A mysterious lacquered cabinet is opened whilst cleaning out the attic during the pandemic. This has been inherited from two women who are the titled Mrs Samson. So begins the story spanning from early 1900’s Sam Francisco to the Second World War.

Whilst the book was interesting with the historical events mentioned, it felt like the characters were just created in order to be linked to the events. They were all very one dimensional and difficult to understand their motivations. Heidi was seemingly just there so the author could write about events in San Francisco and world war 2 in the same novel. Although Katie and Josef were supposed to be great loves, you don’t get a sense of their feelings at all.

The twist at the end was completely pointless and completely under-explained. How would she then have inherited the money?

Hilda is one of the most unlikable characters I have ever read about. Spoiled, no knowledge about what is going on in the world... She’s lucky she married a rich man.
Germany is at war and she never thinks to ask her husband if he is going to serve??? Is she really that dumb? That would be the first question I’d ask my husband: Do I have to prepare to fend for myself for a while?
And of course she wants to leave and run back to HER OWN family.

I don’t know if it was the author’s intention to portray the Jews in that prejudiced way as rich and stingy.

Katie says she and Josef „didn’t have much“ - so a luxuriously furnished apartment isn’t much? Is the author serious?

I don’t see much point in this book to be honest... What’s Hildas role other than to be a spoiled rich girl being rich in America and then in Germany and be the foundation for Katie’s possessions? Also who in their right mind would wear the deceased wife‘s clothes? This blows my mind.

Also the secret is just sprung at the reader in a few sentences and we are just to accept it? No. Not happening.

The historical parts were okay. It was a ghastly time and we can only hope it doesn’t happen again.

All in all I am a bit disappointed in this book. I imagined something different and didn’t really like the characters much.

This book drew me in, from the very first sentence. Themes of Love, Friendship, and Life Experience resonate throughout. The narrator looks back over his close relationships with his grandparents and Mrs Samson, also known as Katie. Katie lost her husband years ago, and he is dearly missed.

In her will Katie leaves the narrator letters between Dr and Mrs Samson about their lives, and reading them he learns that there was an other Mrs Samson, a wife before Katie. We read those letters, learning the lives of Dr Samson and the Other Mrs Samson, and later how he met Katie.

It is a real insight into history, their lives in Berlin, New York, Paris, Naples, San Francisco. It is as if you have stepped into the past and are walking around in the characters shoes. It shows you the relationship of Jews living in their communities, and how they view themselves, and how the community around them views them too. Thought provoking. Also filled with real nostalgia, for elderly relatives and friends, other times and places, and loved shared between individuals of different ages, generations, communities, countries and eras.

A book to remind you of the importance of love and connections with friends and family around us, and the attachments we can form, irrespective of age or background. Also the importance of knowing where we come from, our family history, but also learning to enjoy the minutiae of life wherever we find ourselves.

Wonderfully written narrative and a story that deserves to be shared. A story of enduring love and the bond of friendship beautifully brought to life by the very talented Ralph Webster. Highly recommended.