I've read hundreds of World War II books. This one was mostly a miss for me. The narrative was a bit all over the place and failed to draw me in as much as I'd hoped it would. This struck me as a shame, largely because the Hunger Winter is a period that is underwritten in World War II literature in general. But I don't think this is the book that will change all that; I am unclear if it was a translation, but that might explain things a bit. I really wanted this to be great and I think many WWII readers would enjoy it; I'm just not sure I got there.

This book was a miss for me.
I struggled to connect or relate to any of the characters.
I liked the setting and WWII time frame but the chapters didn’t flow well and it made the reading disjointed.

Our Narrow Hiding Places is a book about an 80-year-old woman named Mieke & her beloved grandson Will. The story interweaves Holland during World War II & modern times in New Jersey. It is a wonderful, heartbreaking but resilient.
Mieke is taking a walk near her house when she falls, is worried no one will find her & without her cell phone she can't call anyone either. Mieke's life is happy with good friends & getting to take yoga classes. Her grandson comes on a surprise visit with his wife Teru however they are obviously having some martial issues.
Will becomes very interested in his past especially because he did not grow up with his father who disappeared when he was young. His family never talks about him. Will wants to know why.
Mieke starts to share her history with her grandson and talks about her childhood in occupied Holland during WWII. Author Kristopher Jansma combines Mieke's memories & Will's search to uncover information about his dad beautifully.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & EccoBooks for letting me read this in advance!

The Hunger Winter

I don’t quite know how to describe this book. It was very hard for me to follow. It is part fairy tale told by eels and part WWII with some mental illness thrown in.

There is the story of Will and Teru the grandson of an elderly lady named Mieke, then the story of Mieke which is told to her grandson as if she was a young girl and then part told by the eels.

The story of the survival winter in the last days of the war in Holland was a good story, but it went back and for the between that story and the Will and Teru story and the book about the eels where it seemed the eels were talking.

It was written in a way that made it difficult to read. I would have enjoyed Mieke’s story on its own being told to her grandson but the other storyline was not interesting and it made Mieke’s story difficult to read.

I gave three stars because the story was a good story, but I only gave it three because it was difficult to read in the format it was written.

I received a copy of this book for free to read. The review is my own and written in my own words.

Historical fiction story about WWII and the Nazi occupation in Holland. The piece is told in two time frames, one during the war and the other in the present…both from the viewpoint of a widower, Mieke.
There are additional chapters interspersed throughout about eels. Yes, eels. I felt there was no point in those chapters at all, distracting and confusing.

First time frame... Mieke is a teen who survives the Hunger Winter during WWII. Men 17 and up are conscripted to work so Mieke’s father and male neighbors hide in their attic (hence the title). The children forage for any extra food for the family to survive.

The current time frame involves Mieke as an older widower and her grandson. Family secrets are revealed as both come to terms with the past and future.

I’m a sucker for a WWII book, especially from a unique perspective. I had never heard of the Hunger Winter or much about the Nazi soldiers in the Netherlands so I thought this would be interesting. I just wasn’t impressed with this book at all. I felt like the men hiding in the attic was a steal from Anne Frank. Generally information we have all heard before.

The current time line was much more interesting and had some twists and turns and secrets. I would have loved more!

Now for the eccentric eel stories authored by one of the minor characters. I guess they maybe stood for surviving the test of time? I don’t know but in my opinion they should never been put in the book.

This is a moving story about memory, loss, and relationships. The book jumps between different characters and times, slowly revealing how they're all connected. Jansma’s writing is beautiful and really makes you feel what the characters are going through. This novel is perfect for readers who enjoy emotional stories that make you think. It's a powerful read about how people deal with pain and find themselves along the way.

An interesting story of what life was like in rural Netherlands during WWII. It follows a young girl and boy and how they survived under Nazi occupation. How they survived the Hunger Winter and how that affected the rest of their lives and possibly those of their offspring.

“Our Narrow Hiding Places” by Kristopher Jansma accounts the survival of Mieke Geborn in Holland during WW2 and the secrets their bodies held afterwards.

