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Gretel Fernsby is a quiet woman leading a quiet life. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany seventy years ago or the dark post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. But when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but befriend their little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back painful memories. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between his parents, which threatens to disturb her hard-won peace. For the second time in her life, Gretel is given the chance to save a young boy. To do so would allay her guilt, grief and remorse, but it will also force her to reveal her true identity. Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself?
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All the Broken Places, John Boyne
- Language
- Released
- 2023
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Paperback)
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- Language
- English
- Authors
- John Boyne
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Released
- 2023
- Format
- Paperback
- ISBN10
- 1529176131
- ISBN13
- 9781529176131
- Tags
- Fiction, Historical Themes, Historical Fiction, France, Wars, World War II, England, Secrets, Great Britain, London, Holocaust, Paris, Irish Literature, Guilt, Post-War Era, Emigrants
- First published
- 2022
- Original title
- All the Broken Places
- Rating
- 4.45 out of 5
- Description
- Gretel Fernsby is a quiet woman leading a quiet life. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany seventy years ago or the dark post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. But when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but befriend their little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back painful memories. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between his parents, which threatens to disturb her hard-won peace. For the second time in her life, Gretel is given the chance to save a young boy. To do so would allay her guilt, grief and remorse, but it will also force her to reveal her true identity. Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself?