The Daughter's Tale

The Daughter's Tale was a captivating read in many ways. The story held my interest, and the prose was lyrical and engaging. There is a strong message of hope that really shone through, despite the bleak events taking place, not least since it is partially based on true events. However, I felt the ending let the book down a little. The story was nicely paced at the start, but towards the latter half, things became muddied--a sudden rush of new characters not helping in that regard--and overall the conclusion fell flat. I had expected more from the denouement, yet it seemed rushed after the earlier slow build-up. I think this is a book that will divide readers. Some will love it and become deeply emotionally involved with the characters, but for others it may not quite come together. Nonetheless, if you are a firm historical fiction fan, it is worth checking out. 3.5 stars.

Berlin 1939 was the beginning of a terrible time for Amanda Sternberg and her two young daughters, Lina and Viera. After her heart specialist husband had been taken away to a camp and had subsequently died, Amanda knew she had to flee the city with her daughters if they were to be safe. The original plan was for both girls to board a ship and be taken to their uncle. But Amanda decided to keep Lina with her, entrusting a stranger with her elder daughter, Viera’s care. After staying with a good friend, Claire for only a short time, Amanda and Lina were captured by the Germans and removed to a camp.

The horrors inflicted by the Germans in France was something Amanda knew would remain in their memories forever. But worse – much worse – was to come. Lina was confused, scared and lonely. Her childhood was gone, her memories of her Papa, and sister Viera muddled. What would be her future?

In New York in 2015, eighty-year-old Elise Duval was given messages from her mother – from a long ago past. Seventy years prior, when atrocities were tearing the country apart, her mother wrote letters on torn out pages of a book. Elise suddenly, and painfully, had more recollections than she realised were locked inside her head…

The Daughter’s Tale by Armando Lucas Correa is a heartbreaking tale based on the true story of the Nazi annihilation of a French village in 1944. It beggars belief to know what one human being can do to another, yet it happened back then; it still happens now. The Daughter’s Tale is one of survival, hope, caring and friendship; it’s one I enjoyed and recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Book blurb...
Based on the true story of the Nazi massacre of a French village in 1944, an unforgettable tale of love and redemption from the bestselling author of The German Girl.
New York City, 2015: Elise Duval, eighty years old, receives a phone call from a woman recently arrived from Cuba bearing messages from a time and country that she's long forgotten. A French Catholic who arrived in new York after World War II, Elise and her world are forever changed when the woman arrives with letters written to Elise from her mother in German during the war, unravelling more than seven decades of secrets.
Berlin, 1939: Bookstore owner and recent widow Amanda Sternberg is fleeing Nazi Germany with her two young daughters, heading towards unoccupied France. She arrives in Haute-Vienne with only one of her girls. Their freedom is short-lived and soon they are taken to a labour camp.
My thoughts…
I am loving the war-time novel trend of late and this is why.
Inspired by one of the most shocking atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II, the 1944 massacre of all the inhabitants of the village of Oradour-Sur-Glane in the south of France, this novel is a beautifully crafted family saga of love, survival and hope against all odds.
Not many novels bring me to tears. Of course the subject matter is a highly emotive one but it takes a special storyteller to tell the tale of such devastation.
It seems so wrong to say I loved this book, but I did. I loved, I learned, I cried.
Thank you to the author for telling this story (and to all who lost their lives and their families for our freedom today).