Synopsis:
Sometimes it is the people we think we know the best who surprise us the most.
1986, London: Klaudia is about to start high school. She’s embarrassed by her German father―he’s the janitor at her school, he has a funny accent and a limp. And when the kids at school taunt her by saying he was a Nazi during the war, she can’t dispute them with confidence. She’s never known exactly what he may or may not have done during the war. It is a period of time no one will ever discuss.
1995, Leeds: Eliza is in love. She has dropped out of university to pursue her passion―dance. But then talented artist Cosmo comes along and soon Eliza realizes that she might have room in her life for two loves. But can she really continue to lie to everyone around her? And why is she so afraid of the truth?
1930s, Germany: Two brothers are trying to fend for themselves during the chaos of the rise of the Third Reich. One brother rallies for the Fuhrer, one holds back. One is seemingly good, one bad. But history seems to tell a completely different story.
All of these characters’ fates will collide in a novel that explores what we are ultimately willing to do for love. Saskia Sarginson hypnotically examines whether our identities are tied to where we’ve come from in a captivating mystery that shows how sometimes history doesn’t tell the true story.
My review:
The problem I tend to have with rating systems are when I waver on what to give the book. I liked this book but did I 'really' like it? The actual rating here should be 3 1/2 stars for me so, I'll go with that.
I have had this book on my TBR pile for at least 1-2 years. I initially picked it up because I liked the cover and the title. I did not know the premise other than I thought it was about a girl who was hiding a secret. I was right and wrong at the same time.
It turned out to be told by three (spoiler) seemingly four people. It tells the tale of family secrets, school bullying, and living on the non-winning other side of WWII. The book is broken up into the 1930's-40's and present day.
This was a tough and emotionally rollercoaster ride for me. I read this book often with a lens of disgust of what happened to the Jewish people at the hands of German people at the time. I was looking at the book as someone who "might" have Jewish heritage but not sure. I was also looking at it from someone who has German in-laws.
The German's in the book told how they grew up and what they endured as children but then moved through 'The Youth Group' into adulthood. I had hope that one of the characters would be a rescuer but was disappointed and how his life turned out was shocking.
The twists kept me reading. The intertwined story eventually ending with yet another twist did too.
However, I also could see these twists coming before they ever did thus another reason for a lesser rating.
I found the daughter character in the book to be a bit whiney. I felt she needed to stand up for herself and not keep perpetuating lies. I felt she needed to come to terms with her heritage and know it was not her fault. (Commentary) Simply you cannot help what family you are born into, you can however use the information and live a life of positive and make things as good as possible.
The story was good but overall, still 3 1/2 stars.
Side note: The author mentions in the back that she has had some possible interesting family heritage that she does not know the full extent of (like me). She did a ton of research for this book and it is total opposite of what her possible heritage is. That intrigued me more than the actual story.
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book for my own collections. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle
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