“It costs our ancestors too damned much for us to have this life – the best thing we can do to honor them is to live it to its fullest.”
In present day, Alice’s grandmother is facing the end of her life. While it was known that she and her husband escaped from Poland during WW2, they never talked about the details. When Alice visits her in the hospital, her grandmother insists Alice go to Poland to find out some details about her life. However, the grandmother is only able to communicate through an iPad, unable to talk from a stroke. Reluctant to leave her husband, gifted 10-year-old daughter and autistic son, she feels she has to fulfill her grandmother’s wish before she dies in The Things We Cannot Say.
A friend recommended The Things We Cannot Say and Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer to me a few weeks ago. I put both on my holds list and The Things We Cannot Say came available first. It’s a very good historical fiction novel. People do what they need to survive.
The grandmother’s story is told as it happened back in Poland before and during the war. Alina is a teenager and in love with Tomasz, who is studying in Warsaw. When the Nazis come to her town, her world is flipped upside down. Tomasz’s father is executed and his sister goes to live with Alina’s married sister. Alina’s brother are taken to go work for the Germans and don’t survive. Alina and her parents farm, giving most of their produce to the Germans, but when Tomasz shows up with some Jews who need help, they have to decide if they’ll risk it all.
As the story unfolds, Alice has to solve the mystery of why a grave of Tomasz says he died the year her grandparents came to America. Solving the mystery is the only thing that will give Alina peace in the end, but can Alice solve it in just four days?
The Things We Cannot Say not only tells the story of Alina’s experiences during WW2, but also addresses the messiness of some current-day families. Alice and her husband don’t see eye to eye on what to do with their son and it all comes to a head when Alice leaves them to visit Europe. I enjoyed the several different storylines all weaved together while learning about history.
Do you have a favorite historical fiction book? Share it in the comments!