All the Broken Places
Fiction
Pamela Dorman Books
November 29, 2022
Hardcover/Audio
400
Purchased
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 12. She doesn't talk about the grim post-war 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. All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel's girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back 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....
My review:
If you haven't read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I highly recommend it (but have tissues ready for the ending!). This book looks at the life of Bruno's sister in the years directly following her escape from Germany, and when she is in her old age living in an apartment building in London. There she meets a young boy who she is befriended by. I loved both the past and present timelines in this book (not often the case with me when it comes to historical fiction). Gretel is written in such a way that you cannot help but fall in love with her and want to give her teenage self a hug. She is carrying enormous guilt over her past life. How much of that is she really responsible for is one of the moral dilemma's the reader must ponder. The other is how involved should she get when her young friend may be in danger from his family? Past and present collide when Gretel decides to take a stand to help her rectify past mistakes. I was completely captivated by this novel, as I am with pretty much anything this author produces. The writing is exquisite, without being overly wordy, and his characters are so well brought to life. I couldn't get enough of Gretel's story, and went through a whole range of emotions with her.
Another absolutely breathtaking read from one of the finest authors of this generation (in my opinion). This man can pen a story, and I highly recommend you read any of his works if you haven't already!
