Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1944, East Prussia. When the war comes to twelve-year-old Agnes’ village, she finds herself stuck between two terrifying armies. Everyone in her town has been forced to fight for the Nazis, and as the Red Army approaches every innocent woman and child is made to leave their home. Then tragedy strikes and Agnes and her brother Dieter find themselves completely alone in a vast, isolated woodland. Though she is terrified, Agnes knows that she must protect her brother, no matter the cost…
Cambridge, present day. When her beloved grandfather dies, Freya is distraught. Not only has she lost the man who helped raise her, but she knows the story of his time as a pilot in World War Two, and her family’s history, is gone forever. But then Freya meets her new next-door neighbour Agnes, whose accent is just like her grandfather’s. She has a framed picture of a snow-covered castle that looks strangely familiar, and a weather-beaten image of a little blonde boy in braces and boots.
Agnes vowed never to tell the painful story of the young boy who risked everything for her, even if Freya believes Agnes may hold the key to unlocking her own family’s secrets. But what Freya doesn’t realise is that Agnes’ past has the power to change everything she ever thought she knew about her family…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Child Without a Home and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
It’s been two years since I have last read a book by Ann Bennett and in that time I had forgotten just how much of a great author she is. The Child Without a Home is her new novel and, as with the previous excellent books I have read by this author, I was completely sucked in from the very beginning. I always think based on the covers of the books that they will be family sagas and then am always pleasantly surprised by the depth of the stories. This new story proved to be no exception and as it was a dual timeline story (which is my favourite kind of read) going between the past and the years of World War Two, I found myself fascinated by the events that were unfolding. Both elements to the story were as strong as each other and it moved seamlessly from one to another. Although I found myself engrossed in the present that I didn’t want to venture back to the past and vice versa when the change occurred again. So that to me is the sign of a strong and riveting book that can hold my attention and leave me always wanting more.
In the present day, Freya is returning to Cambridge to continue work on her thesis. She had left for some time away following the breakdown of her relationship with Cameron. The brief glimpses we get of Cameron make you soon realise that Freya was much better off without him. I loved that Freya’s focus of study was history even though the topic that she was studying wasn’t grabbing her attention but the seeds of a more interesting story were scattered in front of her if she was willing to nurture them and watch them grow. Freya moves into a new flat and soon meets her neighbour Finn. They have a slightly uneasy friendship at first. I think Freya wasn’t that willing to be open to men of any kind given her recent experiences despite how nice Finn seemed to be me but I sensed that could all change. But Freya and relationships were not the dominant theme of this book and I am glad in the way this was handled because this isn’t a romance story at all. Instead when Freya meets another neighbour Agnes then the real plot of the book starts to be developed.
Agnes lives on her own and is in her 80‘s. She is cold, prickly and defensive. Deep down you could tell if she had someone who was willing to be there for her, and show her some care and attention, then she had a story that was worth sharing. That she had suffered an awful lot and been through such emotional and physical turmoil which has lingered long in her mind. Freya is wracked by guilt that her brother Matthew left on bad terms with her for an assignment for his job. Their grandfather had recently died and she had expected to be left some of his belongings, primarily a chest which contained details and items from his time as a Polish RAF pilot. An argument had ensued between Matthew and Freya and she hadn’t wanted this to happen at all. Will learning of Agnes’s story, when she eventually opens up to Freya, help her reconcile with Matthew?
It’s not just the argument that has Freya’s mind in a spin. It’s the way her grandfather had never forgiven her for something and the fact he refused to talk about what happened to him during the war. There are so many emotions running through Freya’s head and it’s easy to see she needs to find some sort of resolution in order to move on with her life and continue working on her thesis. As she spends time with Agnes and grows closer to her the picture of a castle in a woods that hangs on the wall of Agnes’ house starts to have a significant meaning. A powerful, haunting and soul destroying story emerges and despite the tough subject matter re. Agnes and what she endured I found myself utterly compelled by what I was reading. In hearing Agnes’s story of the past it really starts to help Freya make sense of the present and future and perhaps she can set about the right path she needs to venture on.
It was evident there was so much research done by the author in order to make Agnes’s story as authentic as possible. I felt I was on an endurance journey with her where events lurched from one bad scenario to an even worse one. Agnes’s grew up in a little village in East Prussia. I had never read anything about this area of Germany before and it made me realise how much ordinary German citizens suffered as a result of the war also. Especially as the Russians edged ever closer as the German defeat was on the horizon. It was a harrowing, dangerous, cruel and heart-breaking story that unfolded and I thought there was so much injustice and loss that befell Agnes and her younger brother Dieter. Agnes’s story is mostly set during the winter of 1944/45 and my god the freezing temperatures and deep snow made the situation 100 times worse. I felt the cold echoing from the pages and this only intensified the hardships Agnes and her family were enduring. It was all so hard to read about and I can’t even comprehend what the people of Prussia were going through knowing they had to flee as the Russians were advancing. For if they stayed the consequences didn’t bare thinking about.
You forget as you read about Agnes’s story that really she was only a child herself who had to grow up overnight. Her father is conscripted to fight for the German’s and she is left with her mother and brother. Food is next to impossible to find and even though they go to stay on their Aunt’s farm digging through the snow to find sustenance is just such a heart-breaking image. What shines through about Agnes is her bravery, strength, grit, courage and determination. She seeks every opportunity going to try and provide for her family. It’s like she takes on the role of her father in his absence and she is hopefully that nothing bad will happen to her mother, aunt and brother if she can keep finding food.
Agnes’s story is painful to read about but is an important one to be told in order to honour the sacrifices and bravery of so many at the time. Of how so many were lost but yet there were those that came through it. But what they experienced affected their lives forever. What was witnessed could not be unseen and the suffering and loss will never make up for the regret Agnes lives with. She made a promise and broke it, through no fault of her own, and in the present day it eats away at her. You can’t help but think she is being too harsh on herself but that is the type of woman she is.
There are so many twists and turns to Agnes and Dieter’s story, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. At some points you see a glimmer of hope and then that hope is dashed, and you think god what else can the author possibly throw at them? How are they still standing and going strong in the face of such horror, adversity and hardship? It was one thing after another, and I thought oh god they desperately need a break. I don’t think I can cope with much more of this but then as I neared the end of the book and I was reflecting on what I had read, I came to appreciate that the hardships had to be there. For this is what the people endured for six long years and for Agnes and her family the worst came towards the end with the Russians as a new enemy. War stole their childhood and robbed them of their innocence in the most horrific of ways and showed how the consequences of the Nazi regime and the Russian invasion were so absolutely devastating for so many ordinary innocent people. The Child Without a Home is a brilliant and unputdownable read. It’s deeply emotional and filled with characters that will linger on in your mind long after you have read the final word.
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