"You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel." --John Irving From the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a stunning tour de force about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn't talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age twelve. She doesn't talk about the grim postwar years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich's most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can't help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry's beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel's hard-won, self-contained existence. Immersive, chilling, unputdownable, All the Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel's girlhood in Germany and present-day London. Here, Gretel is at a similar crossroads to the one she encountered long ago. Then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief, and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before--whatever the cost to herself.
Book details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
November 28, 2023
ISBN
9780593653449
Publisher
Penguin Books
Pages
400
Language
English
BISAC
Fiction, Historical, 20th Century - World War II & Holocaust, Literary
Such a well written story about the daughter of Hitler’s top commandant and her life after escaping Nazi Germany. It’s a story about a life you were born into, the remorse, the guild and how she tries to redeem herself without letting her secrets become revealed. A page turner!
