The Winter Guest
Pam Jenoff
Mira, Aug 26 2014, $14.99
ISBN 9780778315964
In 1940 in Biekowice, Poland the Nowak patriarch died in a cart
accident while the matriarch was hospitalized with severe injuries. Though acrimonious rivals with diverse
opinions about the German invasion; the oldest children, twins Helena and Ruth take
charge of their younger siblings (Michal, Dorie and Karolina) even as the Nazis
blitzkrieg Poland.
Though she knows she should ignore the wounded foreigner, Helena
rescues Jewish American soldier Sam Rosen.
Initially telling no one about him she hides the paratrooper as he heals. When Helena and Sam fall in love, jealous Ruth
reacts with bitterness; while opportunistic neighbors plot against the family.
The latest Pam Jenoff
WWII Poland thriller (see The Kommandant's Girl and The Diplomat’s Daughter) is
another excellent historical as readers obtain a vivid sense of life during the
Nazi occupation. The strong cast makes
for a powerful drama enabling us to see the deadly era through the eyes of the
five Nowak siblings (especially the diverse bias of the twins) and Sam. As the truth fails to set them free, The
Winter Guest is a fantastic 1940s war novel.
Harriet Klausner
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