July 2011
On Sale: July 12, 2011
Featuring: Roger Dykmans; Jack Harrington; Charlotte Gold
304 pages ISBN: 0385534205 EAN: 9780385534208 Hardcover Add to Wish List
Pam Jenoff, whose first novel, The Kommandant’s
Girl, was a Quill Award finalist, a Book Sense pick, and
a finalist for the ALA Sophie Brody Award, joins the
Doubleday list with a suspenseful story of love and betrayal
set during the Holocaust.
An ambitious novel that spans decades and continents, The
Things We Cherished tells the story of Charlotte Gold
and Jack Harrington, two fiercely independent attorneys who
find themselves slowly falling for one another while working
to defend the brother of a Holocaust hero against
allegations of World War II–era war crimes.
The defendant, wealthy financier Roger Dykmans,
mysteriously refuses to help in his own defense, revealing
only that proof of his innocence lies within an intricate
timepiece last seen in Nazi Germany. As the narrative moves
from Philadelphia to Germany, Poland, and Italy, we are
given glimpses of the lives that the anniversary clock has
touched over the past century, and learn about the love
affair that turned a brother into a traitor.
Rich in historical detail, Jenoff’s astonishing new work is
a testament to true love under the worst of circumstances.
As the daughter of a recently deceased WWII vet, I think we - society as a whole - and I - personally - read books like yours to help try to explain to ourselves just how and why a person or group of people could do what they did to another person or group of people. I also think we read them to get a better sense of what actually happened, and to try to make sure it never happens again.
On a trip to France some years ago, I found a way that people have been involved in the healing process since soon after the end of the war. In the province of Normandy alone, there are five German cemeteries. They are tended by a joint French-German group of volunteers drawn from the children of the former enemies. I found that a very rewarding and humbling thought - that if these former enemies can come together to tend those who died while under orders to kill the others, then there is hope, somehow, some way, for the rest of us.
Later,
Lynn (Lynn Rettig 2:13pm August 26, 2011)
The war stories and Holocost can not be told too often. When we keep the stories alive and share our own history of how it affects us, it puts a human touch on terrible tragedies. Those on both sides of the aisles are affected whether they were the guards or the victims. Memory has a way of softening over time, but some of these details were full of hatred and anger. (Alyson Widen 5:44pm August 26, 2011)
You were so fortunate to be able to live in Poland for a while. Having Grandparents who were born there, and immigrated to this country in the 1800's when my Grandfather was in his early 20's, and my Grandmother was in her teens, means so much!! I heard that it's a beautiful country, although even today the people are still in need. This is the first time that I've heard of an author writing about this particular topic, although I haven't done much research on it. I have read some WWII books, but those were generalizations. My Father served in the war, which also has added meaning. I have to get my hands on your book to give me more understanding of my Grandparents lives, since they really didn't talk about it that much. My Grandfather couldn't speak much English, and my Grandmother spoke broken English, but at times it was hard to understand. I was in my early teens when she passed away, and what did I really know about preserving our heritage? Thank you for keeping the past alive, and I will also be reading your other books. I'm sure I'll keep them close to my heart. (Peggy Roberson 9:29pm August 26, 2011)
After reading why you write about WWII, I realized that I've rarely read much about that era. Maybe I felt that I had heard enough about that time from my parents, who both grew up in post WWI Berlin, and other family members. Since I was born about 3 months before D-Day, I also heard of the deprivations Germans in the Russian sector of post-war Germany, even in the American sector to which my mother and I fled just before the Russians closed the borders to the other sectors in late 1946. Fortunately, my mother was able to work for an American aid association while my father got his degree in architecture. And in 1951 the three of us with my 2-year-old brother emigrated to Canada. I heard my mother talk about her Jewish friend, the only friend of hers I remember. Before the Nazi regime, she often stayed with her friend when the parents went out in the evenings. The last time they saw each other, her friend asked my mother not to contact her anymore. She and her parents would suffer, as well as my mother's family. She was never able to find out what happened to her. I've watched many Holocaust documentaries and read 'The Diary of Anne Frank' as a teenager. I've rarely read any English books on WWII set on the European mainland, especially none that had any sympathetic view of Germans.
I still can't. The closest I've come are Rebecca Cantrell's Hanna Vogel novels. I'm looking forward to the 3rd installment about the 1936 Olympics, which my mother missed because she spent 6 months in Scotland.
Recently a novel by a friend of my grandfather's, Hans Fallada's 'Every Man Dies Alone' has become a well-selling book. I've never read any of his books--not that I didn't want to, just because there were more accessible books around.
Actually, my father was born in Poland. In July by younger brother and his wife, whose mother fled from Latvia during the war, went to where my father was born to find out more about him, but were unsuccessful. Fortunatel (Sigrun Schulz 12:08pm August 27, 2011)
What happened? The last sentence read, but was cut off: Fortunately, the relatives in Latvia were easier to find --through social media and English-speaking cousins. (Sigrun Schulz 12:23pm August 27, 2011)
My husband always says that history tends to repeat itself. We should never forget lest we relive it. I've always found the war and holocaust fascinating to read about and to watch programs about. I always like to hear about survivors! (Brenda Rupp 6:41pm August 28, 2011)
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