Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
1 journaler for this copy...
PIcked up from the Little Free Library on Maple Street in Arroyo Grande, CA today.
I picked up this book because I had read Midwives and was impressed by the author's knowledge of midwifery. I was right to think that he'd probably do a good job with this very different subject.
Near the end of World War II, a small village in Poland is threatened by a Russian invasion. The German troops are thinner and thinner on the ground and almost any male who can hold a gun is recruited. Eighteen-year-old Anna is part of a family that lives in this village, far away from the big cities and in many ways ignorant of the real causes of the war. The Germans had captured some Allied forces and eventually farmed them out to villagers to be used as unpaid labor. Callum, from Scotland, works for Anna's family. He is twenty, attractive, and friendly. Quietly, secretly, Anna and Callum become lovers.
But then worse comes to worse. The Russian troops are getting closer and the family has to evacuate. They pack up two wagons and four horses and head out into the snow.
Meanwhile, we meet Manfred, an escapee from a train headed for a concentration camp. He has been on the run for a while when he meets up with the family, and he is dressed in a German uniform stolen from a soldier he killed. The group travels together.
The family meets with some difficult challenges, some worse than others, as the members try to reach the western border of Germany.
I have read a number of books on this war, from different perspectives. This is the first from the standpoint of affluent German citizens living in the countryside. Many of us struggle with the fact that German citizens voted Hitler into office and then turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed by that government. It is sometimes helpful to put ourselves into the position of those on the ground, not involved in politics. It can even be instructive for our own lives.
I felt that Bohjalian did the work. He created believable characters and situations that may well have happened. The fact that this is, too, a kind of love story brings us closer to the characters.
Near the end of World War II, a small village in Poland is threatened by a Russian invasion. The German troops are thinner and thinner on the ground and almost any male who can hold a gun is recruited. Eighteen-year-old Anna is part of a family that lives in this village, far away from the big cities and in many ways ignorant of the real causes of the war. The Germans had captured some Allied forces and eventually farmed them out to villagers to be used as unpaid labor. Callum, from Scotland, works for Anna's family. He is twenty, attractive, and friendly. Quietly, secretly, Anna and Callum become lovers.
But then worse comes to worse. The Russian troops are getting closer and the family has to evacuate. They pack up two wagons and four horses and head out into the snow.
Meanwhile, we meet Manfred, an escapee from a train headed for a concentration camp. He has been on the run for a while when he meets up with the family, and he is dressed in a German uniform stolen from a soldier he killed. The group travels together.
The family meets with some difficult challenges, some worse than others, as the members try to reach the western border of Germany.
I have read a number of books on this war, from different perspectives. This is the first from the standpoint of affluent German citizens living in the countryside. Many of us struggle with the fact that German citizens voted Hitler into office and then turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed by that government. It is sometimes helpful to put ourselves into the position of those on the ground, not involved in politics. It can even be instructive for our own lives.
I felt that Bohjalian did the work. He created believable characters and situations that may well have happened. The fact that this is, too, a kind of love story brings us closer to the characters.
Set aside for paperbackswap.
