A WEEK IN WINTER

A taut, rather grim but strong debut: a story about the futile efforts of a Foreign Service officer to save a family of Jewish refugees in a war-torn country.

Clark is a staffer at the US consulate in Kovo (an imaginary town in Eastern Europe) and has been picking up signals for some time now that his career is on the wane. The fact that he was sent to a hardship post like Kovo is a bad sign to begin with, but lately his station chief Fitch has begun to avoid him, and the other staffers seem to be ignoring him as well. Kovo is at the center of the undeclared civil war that is convulsing the country as nationalist gangs and militias try to oust “foreign elements” (read: Jews). A small group of Jewish refugees has even taken shelter in the basement of the consulate, but an upcoming visit from the American ambassador makes their presence problematic: Since no state of war has been officially recognized by the US, and since the persecution of the Jews nationally has not been formally noted (or protested) by the US, the UN, or any of the official human rights agencies, the refugees are a diplomatic embarrassment. The good organization man Fitch solves the problem by evicting the Jews a few days ahead of the ambassador’s visit. But it’s cold, it’s winter, and they have nowhere to go. Clark protests to no avail, and later takes matters into his own hands by inviting one of the families—a former music teacher, her mother, and her young son—to move into his own apartment. It’s a risky move that could have severe implications for Clark, his wife, and their five-year-old son, and the Jews themselves are reluctant to expose him to the dangers involved. But Clark is a simple, decent soul who doesn’t weigh the effect of every step he takes. Unfortunately, he’s in the wrong business.

A highly effective—and affecting—tale, made all the more powerful by a simple and unvarnished telling that allows the story to unfold naturally and without self-consciousness. An impressive start.