Description:
The greatest undisclosed secret of the war haunts the lives of 4 people across three continents and 15 years.
Review Quotes: Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. I'd read The Girl from Krakow so was looking forward to reading another of Rosenberg's book with eager anticipation and I was not disappointed. Firstly, the quality of the writing style was reliably exquisite and I enjoyed reading the words, as much as the story. The story itself was a fascinating insight into the unique challenges of life in post-war Germany from the perspective of Rita, a victim/survivor and a woman. These identities were explored through experiences of her world-wide travel in attempts to escape the past, only to discover that the past cannot be avoided, or hidden from. I particularly liked the way that Rita was written as having immense agency at a time when women's lives (especially in Australia) were generally perceived to have very limited value beyond breeding and house-keeping. Through her quiet persistence and determination, Rita sloughs off whatever holds her back, whilst never really being overtly confrontational or aggressive. There is a theme of leaving, sacrifice and returning that is woven through the novel. I was gripped from beginning to end and only mildly disappointed the 'return' at the end left me with a sense that it was slightly unfinished. But that is personal, and my enjoying was undiminished by this. I can thoroughly recommend--Kate Kennett "Netgalley"