Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Two families divided by war.
An entire city on the edge of disaster.
1948, Berlin. World War II has ended and there is supposed to be peace; but Russian troops have closed all access to the city. Roads, railway lines and waterways are blocked and two million people are trapped, relying on airlifts of food, water and medicine to survive. The sharp eyes of the Russian state police watch everything; no one can be trusted.
Anna and Ingrid are both searching for answers - and revenge - in the messy aftermath of war. They understand that survival comes only by knowing what to trade: food; medicine; heirlooms; secrets. Both are living in the shadows of a city where the line between right and wrong has become dangerously blurred.
But they cannot give up in the search for a lost child ...
Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton via NetGalley for my copy of Child of the Ruins to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
It’s been a long wait for a new book from Kate Furnivall as The Guardian of Lies was published way back in 2019. I’m a huge fan of her writing ever since I read her stunning debut, The Russian Concubine, which was published in 2007 and I love the fact that she sets her books across many different countries and time periods. The question is was Child of the Ruins worth the wait? The answer being yes. Although, I will readily admit I found the first half of the book very slow going and I was anxious that I wasn’t going to enjoy it and be able to say how much I loved it as I have been able to do with all of Kate’s previous books.
This was a slow burner that I felt needed something to ignite and fan the flame to turn the story into one packed full of twists and turns, suspicion, tension and intrigue. Finally, I got that moment at I’d say around the 55% mark (I was reading this on my Kindle) and from that point on I found myself reading much more quickly and I didn’t feel as if things were being dragged out with little to nothing happening. It’s remarkable how a book can just transform within a few chapters and your opinion of it can completely change but I am glad to say that this was the case here and despite the dragged out start this turned into an excellent read with a superb ending that left me open mouthed and thinking well played Kate Furnivall. Well played.
Child of the Ruins is set in the aftermath of World War Two in Berlin, which is a city now divided between the east controlled by the Russians and the west controlled by the Allies. I’ve read so many historical fiction books set during the war years that I found it really refreshing to read something different. As I am not as familiar with the details of this time I felt like I was learning a lot of new information and there was a lot to absorb and take in. I did find myself confused with some of the characters and where they stood but over time I understand that this was the nature of the plot and the power game at play. Initially, I found it disconcerting that Berliners could go back and forth between checkpoints between the east and west as I have this picture of the Berlin Wall stopping that from happening but of course that happened much later on.
Life wasn’t easy at the time and of course going back and forth provided many challenges and there were strict rules and regulations which made life even more complicated. The Russians were imposing a blockade on the western side, hoping to starve the population which they hoped would leave the Allies with no choice but to forgo the city and therefore the Russians could swoop in and take full control of the capital. But they did not bet on the might and strength of the Americans who ran flights into their zone distributing tonnes of goods, food and fuel which went on through the day and into the night. It was fascinating to read of all the details especially of one American pilot who dropped sweets and chocolate from the sky which young children swamped the streets to try and get.
The story moves back and forth between two young women Anna and Ingrid. Anna lives on the east with her mother Luisa who never leaves their apartment. Ingrid is living in the west and married to Otto. Both women are struggling to exist on a day to day basis and it really is a case of survival of the fittest and the ones who have the strength, tenacity, resources and the power to outwit those trying to quash them well they are the ones who will survive. Anna and Luisa have never been the same since an attack in an alleyway by the Russians as they returned home from work. Luisa still mourns her husband who was lost during the war. She comes across as cold hearted and that Anna is the one who props her up and keeps some food coming into the house. Anna is haunted by her actions in the alleyway and also by one decision by her mother which led to her beloved three month old son Felix vanishing from her life when she was at her lowest and most vulnerable.
Anna has a fire in her belly that one day she will get her son back but three years have passed and there has been no sign of him even though she has searched extensively and used many methods to do so. The city lays in ruins with heat, electricity and food all in very short supply. Danger, destruction, threats and the evilness of the Russians lurk around every corner and soon Anna finds herself involved in a precarious situation which only grows tenser by the minute. But she will not rest until she finds her son. That’s if he is still out there existing amongst the hundreds of displaced children who roam the streets and bombed out buildings. Anna has a gaping space inside her that aches relentlessly day and night due to the absence of her son but there is also a longing for a certain Russian who did so much for herself and her mother when they were at their lowest ebb.
Timur is a Russian officer who holds a special place in her heart but she can’t forgive the fact he left and never made contact again. But now he is back in the city and despite all her instincts telling her to keep away from him, there is that magnetism that is drawing her to him and perhaps she needs him now more than ever as a series of unsettling and quite frankly terrifying events start to occur which means the noose is tightening around Anna. The strings are being pulled taut and she needs to find a way to break free but the strands of fear, suspicion, anger and danger only increase with every turn of the page and slowly bit by bit the story starts to come together. This is the point where I realised the author had planned out everything so very well and that every detail no matter how small or insignificant should be paid heed to.
Ingrid was a very divisive character for me and even by the end I wasn’t sure if I liked her or not. She swayed back and forth from side to side and some of her thoughts and actions I thought well this doesn’t seem like a woman out to do her part for the greater good. She came from a circus background which had been disbanded during the war and she was trying to keep a small bit of it going in the hopes that one day it would rise from the ashes. She was married to Otto and you could feel the intensity of their love and compassion for one another. But Otto was a ducker and diver and involved in many shady dealings as were so many people at the time. They had to as it was their only means of survival. Ingrid herself was clever, resourceful, quick witted and ready to take advantage of whatever and whoever crossed her path. For this I did admire her but still there were a few things that nagged away at me that made me think is she all that she seems? Nice, friendly and sweet on the outside but inside perhaps could be an entirely different matter. She did surprise me in more ways than one towards the end and that’s what made this a thrilling and exciting read.
The paths of Ana and Ingrid intertwine and do so in a touching way. The last quarter or so the pace of the plot intensified and I just wanted all the answers in one go as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. Anna comes to understand that she is a pawn in a very dangerous game and that absolutely no one can be trusted. As she enters the lions den you fear it is too late for her. Are all her efforts in vain or will she find what has eluded her for so long? Or are their higher powers at play who will do nothing to stop themselves achieving their goals even if it means death, terror and destruction? Will the answers and revenge both Anna and Ingrid seek be achieved? To find out, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of Child of the Ruins. It's an incredible story with that jaw dropping finale and revelation that leaves you reeling and thinking ahhh why didn’t I guess that but in fact it’s a sign that Kate Furnivall is a gifted writer who showed the trauma and divisions at the time for so many people. In fact it left me wanting more which is what a really good book should do. Please Kate don’t leave it so long to write your next book.
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