“A WWII story of friendship, family and hope against all odds”
- Book: We Shall Not Shatter
- Location: Brzeziny, Poland
- Author: Elaine Stock
I really don’t want to churn out the same, often used epithets to describe this book, as it is worthy of so much more. Yes, of course it goes without saying, that this was a heart-breaking, tear-jerker, however my feelings about this storyline went so much deeper, the only word which kept coming to mind time and again as I was reading, was ‘moving’! The premise itself, the characters and even the touching, almost naive style of writing, which so suited the entire landscape of the story, all genuinely moved me beyond belief, as together they brought some of the terrible events of WWII to life in a real and tangible way, as perhaps never before.
So with hopefully no spoilers, here is what you can expect from this storyline……
Two families, both Polish, one Catholic, the other Jewish. Brought together and inextricably bound, by the enduring lifelong friendship of their respective daughters, Zofia and Aanya. Life has never been easy for the community of Brezizny, however things are set to become a whole lot more difficult, with the outbreak of WWII in 1939. Zofia is now married with a young son and Aanya, who has been deaf from birth, is at home caring for her mother, whilst working hard to complete her studies to become a doctor.
Whilst on a surveillance operation, Zofia’s husband Jabez, is reported as missing, although she believes that there is more going on in his life than she is privy to. Just how much, it will take Zofia another six years to discover, with the truth of his bravery and sacrifice for his motherland, not being revealed until the family is reunited in a land far away from home, where Jabez has the safe space and time to begin the long journey back to both physical fitness and emotional wellbeing.
As if for Aanya, being Jewish was not enough in these hate fuelled times, to also have a ‘disability’ and to be married to a traitor, marks her out for hate crimes, both from the German and Russian invaders and enemies, and also tragically, from within the community where she has hitherto been accepted for her entire life. An act of kindness she and her husband Artur, endow on someone who arguably does not deserve their help, at first seems to be completely unappreciated. However that good deed is not forgotten and is unexpectedly returned tenfold, at a time when the couple find themselves in their most desperate hour of need. Aanya is already keenly aware that in any conflict, not everyone who finds themselves on either one side of the divide or the other, is all good, or all bad. Many are good people, who are forced to do bad things.
With the two families separated and decimated by the vagaries of a war seemingly without end, captors who have no humility or humanity, the ravages of living standards taking a toll on health, and after all the things they have collectively witnessed and experienced, is there any hope for a future where Zofia and Aanya, courageous sisters in all but blood, can be reunited in peace?…
If I had one tiny niggle, it would be that given the importance of the whole storyline, I thought the last couple of scenes might have been a little rushed, with just a few pages more being all that was needed to bring things to a more complete conclusion. But perhaps that was just me not wanting the story to end at all, so immersed was I in the lives of the characters! It certainly wouldn’t stop me rating this with the full five stars, that’s for sure! Surely an important work of cultural and societal fiction, based on and wrapped around, the reality of some well established historical facts and personal experiences, written sympathetically from the heart, with touching poignancy and deference to the subject.
From having read author Elaine Stock’s personal profile, I see that some of the inspiration for the storyline, is taken from her own personal family experiences, which really shines through in the compassionate honesty and integrity of this totally immersive, multi-layered storyline. Fluent and well structured in short, easy to navigate chapters, the story is intense, highly textured and fast moving in a constantly changing theatre of action, and with a pervading claustrophobic atmosphere of mistrust and fear. When, in the second half of the story, the action is divided between two continents and cultures, the transitions back and forth, are seamlessly executed, making for a fluid reading experience. Some beautifully nuanced and descriptive narrative and dialogue, afford a wonderfully visual and evocative sense of time and place, lifting the sights, sounds and smells from the page, as I took my ‘armchair journey’ back in time.
Elaine affords that same attention to detail and and visual inclusion, to her eclectic cast of characters, no matter how small a part they play in the whole. They are well developed and defined, and whilst not all are easy to connect or empathise with, the overall dynamics and synergy between them, makes them completely investable, genuine and authentic in their individual roles, as they are given a generous and strong voice with which to tell their courageous story of resilience over adversity. They represent a complex jigsaw of vulnerable human emotions, which are laid bare when the fragility of the lines between life and death, defeat and survival, love and hate, trust and duplicity, the frailty of the human mind and indeed their very existence, are drawn. However a raw addictive passion and the will to survive, overcomes all the odds stacked against them, making them stronger, determined to be true to themselves, and more united as time goes on.
What always makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every new book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination, stir my emotions and stimulate my senses. This story was definitely one of a kind, having the power to evoke so many feelings, that I’m sure I won’t have felt the same way about it as the last reader, nor the next, so I can only recommend that you read We Shall Not Shatter for yourself and see where your journey leads you!
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