Park Row Archives

I’ve made no secret about how much I love learning new things from historical fiction novels. This one certainly fits the bill.

The blurb gives part of the background, so it’s no secret to say that Jewish families hiding the sewers of Krakow, Poland during WWII is a truly unique setting.

It actually felt like “it should have been obvious” – the sewers of Paris were hiding places for several different revolts and revolutions, so people escaping an oppressive regime would naturally head there.

I found the character mix to be interesting as well. Sadie and her family were very different from the other Jewish family who hid with them and they had a lot to learn from each other.

Ella’s life on “the outside” should have been lovely (by comparison) but she had her own troubles dealing with her evil stepmother…who also happened to entertain Nazis.

I suppose each of the girls had their own troubles – although Sadie’s could have meant the end of her life.

The story skims along, switching periodically between Ella and Sadie. There isn’t much to say about it really, except that the author does a good job of illustrating their similarities and differences, which explain why the two girls strike up an unusual friendship.

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Honestly, there’s depth in terms of the weight of the responsibility of the families, and the sheer terror that led them to a horrible place. But there’s not a lot of thinking to do to reach the conclusion that when faced with the unimaginable, people will do what they can to survive.

I will say that an expected twist was not surprising to me – I guessed it early on. I also thought that the wrap up of characters seemed rushed. There were people who played pivotal rules, but once their parts were finished, they weren’t mentioned again until a quick recap at the end.

I would have liked a little bit more depth to that, only because they had been so important earlier.

But no matter – it was an informative and engaging read and I would recommend it.

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About the Author:

Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestseller The Orphan’s Tale. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her JD from UPenn. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and 3 children near Philadelphia, where she teaches law.

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This book was all kinds of twisty, with time jumps, different points of view, and layers upon layers of occurrences.

In spite of all of that, it was incredibly easy to follow. I will say that it helped to read the chapter headings (I usually skip them for the most part) because it helped keep everything straight both for who was speaking and when.

In fact, it’s a little difficult to write this review, because there were some seemingly disparate parts to the story – at times it felt like there were two different plot lines going on at the same time.

It’s not a spoiler to state that it all becomes clearer the further into the book that you go. So, stick with it.

I actually found Leo to be the most interesting character. I liked how his story was presented, and I thought that in some ways, he was the most astute out of all of them.

I especially appreciated his view of memories, and how they can be skewed by other people’s recollections or become supplanted by other’s versions of them. We’ve had that conversation in my family quite often.

For example, every time we get together with family, different members add their own perspectives to the memories that we talk about. Those then become the full memories, even though they’re not entirely from one person.

There were a few times that I thought the red herrings were a bit heavy handed and a few more that didn’t seem to fit. Or rather, they seemed to be completely separate from the main issues.

Things like Marty’s part in the whole thing and Leo’s childhood were interesting, but seemed thrown in to muddy the plot, not for any real points.

I also am unsure if the perpetrator was fully built to be plausible. I will say that it totally took me surprise, so maybe that is a good thing. It certainly made a few other choices of the author to become clearer.

If I’m talking in riddles, it’s because I don’t want to give the plot away. Missing persons are tricky, and when they show back up in one way or another, they can cause great turmoil.

How’s that for cryptic?

All in all, I would recommend this book. As I said, be sure to read the chapter headings so you can keep it all clear.

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About the Author:Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of six novels, including THE GOOD GIRL, PRETTY BABY, DON’T YOU CRY, EVERY LAST LIE, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT, and THE OTHER MRS. A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children. Her last novel THE OTHER MRS. was an instant New York Times bestseller; is coming soon to Netflix; was a LibraryReads pick for February 2020; praised by the New York Times; and highly recommended by Entertainment Weekly, People, The Week,Marie Claire, Bustle, HelloGiggles, Goodreads, PopSugar, BookRiot, HuffingtonPost, First for Women, Woman’s World, and more. Mary’s novels have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times). LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is her seventh novel.