by Clara Kramer
First published 2010
Clara is fifteen when the Nazis arrive in the small Polish town of Zolkiew on July 21, 1942. While neighbors face slaughter or deportation, Clara's family joins two other families in a hand-dug crawlspace beneath the Beck house. Mrs. Beck once worked as a maid for Clara's mother before the war. Her husband drinks heavily, chases women, and harbors antisemitic views, yet he risks his family's safety to shelter the hidden Jews. Life underground brings constant uncertainty. Beck throws loud parties directly above their heads. SS officers visit the house. Beck begins an affair with one of the hidden women. Clara watches her small world shrink to the dimensions of their dark hiding place as three families struggle to survive together. The cramped quarters test everyone's nerves while Beck's unpredictable behavior threatens their safety daily. Clara must navigate not only the terror of discovery but also the complex dynamics between the families sharing this desperate refuge.
Genres: holocaust, historical-fiction, 20th-century, jewish
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Zolkiew, Poland
Period: 1942
333 pages · Paperback · Arbeiderspers
Content warnings: violence