Reviewed by Emma Crowley
London, present day. Isla has grown up hearing her beloved grandad’s stories about his life as a child in pre-war Poland and as a young soldier bravely fighting the Germans to protect his people. So she is shocked and heartbroken to find, while collecting photos for his 95th birthday celebration, a picture of her dear grandfather wearing a Nazi uniform. Is everything she thought she knew about him a lie?
Unable to question him due to his advanced dementia, Isla wraps herself in her rainbow-coloured scarf, a memento of his from the war, and begins to hunt for the truth behind the photograph. What she uncovers is more shocking than she could have ever anticipated – a tale of childhood sweethearts torn apart by family duty, and how one young man risked his life, his love and the respect of his own people, to secretly fight for justice from inside the heart of the enemy itself…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Rainbow to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I’ve often said whilst ending my review of a debut novel that ‘this is only the tip of what the author can do and I think there will be much more to come from this author in the future’. Well, this is definitely the case with Carly Schabowski. I enjoyed her debut The Ringmasters Daughter and her subsequent book, The Watchmaker of Dachau, but now having read her third book The Rainbow I really feel she has come a long way and is really getting into her stride. I definitely think this is the best book she has written and as it is based on a true story and it is a story she has always wanted to write that this element added even more to the book. Yes, there is a small element of ‘magic/suspend your disbelief that something could happen’ here as was present in her previous books but it didn’t play a dominant role in the overall plot and I felt it worked well here. It aided one character in connecting with another and said character used this experience in the toughest of times.
The Rainbow moves back and forth between the past and the present with the past sections being more prevalent and I enjoyed them much more. That’s not to say the parts featuring Isla and her search for answers in the present day were not good they definitely were but I found them to be mere tools to link the major plots of the story together. I found myself deeply invested in the story of unlocking the secrets of the past and it’s certainly a story that gives plenty of food for thought. Can you still love the man you always loved even if he was not who he said he was? What happens when the man you know as your grandfather turns out to have a past that will shock and anger you? Can you reconcile the man you know so well with what a photo seemingly says about him?
Isla goes to see her grandparents in the country. Her grandfather Tomasz who is Polish is now 95 and suffering from dementia has not spoken to his brother Andrzej in years. Whilst Isla is looking for something in the attic she stumbles across a rainbow scarf and a newspaper article with a photo of two German soldiers. The article details how a man earned the golden German cross for acts of bravery killing partisans in the Ukraine. She recognises one of the men as being her grandfather but didn’t he fight for the British during the war? The photo says different and Isla wants to know the truth. Her grandmother is evasive when questioned and also doesn’t want any extra upset placed on Tomasz considering his state of mind. Isla determines she must discover the answers for herself. Just who was Tomasz and why was he a German soldier in the war?
When Isla makes contact with Andrzej in Poland she knows if she wants answers she must go there to talk to him but Andrzej is grumpy, dark and moody. Tomasz made a mistake and it cost lives and he can never be forgiven for that. Isla is presented with Tomasz's diaries and through reading them she hopes to find out the truth. The scenes set in the present day were enough to get the story going and when we reverted back to them throughout the novel they strongly tied together questions that arose as we read about the past.
We are introduced to Tomasz in 1930 who resides in the Polish countryside on a farm with his family. An old caravan in a field leads to him meeting Kapaldi, who is like a magician of sorts. To me he was like an advisor to Tomasz and he goes on to play such a crucial role that was wonderfully but very subtly developed and I appreciated what a character he was. The years pass by and Tomasz falls in love with Zofia. They plan to spend their lives together but Hitler has other plans and if you do not have papers to prove you have German blood rather than Polish than the worst will befall you. German blood was believed to be superior, homes were taken from Poles for being Jewish or resisting German occupation and boys were rounded up to fight in the army. The peace and tranquillity of Tomasz's life was shattered.
Through one thing and another Tomasz is given a choice - his family will be moved to Germany to god knows what fate or else he must join the army and fight on the German side. This is where we see the beginnings of the turmoil that Tomasz faces throughout the remainder of the book. Of course, family must come first and he makes what he feels is the right decision but how can you live with yourself fighting on a side which promotes such hatred, abuse and brutality? Tomasz wrestles with his conscience time and time again and becomes increasingly angry at the madness surrounding him that he has no control over. The situation Tomasz finds himself in really makes you stop and think. If you saw a photo like Isla did and everything you knew about someone was a lie would your opinion of them instantly change or would you with hold judgement until if you have time to dig that little bit deeper?
Our views and opinions on the what the Germans did during the war are very strong and rightly so but this book makes you look beyond the bare details. That perhaps all is not as it seems at first glance in every case and regarding Tomasz, Isla is best to keep ploughing on until the real truth emerges. What could have Tomasz done during that time that made him so ashamed and his brother refused to speak to him ever again? You wonder had he no other choice? Do what your superiors asked of you or face being killed yourself not to mention the reprisals your family back home would receive if not. Yes, it brought shame on the family fighting on the German side and Tomasz was viewed as a traitor and it was like he had sold out his family but his love for Zofia always shone through and he had her at the forefront of his mind in everything he did.
The story dragged ever so slightly in the middle when Tomasz details where he is based and what he is doing but then the pace picked up again and I was completely riveted with all the various twists and turns. The author deftly highlighted the plight of Polish men forced to fight on a side inflicting so much horror and showed what pressure Tomasz was under. It was like he was a pawn in a game with someone turning the screw of control ever tighter. He really was faced with no choice but to keep going hoping he would emerge out the other side to his love and his family. You feel every bit of his fear and confusion as he grapples with knowing what the right thing is to do but then the hand that controls him wishes him to do the opposite. Another strand of the story begins to emerge towards the end which only served to increase the tension and unease which pervaded throughout the book and at one point you are left open mouthed in shock at what is unfolding before your eyes.
The ending perhaps was a little rushed but on reflection it was perfect as it made things come full circle and everything was fully explained to the reader. The Rainbow is an excellent read, packed full of emotions and you can tell the author has put so much time and effort into her research and thought carefully how she wished to convey her families story. It’s a story of courage, bravery and the sacrifices people will go to for love.I would definitely recommend The Rainbow and can’t wait to see what Carly Schabowksi brings us next.
No comments:
Post a Comment