This is a harrowing look at the Hunger Winter, or the Dutch famine from 1944-1945 during the German Occupation. Told in dual timelines, it also touches on epigenetics, or how environment factors affect DNA or the expression of genes. Both of these were new to me and I found the themes both fascinating and heartbreaking. I do feel like the past timeline was more success than future timeline, but both were good. In addition, there was a very small third point of view that I struggled to understand the connection, diving down multiple Google rabbit holes to try to figure it out. Despite this, because it was a very small presence, it did not detract much. I do really wished there was an authors note and would love to learn more about the authors perspective. I recommend this book for all historical fiction lovers that are looking for a different perspective.

Our Narrow Hiding Places - Kristopher Jansma
Genre - Historical Fiction

Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristopher Jansma is a gorgeous book. Rooted in his own family history, Jansma tells the story of Mieke and Rod - two children trying to survive the Hunger Winter with their families in Holland at the end of World War II. Mieke is reliving and recounting the story for her grown grandson as they each deal with their own reckonings. She is still looking for the story of her lost father in law who disappears during that time. He is battling issues personally and professionally that could be traced back to his grandparents’ suffering that winter. I am reminded again about the horror of war and evil in this book. I am also reminded about the beauty of love and hope. Jansma creates these side by side in this upcoming publication.
The novel is punctuated by vignettes narrated by eels and signed with mysterious initials. These vignettes are beautiful and poetic and speak to the power of language. I can’t share quotes as evidence, but please believe me. They further speak to mystery, quiet strength and survival. No spoilers, but the role these interludes fulfill is profound - felt reminiscent of an ancient Greek drama’s chorus. These eels have a more physical and practical role in Mieke’s childhood and survival during this time - I love the connection. Through Mieke and her grandson primarily, Jansma explores the impact of war on victims and on the generations that follow them. I feel helplessness in the face of this motif. And again, Jansma notes that these descendents are often, then, caught up in wars of their own. I appreciate the sensitive and respectful exploration of mental health. Mieke has to deal with the mental illness of her son and perhaps that of her grandson Will. Through Will we learn of his wife Teru’s ancestral connections to the bombing in Japan and her own struggles. In the midst of all of the horror, Jansma explores the fine line between good and evil, hope and despair. Mieke often sees only the darkness in her hungry and freezing world - she becomes tempted to join the evil forces just to survive, but she chooses to remain loving and good and fair, and is able to appreciate that in the others she sees trying to do the same. These moments of hope are so striking in the winter landscape. I also noted how often Jansma contrasted winter and storms and flooding with color and sparkle and fairy tales and joy. Even when connected with death, imprisonment, and mental illness these moments are beautifully written - again, the power of language.
Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristoper Jansma appeals to me on so many levels. The writing is beautiful. The motifs are powerful. The connection between past and present is complex and fascinating. We must think more about war, family, mental illness and determine where and how we can influence culture and do better for our people. I am grateful for Jansma allowing for hope and the power of love to transform people and families. I am further grateful for how he illustrates that healing can be in friendship or the hope of a new baby or other daily joys. If you are still reading, please know that I could go on and on…even more than I have. I have just begun to touch on what Kristopher Jansma accomplishes. Please read Our Narrow Hiding Places.

'Our Narrow Hiding Places' by Kristopher Jansma is historical fiction at its best - about WWII and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The novel takes place in two timelines, one during the war, concentrating on the Hunger Winter in Holland, and in the present time through the eyes of 80 year old widowed Mieke who survived the occupation. There is a Greek chorus of eels interspersed between each chapter. I believe they represent the intractable passage of time from the eyes of a species that has seen it all. Not quite cynical but definitely not optimistic, the eels serve as a touchstone for the passage of time and the irrevocable impact of history.

Eighty year old Mieke is taking a walk near her home on the Jersey shore when she falls outside. She can't get up and is worried about anyone finding her. She has a rich life being with friends and taking Yoga classes. She did not take her cell phone with her so she is in the hands of 'the kindness of strangers'.

