by John Boyne
First published 2022
Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby lives a quiet life in 1970s London. But her peaceful existence is shattered when a chance encounter brings the horrors of her childhood flooding back. As a young girl in Nazi Germany, Gretel and her mother were forced to make unthinkable choices to survive. Now, Gretel must confront the guilt and trauma that have shadowed her for decades. A poignant exploration of the long shadow of history and the bonds of family.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
400 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: abuse, violence