What a heartwarming, bittersweet book, based on the true story of the author’s family.
In the first chapter of the book, we learn about two sisters, Fanny, 27, and Florence, 20, daughters of Joseph and Esther. Fanny is 7-months pregnant and on bedrest after an earlier stillbirth with her previous pregnancy. Florence is training to swim across the English Channel. Unfortunately, there is a freak accident and Florence drowns, and their mother decides that no one can tell Fanny about the tragedy, just in case it sends her into premature labor again.
Also staying with the family is Gossie, Fanny’s 7-year-old daughter, a girl who understands a lot more than anyone gives her credit for, and Anna, a young woman who has fled Germany as the Nazis moved in, and is desperate to bring her parents to the US.
There are a lot of things going on in this book, and so many sweet moments, but it all comes down to doing whatever you need to do to protect your loved ones, which is a wonderful message. Each character has their own opinion of how to do it, but I liked that most of them were, in their own way, willing to sacrifice something of themselves to try to make life better for someone else.
I also liked how this book explored the relationships between gentiles and Jews, and how, especially, Esther might have loosened her opinions a bit, even as she remembers not blinking an eye previously at a family who sat shiva for their daughter who had married outside of the faith. I thought it was an interesting look at the ways morals can be shaped and maybe even changed. It really brought home the idea of when you know better, you do better, which seems especially relevant in the world today.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for my hones review. It has not influenced my opinion.