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Title: Two Completely Different Books Squashed Together
Review: I'm still amazed that Beth Gutcheon's editor would allow this book to be released. There are two completely different stories here that do not work together, despite the fact that the main characters are touched by both. On the one hand, this is a novel of a twentieth century marriage, with its ups and downs. (And, as part of that story, there is the impact of a indifferent mother on her daughter's own ability to be a loving mother when it is her turn to raise a family.) And then there is the very moving story of Danish Jews during World War II. There is a recurring theme that Sidney, of the "first story" doesn't have any understanding for Nina's harrowing experiences during the war in the "second story." The author cannot even find a way to reveal Nina's experiences and so throws it in at the end of the book, perhaps to make the reader feel that the book had more of an impact that it actually had. Very disappointing.
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