The tragedy of Corfu

This is the story of the modern day tragedy of James and Amber and also the tragedy of the Jewish of Corfu during WWII. The story of Matilda, and Anna two Jewish children smuggled out to live with an older couple Georgiou and Agnes.

It is the individual story's of the two time periods and how the intertwined with each other on the Greek island of Corfu in the Mediterranean sea.

I had never heard of Corfu before reading this book. It sounds like a lovely place with a horrible history.

As the two young people James and Amber move from England to Corfu to build a new life, they could not know the heartbreak ahead of them. The built their dream restaurant , met new people and made friends. They didn't know that in a short time it would all go up in smoke. The breakdown of their marriage, the birth of their child in the basement of a burning restaurant, and the loss of their enterprise and their home.

Amber was later to find out from her friends Inge and Marion about the horrible story of the Jewish people living in Corfu during WWII. How they locked them all in the fort in town, took them on long open barges to the mainland of Greece, then transported them by cattle car to Auschwitz. Most of them died on the trip and it is said the rest were sent to the gas chambers.

Amber later meets the two girls that survived with the older couple in the mountains above Corfu. She finds out that the old house where the remodeled and built their restaurant in the mountains was the same house where the girls hid from the German soldiers and were saved during the war.

Two tragic stories, both equally well told. I couldn't put the book down. The book will keep you reading until the end. It is exciting and tragic at the same time. It will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens next.

This is one book you will not want to miss. I recommend it.
Thanks to Suzanne Goldring, Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I found the juxtaposition between the two story lines very interesting and captivating.

In the main storyline, James and Amber move to Corfu to start over, slow down, and enjoy life. James is an aspiring chef and counts on Amber to run other aspects of their blossoming business. While setting up the business, James meets two men who help him financially and with the politics of the area. James hides much of this from his wife, which leads to many troubling situations.

In the secondary storyline, in 1944, Isaac and his wife decide to send their two youngest daughters. Anna and Matilde, off to live in the country with a friend and his wife where the young girls would be safe from the lists that would eventually take their parents and older sister, Rebekah, on harrowing journeys across the country and eventually to Auschwitz.

Both storylines cross in a beautiful and unexpected way, drawing Amber, Anna, and Matilde closer and giving them an even deeper appreciation for their lives.

Overall, 4 stars, very enjoyable to read!

In the fall of 1943, the Nazis invaded the island of Corfu, and as part of their “final solution”, plan to deport all Jewish citizens. Issac knows that while the Germans have a list of all Jewish residents, his two youngest daughters, Matilde and Anna are not on the list. He, his wife and oldest daughter Rebekka will be deported, but Issac hatches a brave plan to save his youngest girls. The family’s doctor smuggles the girls to a remote area of the island, where he and his wife will care for them until the girls real parents can bring them home. But happy endings are rare in this dark time. Years later, Amber is visiting Corfu from England when she meets a shop owner who tells her that during the war, two little girls were hidden in her shop. Intrigued, Amber sets out to find out what happened to the girls, but her questions are not welcome by all on the island, many of whom would rather forget that part of their ugly past. Told in two different time periods, this is a story that will leave you in tears, as humanity is exposed at its very worst, but also its very best