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Overview
"In January 1945, in the waning mouths of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from the Russian front to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines." "Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family's farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred - who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz." "As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna's and Callum's love, as well as their friendship with Manfred - assuming any of them even survive." Perhaps not since The English Patient has a novel so deftly captured both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war. Skillfully portraying the flesh and blood of history, Chris Bohjalian has crafted a rich tapestry that puts a face on one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedies - while creating, perhaps, a masterpiece that will haunt readers for generations.Synopsis
A dramatic new story of two families in war-torn Germany during the waning years of World War II, from the bestselling author of THE DOUBLE BIND.
The Emmerich family has been farming on their vast estate in Germany for hundreds of years. After World War I, their land became part of Poland, so when Hitler reunites their part of the world with Germany, they are thrilled. But none of the family members realize the extent of evil the Nazis have wrought until they are forced to flee their land and a journey through the ravaged countryside leads them to confront the horrors of the Nazi realm. Listeners will be captivated by these unforgettable characters who struggle to find hope and a reason to believe in the fundamental goodness of people in the waning years of World War II.
The Washington Post - Margot Livesey
Bohjalian's sense of character and place, his skillful plotting and his clear grasp of this confusing period of history make for a deeply satisfying novel, one that asks readers to consider, and reconsider, how they would rise to the challenge of terrible deprivation and agonizing moral choices.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
In his previous novel, The Double Bind, Oprah's Book Club honoree Chris Bohjalian commandeered characters from The Great Gatsby to create another seductive West Egg treasure. In Skeletons at the Feast, he draws on an unpublished World War II diary to accomplish an equally ambitious transformation. The fiction re-creates the fitful westward flight of a Prussian aristocrat, her children, and their Scottish POW servant in the waning months of the war. As this unlikely group desperately flees the advancing Russian troops, they befriend an even more unlikely protector: a young Jew who somehow had escaped from an Auschwitz-bound train. Bohjalian counterpoints this tense trek with a parallel narrative about hundreds of Jewish women struggling to survive a pitiless forced march from a death camp. Gripping details; unforgettable snapshots of the horrors of war.Margot Livesey
Bohjalian's sense of character and place, his skillful plotting and his clear grasp of this confusing period of history make for a deeply satisfying novel, one that asks readers to consider, and reconsider, how they would rise to the challenge of terrible deprivation and agonizing moral choices.—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Bohjalian's rousing tale of three young Jews-Anna, Callum and Uri-who must trek from Warsaw to reach Allied lines is stunningly vivid. Whether it is the troubled lovers whose relationship is put to the test given the disquiet and unrest that abounds throughout much of Europe, or the mysterious stranger who guides them through it all, Mark Bramhall has no trouble stepping into character and giving his listeners a blazing experience. Bramhall reads with a sturdy tone, steeped in anger and sadness, a perfect fit for Bohjalian's poignant tale. Giving a voice to nameless victims of the Holocaust, Bramhall's reading is haunting and memorable. A Shaye Areheart hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 4). (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
Bohjalian (The Double Bind) leaves his traditional Vermont milieu for this wellcrafted, deeply moving historical novel in which he traces the last months of World War II Germany through various lives, masterfully describing landscape and struggle. Narrator Mark Bramhall (An Atomic Romance) easily moves among accents and between genders. Bohjalian fans will applaud; highly recommended. [Also available from Random House Audio as a retail ed. unabridged CD (ISBN 9780739366233) (9780739366240)
—Joyce Kessel