Author: Armando Lucas Correa

Although I enjoyed the book, it is the true story that it was based on that I found more interesting. In 1939, 937 Germans boarded the MS St. Louis expecting to disembark in Cuba and escape the ever-increasing anti-Semitic persecution in Berlin. Before they could board they had to purchase visas and purchase return tickets although there was never any intention to return. They also had to turn over all their possessions for this one chance to escape.

When the transatlantic liner docked in Havana the entry rules had changed and only 28 passengers were allowed to enter the city. The remainder, after being turned away by the United States and Canada, were allowed entry into the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. With the exception of those who landed in the UK, it was only a short time before they were submitted again to the persecution they had hoped to escape and many died in concentration camps before the end of the war.

The novel is told from the point of view of Hannah, a 12-year old at the time of the crossing, and Anna her 12 year-old great niece. Hannah and her mother were able to land in Cuba but her father, her best friend and his father were sent away. Life in Cuba was not easy for the family as they always felt unwanted. Anna’s father, Hannah’s nephew, was killed in the 9/11 towers before Anna was born. Anna knew very little about her father and during a trip to Havana the gaps in Hannah’s story are filled in.

Goodreads Rating: * * *