Mieke has a surprise visit by her grandson Will and his wife Teru. They are obviously having some marital issues and Teru is planning to go to Japan to study for a while. Will is very interested in his past, especially Mieke's son, his father, who disappeared when Will was a young boy. No one in the family ever talks about him and Will is determined to find out what happened.

The book is well-written with nicely developed characters. As I was not familiar with the Dutch occupation or the Hunger Winter, I learned a lot as I enjoyed this wonderful book.

Mieke shares events of her childhood in Nazi occupied Holland and the terror and starvation she lived with. The Hunger Winter was the worst year of the occupation and she thought she'd die of starvation. She is reticent to talk to Will about her son, Will's father, but gradually the secrets come out.

As a Clinical Social Worker, I was extremely pleased with the way that Jansma describes and deals with mental illness and intergenerational trauma. He is right on the mark and, combined with Mieke's memories, Will's searching, and his own memories from childhood, a portrait of his father is clearly presented.

I want to thank NetGalley and Ecco for an advanced review copy of this book.

This was my first WWII from the Dutch perspective. I had never heard of the Hunger Winter and it was eye opening to read about. Our Narrow Hiding Places follows Mieke Geborn, as an 80 year old lady living in New Jersey and when she was struggling staying alive during the war.
She tells her story when her grandson, Will, surprises her by showing up after she takes a fall, she starts to tell her story that is filled with heartache & the trauma that was experienced after the occupation.
It written in third person and in my own opinion I would have loved it from first person using Mieke's perspective) In the acknowledgements he thanks everyone, including his oma, Mieke. That made it so special!

I cannot wait to recommend the audiobook to coworkers when it comes out

Thank you to Ecco and the author for the eARC

I normally try to avoid books about World War II. The market is oversaturated with them, and many are mediocre. However, I am so glad I gave "Our Narrow Hiding Places" a chance! Kristopher Jansma's lyrical prose paints a vivid picture of what life in the Netherlands was like under Nazi occupation, as well as the generational trauma felt by Dutch families years after the conclusion of the war. He skillfully weaves together past and present, with some creative input from eels (of all things) as well! This is historical fiction at its best; it is a fresh and different perspective on the World War II story with characters so vibrantly alive that they leap off the pages and into the hearts and minds of the reader. This book is rich and complex, but also achingly intimate. Many thanks to NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book and for introducing me to a new must-read author! Five shiny stars!

Kristopher Jansma is a careful writer, demonstrating his facility with language and his dexterity which probably makes his students enjoy his classes. He also has a talent for incorporating elements of his own life, and in this case, experiences of his grandmother's when she was coming of age during the hunger year in Holland during the second world war. Personal remembrances are important while still available via oral history to shout down holocaust deniers, and this presents a fresh angle on that subject just when you thought there couldn't be any more. Told in two time lines, Our Narrow Hiding Places weaves immersive reading with a Greek chorus of eels, of all things, giving this an original style.

Beautiful and emotional family story. Historical fiction about the Hunger Winter in coastal Holland during WWII. This book is written from three POVs and two timelines. The eels narrate from an ancient, almost mythical perspective. Mieke is a child during the Hunger Winter. The Hunger Winter and Nazi occupation are described from her young life. Will is Mieke's grandson. He is learning about the Hunger Winter from his grandmother as he faces his own struggles.

I have read a lot of WWII historical fiction. It is always heartbreaking and filled with perservance. This book does an amazing job of describing the Hunger Winter from a child's understanding. There is a touch of myth from Dutch stories, which I love. I also like how the book explored the impact of war on later generations. If I have any issue, it is the book rushed through the years immediately after WWII. I highly recommend this book if you like WWII historical fiction.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Ecco for the ARC.

This book centers around the Dutch civilian experience of the end of World War II. The story is told in reminiscences from an elderly grandmother who is now living in the States. She reflects on the various ways the war strained her family from hiding people in her home to the desperate hunger they all experienced throughout the war that was reaching a critical point just as liberation happened. The book explores how living through such trauma impacts the entire lives of those who live it but also those in future generations. A significant thing to consider given the state of the world today.

