2e guerre mondiale pour nous.
L'écriture est génial ! Je ne sais pas si je dois remercier Lise ou Armande pour celle-ci. Narration parfaite. J'ai envie de remercier tous les femmes qui on pris soin d'Armande ! Ça donne espoir de voir d'aussi bonnes personnes. J'aurais aimé avoir des nouvelles de ce fameux admirateur secret.
La lecture (ou l'écoute) se fait rapidement, je vous encourage à découvrir ce ti-bout d'histoire !
May 21, 2017
Achingly beautiful. True stories are always superior to all other genres in my opinion. No fiction can come close to the unpredictability of a person's life experiences. There is no formula to the plot but rather a raw retelling of events, their effects and the outcome. This account weaves a tale with deep and lasting meaning in the lives of the characters while leaving an indelible impression on the fortunate reader.
January 20, 2019
I thought the story was interesting and the writing was good. I'm glad I read it.
I know the journals were a translation, nonetheless the approach used seemed rather odd to me. It was written in the past tense as if Lise had later compiled the daily details and written a summary account of same. Yet the narrator was her mother - as if she were looking back and summarizing those times.
The mother had said in her goodbye letter to Lise that she had always kept a daily diary. I think diaries are generally written in the present tense. And furthermore, there were many details in the journals that I believe would never be included in a daily diary.
I know the journals were a translation, nonetheless the approach used seemed rather odd to me. It was written in the past tense as if Lise had later compiled the daily details and written a summary account of same. Yet the narrator was her mother - as if she were looking back and summarizing those times.
The mother had said in her goodbye letter to Lise that she had always kept a daily diary. I think diaries are generally written in the present tense. And furthermore, there were many details in the journals that I believe would never be included in a daily diary.
August 24, 2017
Beautiful historical narrative preserved in this book. I read it in one day. Highly recommend. I am curious how much Dion had to edit her mother's diaries for story format. I was also curious about the fate of a few people, such as the infant brother who was 6 months when she was sent to the orphanage. Well written.
May 11, 2024
Super bon!
Récit de la vie de sa mère qu’elle découvre à sa mort. Sa vie au couvent et religieuse, de la guerre 1939-1945 et des horreurs vécus en camp. Mes aussi de ces personnes qui lui ont permis de survivre et de s’en sortir vivante.
Belle résilience et sa capacité à trouver le bonheur par la suite malgré toutes ses blessures.
Récit de la vie de sa mère qu’elle découvre à sa mort. Sa vie au couvent et religieuse, de la guerre 1939-1945 et des horreurs vécus en camp. Mes aussi de ces personnes qui lui ont permis de survivre et de s’en sortir vivante.
Belle résilience et sa capacité à trouver le bonheur par la suite malgré toutes ses blessures.
February 25, 2021
J’ai apprécié ce témoignage et le courage de cette femme. J’aime l’idée qu’elle a laissé ces cahiers pour expliquer tout ce pan de son histoire à sa fille. Ce n’était pas une jeunesse simple et sa combativité était magistrale.
July 15, 2024
Récit troublant. Je pensais que ce serait léger et drôle, puisque que c'est écrit par une humoriste!
C'est une réalité atroce qui est racontée, mais c'est bien écrit et on s'attache vraiment à Armande.
C'est une réalité atroce qui est racontée, mais c'est bien écrit et on s'attache vraiment à Armande.
December 28, 2017
Wow! Totally fascinating! True story of a Canadian nun imprisoned in Buchenwald during WW2. I had no idea that this had happened. Remarkable story of courage and determination to survive.
March 2, 2020
Audiobook from Audible. A good listen.
July 4, 2020
depuis longtemps mon humoriste préférée et une personnalité que j'adore et admire. son écriture ma réellement charmée.
February 20, 2021
Moving story, untold reality of the second world war. However, the writting is average.
March 23, 2021
What an amazing find. Lise Dion’s self-definition get turned upside down by the discovery of her mother’s diaries. A family history, a WW2 story of an unbelievable life. Absolutely fascinating.
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May 7, 2021J'ai bien aimé. J'ai pleur. à la fin. C'est une histoire avec des passage difficile à lire mais qui vaut la peine d'être lu mais si j'ai passé des paragrafes quand c'était trop dure.
July 14, 2021
A great book(read it in french). It was on my books pile since years but just had the occasion to read it and not deceived at all. A good book for WWII lovers.
January 9, 2022
A worthwhile (non-fiction) addition to Holocaust literature.
August 6, 2022
😭❤️🩹🕊
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews