The Things We Cannot Say: A WWII Historical Fiction Novel

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Simply put this is the kind of book that grabs hold of you, envelopes you within it pages and holds on long after you have finished reading. War breaks us down to nothing more than our most selfish will to survive— but when we rise above that instinct, miracles can still happen.

The Things We Cannot Say: A WWII Historical Fiction Novel The Things We Cannot Say: A WWII Historical Fiction Novel

What really stood out for me and what I really loved about this story was the compelling and emotional layered duel timelines and how they connected the story and the family. I didn’t yet understand the horrific depths of the evil of the Nazi agenda— but somehow in the moonlight that night, I felt the loss of humanity, a very pause in the heartbeat of our shared existence on this planet. I was immediately taken by Alina and Tomasz, two young people falling in love just as the Nazis began occupying Poland. She learns that the man she knew as her loving grandfather Tomasz was in fact Saul Weiss, a Jewish refugee.Alina's twin brothers, Filipe and Stanislaw help her father, Bartuk, and her mother, Faustina with farming. Eddie's means of communication becomes a way for Hannah to communicate her wishes with Alice and soon, Alice knows that Hannah has something very important for her to do.

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer | Waterstones

Alice is even worse, I wanted to shake her several times and tell her to get out of her own head for a moment, put down the glass of whatever alcohol she was imbibing and pull herself together. Against her better judgment, Alice agrees to help her grandmother, who is in the hospital after a stroke and now approaching death. This is a sweeping family saga that includes a poor farming community in Poland (very near to Auschwitz), a refugee camp in Soviet Russia, and the United States.Now usually I like the historical timeline a tad more however in this story I preferred the modern one. I am having a hard time coming up with the words to describe the beauty and the heartbreak of this story. Alice really wants to take this on for her grandmother but is worried about leaving her family behind to cope without her. The past takes you back to WWII and what the grandmother and her fellow countrymen endured during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Alina is a Polish farm girl who falls in love with a promising young medical student just as Germany invades Poland and begins what would become five years of brutal rule.

Review: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer Book Review: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

Alice, who is in a daily struggle to meet the needs of her son Eddie, seven years old, nonverbal, and on the autism spectrum. In Poland, separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942. Alice, a stay-at-home mom, struggles with the challenges of two such diverse children and feels that Wade uses work to avoid the children. What happens when there’s no one left to pass your experience on to, or you just can’t bring yourself to share it ?This is a story that brings into focus how quickly a society can be changed from one of peace and traditions when another government decides that it is their right to force their own beliefs. So, all in all, there were many things about the story that irritated me, some things I liked, but I still stayed up reading it way past my bed time, because I did want to see what happened in the end, even though I kind of predicted it.

The Things We Cannot Say [Book Review] - Reading Ladies The Things We Cannot Say [Book Review] - Reading Ladies

I read a lot of WWII novels and yet, this story introduced me to a completely different wartime perspective which I truly appreciate learning about. Alice marries Wade Michaels, an up-and-coming executive in nanotechnology who provides Alice a comfortable home. In the beginning, Kelly Rimmer paints a meltdown with such accuracy the scene brings tears to my eyes. Her strength and capacity to love and remain hopeful in such a dark time was as heartwarming as it was heartbreaking.One of the stories is in modern day America told by Alice and the other told by Alina (her beloved grandmother), taking place in America and her past inside occupied Poland during WW11. Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin-Graydon House Books for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.