Author: Kurt Palka

This book caught my eye while I was at the library picking up a different book. I only had it on loan for two weeks, and I was in the middle of a different book at the time. No problem getting it finished though as once I started I couldn’t put it down; I read late into the night and on the mornings when I woke early I read a bit more.

Clara is at the end of her life and, although part of the story is set in the present, most of the interesting details are in the past. Clara is studying for her Doctorate degree in Austria as events leading up to the Second World War are unfolding. She and her friends suffer from hardships, but things get worse as the Nazi’s take control in Germany and beyond.

It was interesting to read about the war from the perspective of the “enemy”, although none of the characters were particularly loyal to the Nazi regime. There were also a number of regulations that the citizens endured during and after the war that I’d never heard about. I expect the events are true as the author (a Canadian) based this work of fiction on documents held by his family.