The Porcelain Maker of Dachau by Sarah Freethy

 

So, this month I’m recommending: The Porcelain Maker of Dachau  Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing.   

Two stories intertwine: that of the romance between Jewish architect Max and ‘degenerate’ artist Bettina and that of her daughter Clara who after her mother’s death seeks to find out more about her father.

We know that Clara and Bettina survive so our question is not what happened but how did they manage that? Why did they come to England?  How did they get there? Who is Erza? How does this avant-garde artist reconcile herself to the Nazi era? How does Max, an architect, become a porcelain maker?

The text isn’t perfect. In the opening chapters I found some odd expression.  I’m not sure if it continued. If it did I stopped noticing. I was soon absorbed in the plot. There is also some odd formatting in some text in italics. I suspect this may be an Amazon rather than a publisher or author problem. 

Sarah Freethy is an author I shall certainly read again. She keeps us guessing about The Porcelain maker of Dachau.       

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy

 

The lives of two young women in Casablanca intertwine though they lived seventy years apart.

Zoe finds Josie’s diary when she tries to fix a loose floorboard in her daughter’s bedroom. She becomes fascinated by the young girl’s account of fleeing Paris in 1941 because her mother was Jewish. Zoe too has her problems and she and Tom are trying to make a life in Morocco as they flee their old life and its troubles. There are still refugees in Casablanca and Zoe finds that helping them takes her away from her own problems.

What has become of Josie and will Zoe and Tom succeed in establishing a fulfilling life?

Fiona Valpy keeps us guessing in this delightful story worthy of The Storyteller of Casablanca.     

 

See on Amazon.  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay may go to Bridge House publishing. 

 

Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Emma Carroll is a graduate from the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. I personally champion the MA in Writing for Children at Winchester. But then I would do. That's where I got my MA. I have to admit though in Carroll's case they're on to a winner.

She has a diverse portfolio of novels and I'll now try to read some more of them. 

Letters from the Lighthouse is set in World War II. It touches also on the Holocaust. One of the main characters, Esther Jenkins, has come to England on the Kindertransport.

A little unusually for this age group – I would describe this as a fluent reader book, though it may cross over from late Key Stage 2 to early Key Stage 3 – it uses a first person narrative. However this gives Olive an authentic voice and shows us what it was like for a child in that era. 

There is also a very good story, woven together via a carefully crafted plot. Not only is this story exciting and our attention is held but it explores the themes of prejudice and friendship in a sensitive way.  

A lovely read. 

No wonder it was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.            

      

Girl with a White Dog

I bought this book because tomorrow I am delivering a lecture on fiction written for children about the Holocaust. Its author, AnneBooth, and I have corresponded quite a bit about this theme on Twitter and via email as we have both been writing about that era. I was fortunate enough to enjoy a sabbatical awarded by the University of Salford three years ago and spent quite some time researching the background to my own novel, The House on Schellberg Street that also comes out shortly. Last week I spoke about that and the novel I’m working on now, Clara’s Story, a sort of prequel-sequel.