At the back of the book the author tells us that it took years to write this story and that should come as no surprise to anyone who reads it. The level of detail and understanding of the history supporting three different generations of a family is remarkable, and you read it as if you were a ghost hovering on their shoulders.
Sometimes the story drew me in so much that I almost wanted to find a way to communicate with the characters to warn them as something bad approached. As the reader, we know some of the outcomes for the characters, because the story of the three generations is woven together, and we have 'seen' photographs and letters as they have been seen by later members of the family.
Huge topics such as racism and unethical trading with the Nazi Party in Germany are covered in the telling of the story, and the author keeps the narrative true to each era that is covered. The open racism against Jewish and black people in the earlier years of the twentieth century gives way to a more 'tolerant' approach mid century, which is merely an extension of being polite, and then the younger generations trying to make things right, but often failing to see what right looks like.
Sarah Blake does not dance around these issues, and has successfully presented scenarios that allow us to see how certain behaviours could have been acceptable in polite society of the time, while continuing to demonstrate the harm that was inevitably caused. She also explores how families can collectively edit the past in mostly unspoken agreement, and once the silence falls, it can be impossible to find a plausible explanation for odd snippets of evidence that fall out of books or are mentioned by old friends.
There is a lot to digest in this book, and it is certainly not something to skim through. With so many generations of family and their friends, you must pay attention all the time, but it will be worth it. Don't be surprised if it gets you thinking about your own family situation and how previous generations still have influence even after they are long gone.
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