In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.
Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.
Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.
TBRH Admin –
An excruciatingly beautiful story. Hands down the best book I have read all year. This book starts small, but ends in a big way, wrapping up all the little threads into an amazingly complete package. It is so difficult to tell a story of so much sadness and suffering but end with hope, and Rimmer masters this like few others. From page one, I was hooked. The journey through the book was at times painful, for Rimmer created such vibrant characters and conveyed their emotions so fully and effectively. I could not recommend this book more for anyone with an interest in historical fiction from the WWII era, particularly the story of Poland and her people.
TBRH Reviewer –
Loveable, with flaws //
Characters pull you right in //
Left empty, yet full.