Haruf isn’t one to “pretty-up” real life in his novels. He pretty much writes it like it is. But this novel takes real life to a whole new level. Edith’s life is grim–it started grim, and ended the same. As Sanders Roscoe, her neighbor, tells us of Edith’s life, we learn that Sanders also has lived a pretty grim life. If you want to read an excellent, suspenseful story about what people do to, and for, their families, then Haruf’s book is the book for you. If you’re looking for a fairy tale ending, you’re going to want to read something else.

Milada lives in Lidice, Czechoslovokia in 1942. When the Nazis take her suddenly from her family, the only things that remain are her grandmother’s pin, and her grandmother’s final words to her: “Remember who you are, Milada. Remember where you are from. Always.”

Milada is sent to a “school” to be re-educated as a good German girl, and is then adopted to a German family. But Milada takes her grandmother’s words to heart, and doesn’t forget who she is, and where she came from. Excellent.

« Older Posts