This book also has a compelling but confusing part to it where our elderly grandmother has gotten a hold of a book written by a Dutch man during the war. This Dutch man was a fisherman specifically of eels. The eels narrate the book he wrote. Little snippets from the book are scattered throughout the larger text. They were, like I said, compelling and confusing. This book within the book was what initially convinced me to sit down and read this book on vacation but I didn't finish so it turned into my nightly Kindle read and the many perspective shifts made it a struggle for me to really follow the story and, resultantly, connect to the characters. If you generally like WWII historical fiction then I would say you would probably like this book as it focuses on the Dutch experience which I've read little about in the past.

The description and writing of life during WW11 in Holland were heartfelt and well done. The recounting of the hardships, abject hunger, misery, perseverance and determination of families to stay together and survive, were palpable. The explanation how past trauma can actually affect future generations, was interesting and tied in with the character Will. I did not enjoy reading about eels “talking.” Maybe I missed something that the author was trying to convey? Thank you NetGalley and Ecco publishing for standing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Our Narrow Hiding Places is a unique POV story of Dutch trauma during WWII interlaced with a current, generational view plus stories by eels! Not quite sure I ever fully understood the entire connection and the meaning to the story but the short chapter diversions were interesting while the remainder of the historical fiction chapters were educational.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Mieke is an 80 year old woman living on the Jersey shore. When she suffers a fall, her grandson comes to visit. While he is dealing with some of his own demons, Mieke shares the family history in World War II torn Holland. Focusing primarily on the time known as the “Hunger Winter” when, as a child, there was no heat, no food and thousands died of starvation, she recounts those devastating years and the effects on family, friends, and acquaintances.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, the story has two timelines; the 1940s in the Netherlands and more modern times in New Jersey. There are additional chapters from a Dutch book that had been recently discovered by her neighbor, a professor specializing in Holocaust literature. The provides additional history that is narrated by eels. Yes, eels! But, it works!

Intergenerational trauma is a recurrent theme as it is revealed what people went through and had to do to withstand the atrocities of war. This is a tale of horror, defiance, survival, resilience, and also one of never forgetting.

When I first started this book, I immediately thought of "Remarkably Bright Creatures" in the sense that it included chapters narrated by eels (not an octopus, I know) that tied in with the main characters. While there may have been some parts I could say also seemed similar, "Our Narrow Hiding Places" is based on historical fiction, which is something I have been delving into more and more. I have read many books about World War II, but mainly about those who were being persecuted. This book was my first glimpse of what life was like for those simply trying to survive in a German occupied area.

Admittedly, I wasn't sure how Will, Mieke's grandson, tied into the overall story, but as the book progressed I found myself appreciating what he offered to the story line, in addition to identifying how past traumas can impact future generations. While the book seemed to wrap up quicker than felt natural, I appreciated that much of the focus was on Mieke's story and encouraged the reader to have a greater understanding of her past. The book did take a little bit for me to get in to, but I enjoyed reading it. It prompted some additional research on my end, which is definitely a compliment!

I received an advanced copy of the book on NetGalley.

Jansma presents an epic with the overarching theme of the present's being unrelentingly tied to past experience. Initially, we are given the story set in the coastal United States of 80 year old Mieke Geborn, whose Dutch family has survived the Nazi Occupation, along with the "Hunger Winter" of famine and starvation. We are taken back to this time period and given the narrative through Mieke as a young girl, who, with another young boy, forage and steal any bits of food that they can for their families who struggle to stay alive. What they experience shapes their future, and, in that future, they marry and make a life in the United States.
A third story of Mieke's grandson, aptly named Will, and his Asian wife finally develops this theme. Both Will and his wife struggle with their marriage, and Will learns that they have both been affected by the madness of a war that occurred before their existence.

Weaving through the novel are chapters unusually narrated by eels. These multilayered creatures seem timeless and viciously indestructible, while, at the same time, providing sustenance for human life. Again, these creatures develop themes of the nature of war, the human will, and humanity's basic needs.
In the end, Jansma has developed enigmatic characters placed within multi-layered landscapes. This is a novel that makes the reader think, and is not one to miss reading!.