'Directly I saw him, I knew he had to die.’Germany, 1945. Klara Janowska and her daughter Alicja have walked for weeks to get to Graufeld Displaced Persons camp. In the cramped, dirty, dangerous conditions they, along with 3,200 others, are the lucky ones. They have survived and will do anything to find a way back home.
But when Klara recognises a man in the camp from her past, a deadly game of cat and mouse begins.
He knows exactly what she did during the war to save her daughter.
She knows his real identity.
What will be the price of silence? And will either make it out of the camp alive?
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Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Survivors to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Kate Furnivall is one of my all time favourite authors and once again with her new book The Survivors she has crafted another masterpiece, it's a gripping story from beginning to end. It's packed full of tension, danger, manipulation, mystery and intrigue with the theme of survival being the focal point to the plot. Right from the opening pages I was instantly drawn into the world of Klara Janowska and her young daughter Alicja as theirs was a story that was absorbing, thrilling, powerful and in a lot of ways haunting for all they had to endure. Klara is a character who will really get inside your head as you journey with her as she attempts to get to England where she has relatives and where she feels she will be safe following the conclusion of World War Two. Unfortunately Europe is in chaos following the downfall of Hitler and travelling from Poland to England is no easy feat with threats and danger lurking at every corner. But Klara is resourceful and intuitive and she is determined to complete her task no matter what happens. She needs to both for herself and Alicja as she knows a better life has to be out there for them.
The path to a peaceful more happy existence does not run smoothly and soon the pair find themselves in Graufeld Camp in Germany, a holding camp for displaced persons. For those who have survived the atrocities of war yet lost their homes and in some ways their identity and sense of self. Europe is on the move with a huge mass migration in full flow. Will this be the last stopping place for Klara and Alicja or will they battle through to reach their intended destination? It was so refreshing to see an author putting a new slant on World War Two in the fact that the war itself was not the major focus rather the fallout from all that had occurred for six long years.
We've all read and enjoyed, if that's the word you can use, historical fiction set during the war but admittedly I have given scant thought to what happened afterwards. By setting this novel in the camp Kate Furnivall has shone a light on what happened post war and how Europe coped with so many people migrating or fleeing the Russians in some cases. The research and detail throughout the story was phenomenal. The writing was excellent and visually descriptive giving the reader a real sense of time and place. I really do think that The Survivors would make a great mini drama series for television as it has it all - a brilliant storyline that you reels you in and keeps you hooked and guessing, characters you become deeply invested in and of course a love story.
The descriptions of the British run camp were so real and never once did the author spare the reader from what actually went on there. It really was everyone for themselves as they waited in a kind of limbo to move on in the next stage of their journey if that was at all possible. Klara essentially set up a new life for herself but she didn't become bogged down in the fact that she may never leave the camp. She knew she had an end goal in sight and was courageous and determined that she would carry these through right to the bitter end. I felt Klara was a very restless character that she could never sit still for long as she was always observing her surroundings, the comings and goings at the camp and essentially she was wary that could she ever really trust anybody.
Davide Bouvier, an administrative assistant to the camp Colonel Whitmore, proved to be an ally and a friend to Klara when she needed resources and help the most. The affections bubbling away between the pair developed at a slow and relaxed pace but for the most part I felt this was more on Davide's side rather than Klara's. Again I think this goes back to the fact that she was always on high alert and always plotting different ways to get out of the camp. She used her time and acquired resources wisely, she wasn't just existing from day to day like some others. She was cunning in a good way and was always looking at their bigger picture. Everything was carefully planned and worked out and what she had been up to during the war years stood her in good stead as her cleverness and resilience shone through the further we delved into the story.
Klara has to be one of my favourite characters that I have read in a book this year. Kate Furnivall put her heart and soul into creating a character that had such a strong voice and brilliant mind. But above all else her love and devotion towards her daughter was heart warming to see and she wanted nothing but a positive future for Alicja given their enforced separation during the war. Every so often chapters from Alicja's viewpoint came about and although they were interesting to read and showed a child's viewpoint in relation to everything that was unfolding Klara's chapters and story still remain my firm favourite. Alicja in some ways was an innocent and then in others she surprised me with her actions. It showed she was observant and very devoted to her mother. She too wanted to leave the camp and begin a new life but the secrets from the recent past will have a strong forbearing on the present and future as an old face appears at camp.
When Klara sees this person she is like a cat defending her new born kittens. Her hackles rise and the sense of urgency that is ever present throughout the book only increases as I rapidly flew through the chapters. To understand why the appearance of this person sets Klara in a panic the author interspersed the chapters with recollections as Klara looks back on how she spent her time during the war years in Poland. An enforced separation from Alicja and the strong urge to reunite kept her going through the darkest of times. I don't think she would say she was proud of some of the things she had to do but again this goes back to the fact that it was all about survival, about being alive come wars end in order to make a new life for herself and her daughter without her husband who was lost while fighting.
Given what we learn about Klara and some of the compromising situations she went through there could have been a danger my opinion of her would have changed but I sensed there had to be a further more complicated reason behind everything. Why was she so guarded and always so worried about self protection? What kept her on high alert at all times? Why was the past really like the shadow that never leaves you? I had a feeling that there were major revelations to come but that was not before some major twists, turns and surprises that left me thinking would Klara and Alicja ever achieve some form of happiness? But against all the odds and no matter what the powers that be threw in her direction I knew Klara was gutsy enough, determined and brave enough to just keep on keeping on as they say. Klara's hardened outer core was present for a reason but at the back of my mind I kept wondering just what was the truth behind Klara the person and had her actions affected Alicja so much that she had lost the innocence, lightness and exuberance a young child should have?
No doubt about it Klara was a remarkable character who could have let hatred all consume her but she just held herself back from the brink and exacted everything in the most awe inspiring and riveting manner. Revenge is a dish best served cold and the reader is left guessing until the last possible moment to discover if all the plotting and planning will come to fruition. I was thrown by the last few chapters when we reached the culmination of everything but thrown in a good way. Kate Furnivall had certainly pulled the wool over my eyes and I was left gasping in shock at some of the revelations. On reflection I should have been more astute but I think I was too caught up in the pace and development of the story to read further into circumstances and people than I did. The twists were mind blowing but slotted in perfectly with the overall story, scenarios and picture that the author was trying to achieve.
The Survivors blends imagination with historical fact to absolute perfection and by the time you reach the last page you will be disappointed to leave such amazing characters behind. Kate Furnivall never fails to disappoint and with The Survivors being the fantastic, spell binding story that it was she has yet again not disappointed this reader. Long may things continue in this vein.
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