First published 1972
Herman Broder thought he had left the worst behind when he escaped Nazi-occupied Europe. Now living in New York, he discovers survival brings its own complications. He remains married to Yadwiga, the Polish peasant woman who saved his life by hiding him from the Nazis. He also lives with Masha, the passionate and unstable woman he considers his true love. Then Tamara appears. His first wife has somehow survived the war and returned from what seemed certain death. Herman moves between three households in a city filled with Yiddish voices and fellow refugees. Each woman represents a different piece of his fractured past and uncertain present. He lies to all three, schedules careful visits, and maintains separate lives that threaten to collide at any moment. The weight of deception grows heavier as Herman realizes he cannot escape the chaos he has created. In this crowded new world, he carries the constant fear that his carefully constructed deceptions will crumble around him.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, jewish
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Europe, New York
Period: World War II
280 pages · Hardcover · Farrar Straus Giroux
Content warnings: emotional-abuse