Reviewed by Emma Crowley
A wartime secret. A heartbreaking choice. A promise that cost her everything…
German-occupied territory, 1945. Tearing open the envelope, Katja studies every line and letter on the map. She wills herself to memorise it, copying every detail onto scraps of paper in the flickering candlelight. She’d nearly been caught delivering the letters by the SS that afternoon. Picturing Karl’s handsome face, her chest tightens. They’re in this together. But if she’s caught, what will happen to the baby?
London, present day. Jo is at a crossroads in her own life in her cosy bungalow on the edge of beautiful Hampstead Heath. Clearing out her mother, Katja’s, empty home, Jo’s world is turned upside down when she discovers a small, dog-eared diary stuffed into the back of a tiny kitchen cupboard. And tucked within its pages is a ripped, yellowed envelope with an unfamiliar, faded postmark. As she scans the scrawled handwriting, Jo can scarcely believe her eyes…
What really happened to that tiny baby all those years ago? And will this long-lost diary finally give Jo the answers to everything she’s been searching for?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Lost Diary to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I haven’t read a book by Rose Alexander since reading Under an Amber Sky published way back in 2017 but I always remember how much I adored that story so when I saw she had a new book, The Lost Diary, I was keen to give it a try. This story based on true events is told through the dual timeline format which I always enjoy in books and the author expertly weaves the past and present together to create a tale full of survival, life and death all told from different perspectives which demonstrates the horrors of war and how one woman’s trauma and secrets have stayed with her for a very long time. I did find this book to have a very slow start where I was waiting and waiting for something to happen. I felt setting the scene and the general tone of the book took too long to emerge but once I reached the halfway point things completely changed. I became deeply invested in Katja’s story and coming towards the end there were so many startling revelations that I found myself thinking yes this is a great read and it reminds me of the historical fiction of old where you are led down the garden path for the majority of the story and then bang everything gets turned on its head. What you thought was true was not and in fact the author has very cleverly pulled the wool over the readers eyes. Yes, the first half was unnecessarily long in my mind but the second half more than made up for that.
A brief prologue sets the scene in Berlin in 1945, the city has been divided into Russian and British zones and the residents are suffering hunger and hardship.They are just trying to exist and survive and make it through each day. A young woman is now working as a bus conductress and one day a man catches her eye and a sliver of recognition occurs.He asks a question which instantly arouses the readers interest. To be honest when I reached the final pages of the book I had genuinely forgotten about the prologue so I felt I was jolted back to this when the jigsaw pieces finally started to slot together and it brought a smile to my face upon realising how clever Rose Alexander had been with the overall plotting of the book. The book then properly begins in London in 1994 where Jo is caring for her mother Katja following an operation. Whilst Katja recovers her flat is undergoing a complete renovation and its during this time that secrets from the past come to light.
The narrative moves back and forth between the past and the present day and does so seamlessly as Jo starts to learn more about the mother who has always been so prickly, often lacking empathy and never very maternal. She has longed to know the details of her heritage and to better understand her origins but Katja has remained tight lipped and closed off. As the 50 year anniversary of the wars conclusion nears, a newspaper article is seeking stories of people who lived during that time. Will Katja finally be willing to open up and will Jo be able to accept what she uncovers?
Katja is haunted by shame and Jo wants to find out why? Jo was a great support to Katja despite not having the best relationship with her. It was almost as if she knew Katja was reaching that point where she could reveal more of herself and in doing so it would help explain why she perhaps was not the warmest of mothers. When a piece of paper with a dried flower is found during the renovations Jo’s curiosity is sparked even further and bit by bit as Katja recuperates she tells Jo everything that she has kept in the darkest recess of her heart and mind for so long.
Being completely honest, I was far more involved in Katja’s story than I was Jo’s. The author details how Jo is going through a separation, with her husband seeking the house and a divorce, and she is anxious and upset that this is occurring. It didn’t dominate the storyline but I just wanted to get back to reading about Katja. I thought it was brilliant that Katja was German so we read of her experiences from the ordinary German citizen’s perspective. I think more often than not we tend to forget and it’s not regularly written how the German population suffered too during the war. Katja lives in Berlin and runs a grocery shop with her husband, Horst, who is away fighting in the war. She gives birth to a boy named Hans with the help of a neighbour Gerta. When Horst is declared missing and presumed dead and the conflict in Berlin increases with bombs being dropped nightly on the city Katja knows she needs to get out. With Gerta by her side she makes her way to the Sudetenland escaping the blood, death, hatred and starvation. For several years they live in relative safety and peace and Katja gets a job as a helper in a convalescent home where she meets a pilot and undertakes some daring exploits. Here is where I felt the book needed to move on a bit. There wasn’t much happening and it felt as if there was a real lull. It’s only as I neared the end, I realised how important this time period was in the overall story.
By the time I reached the halfway point it was as if I was reading a completely different story and all the action and emotions along with plenty of surprises that I had desperately wanted much earlier on came to the fore. Jo discovers a diary and it’s not written by Katja which means she can’t keep lying anymore. At first I found the diary extracts rather out of context with Katja’s story but then they began to make sense as the layers were peeled back. The diary is raw, detailed and heartfelt and leads Jo on a voyage of discovery into her parents past revealing a story of trauma, horror, sadness, loss and misery but one also of remarkable strength and dignity. Alongside the diary entries Katja’s details her experiences of fleeing the small town of Meindorf in the Sudetenland as the Russians approach and from that point on my heart was in my mouth. My opinion of Katja completely changed. She showed her true character. Her strength and fortitude and her ability to be a leader and keep things going when the worst was occurring all around her.
The chapters detailing Katja’s walk to Berlin were brilliant. I could visualise everything so clearly in my head even though at times I didn’t want to because no detail was spared and there were things that occurred that were beyond heart-breaking and horrible. As Jo learns the true extent of her mother’s story I think it allowed for fundamental changes to occur in their relationship. Barriers were broken down and they were more relaxed in each others company. The revelations kept coming even as I reached the final chapter or two and that’s what a good book should do keep you rapidly turning the pages until the very last possible moment and leaving you surprised but yet at the same time satisfied with what you are reading. I do think though the subtle hints regards Jo and a certain someone weren’t really necessary to the end parts of the story and it didn’t feel realistic but rather a bit far fetched and forced. So I kind of glossed over this and focused on herself and Katja and the truth emerging into the open.
The Lost Diary is an excellent read despite the slow burner of a starter. Forgiveness and love are two emotions that rise to the surface and it’s the journey as to how the characters get there that is incredible and inspiring. I look forward to reading much more from Rose Alexander and I certainly won’t be leaving it as long in future to read one of her stories.
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