An absorbing look at how the high-stakes circumstances of war reveal character.
Two women fight to preserve family, love, and truth in this debut historical novel.
Marguerite is 14 years old when her French village is invaded by the German army during World War II. It’s 1940, and the early days of the occupation remain relatively peaceful on the orders of Maj. Wolfgang Müller, the area’s Kommandant. Although her mother despises all Germans, Marguerite agrees to cook for the Kommandant and his staff and is surprised to observe that Müller is a kind, upright man. The novel alternates between Marguerite’s observations and the Kommandant’s letters and diary entries, which show that he remains a devoted husband and father, treats French citizens with dignity, and believes that his ultimate goal is to send the message that “Germany is beginning its momentous task of moulding Europe into its own likeness.” For Marguerite, the most momentous change is that she falls in love with a young German soldier and must hide her affair from her family. Meanwhile, the Kommandant faces a challenge from an officer who believes the area needs harsher policies, and he worries about the motivations of Nazis like this man, whom he considers “a bully in a uniform.” From this dramatic first section, the book jumps ahead 50 years to follow Catherine Swannell, who has been invited to visit her distant cousin Marguerite. Catherine becomes engrossed in reassembling the past, searching for answers to lingering questions about what happened long ago. In this thoughtful novel, Rowan brings the French countryside to life with gentle, lyrical descriptions. Nations may grapple with war around the globe, she suggests, but beauty can still be found amid the “rippling river,” the “silky golden stubble” of wheat, and the “rustling of birds settling” in the hedgerows of this close-knit village. The layered, sympathetic figure of the Kommandant provides the story’s major questions: How can good compete with an evil that follows no rules or code? And at what point do your intentions clash with your reality? There’s a sentimental streak to the romantic passages, but overall the author capably adds nuance to familiar set pieces.
An absorbing look at how the high-stakes circumstances of war reveal character.Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-909979-83-3
Page Count: 278
Publisher: Crux Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A bold but flawed debut novel.
There’s a mystery, a coming-of-age, abundant melodrama and even more abundant medical lore in this idiosyncratic first novel from a doctor best known for the memoir My Own Country (1994).
The nun is struggling to give birth in the hospital. The surgeon (is he also the father?) dithers. The late-arriving OB-GYN takes charge, losing the mother but saving her babies, identical twins. We are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1954. The Indian nun, Sister Mary Joseph Praise, was a trained nurse who had met the British surgeon Thomas Stone on a sea voyage ministering to passengers dying of typhus. She then served as his assistant for seven years. The emotionally repressed Stone never declared his love for her; had they really done the deed? After the delivery, Stone rejects the babies and leaves Ethiopia. This is good news for Hema (Dr. Hemalatha, the Indian gynecologist), who becomes their surrogate mother and names them Shiva and Marion. When Shiva stops breathing, Dr. Ghosh (another Indian) diagnoses his apnea; again, a medical emergency throws two characters together. Ghosh and Hema marry and make a happy family of four. Marion eventually emerges as narrator. “Where but in medicine,” he asks, “might our conjoined, matricidal, patrifugal, twisted fate be explained?” The question is key, revealing Verghese’s intent: a family saga in the context of medicine. The ambition is laudable, but too often accounts of operations—a bowel obstruction here, a vasectomy there—overwhelm the narrative. Characterization suffers. The boys’ Ethiopian identity goes unexplored. Shiva is an enigma, though it’s no surprise he’ll have a medical career, like his brother, though far less orthodox. They become estranged over a girl, and eventually Marion leaves for America and an internship in the Bronx (the final, most suspenseful section). Once again a medical emergency defines the characters, though they are not large enough to fill the positively operatic roles Verghese has ordained for them.
A bold but flawed debut novel.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-41449-7
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2008
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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