First published 2023
Varian Fry steps off the train in Marseille with three thousand dollars and a list of names. The young American journalist has come to rescue writers, thinkers, and artists before the Nazis can reach them. He seeks out figures like Marc Chagall, who refuses to believe France could turn dangerous for him. Varian guides refugees over the Pyrenees and onto boats bound for safety. But hundreds of ordinary Jewish families plead for his help each day. The list from New York seems arbitrary now. Who deserves to live? Who must he leave behind? As word of his operation spreads, the Nazis close in. Varian races against time while borders slam shut around him. Each rescue demands greater risks. This is a story about impossible choices in humanity's darkest moment.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: impossible-choices, race-against-time
Setting: Marseille, Pyrenees
Period: World War II
Paperback · Dialogue Books
Content warnings: death, violence