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When We Were Ashes
When the grey bus came to take Rainor Schacht and his friends in the ward for disabled children to a remote hospital called Trutzburg, they had no idea what dark reality awaited them.
No one would tell them what to expect — not Nurse Hilde; not Peter Berger, the kind bus driver; not Dr. Lutz, who ran the Nazi hospital with ruthless efficiency.
Years later, with Berger’s coded diary in hand, Rainor sets out to find Emmi, a fellow survivor of Trutzburg, who looked past Rainor’s disfigurement and elicited the magic that gave purpose to Rainor and solace to Emmi and the other children.
Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, Andrew Boden’s When We Were Ashes takes us to the chilling depths of Aktion T4, one of the darkest chapters in the history of Nazi Germany. In this hauntingly poignant novel, Rainor is led on an illuminating journey to learn the truth about his past and the even more extraordinary truth about his present.
When We Were Ashes is a powerful novel flawlessly executed and emotionally resonant It is haunting and its words have stayed with me long after I closed the book Bodens triumph is to marry the unthinkable cruelty of a world gone mad with a firmly rooted sense of human dignity that uplifts the human spirit
– The British Columbia Review
A powerful and moving novel of endurance and humanity under terrible circumstances one that rewards a readers devotion
A haunting story that interweaves the heartbreaking past with the still hopeful present When We Were Ashes celebrates courage even in the face of unendurable grief Andrew Boden succeeds in shining a light into one of the leastremembered of Nazi atrocities
When We Were Ashes is an amazing read a pageturner plotwise imbued with language that dances on the page A sui generis and an unflinching take on the macro and micro evils of Nazi Germany Andrew Bodens debut novel throbs with humanity intelligence moral complexity and an understanding of the complications of extreme cruelty and extreme kindness The child narrator Rainor his brilliant friend Emmi and the conflicted bus driver Peter Berger have stayed resident in my mind
Andrew Bodens novel is smart and compassionate and gives new blood to the ghosts of the Second World War I loved the plot and pace the unfamiliar stories and unsung heroes who richly come to life Despite dark scenes and beneath a tone of measured reminiscence this is a story of overcoming and of finding daylight
– The British Columbia Review
A powerful and moving novel of endurance and humanity under terrible circumstances one that rewards a readers devotion
A haunting story that interweaves the heartbreaking past with the still hopeful present When We Were Ashes celebrates courage even in the face of unendurable grief Andrew Boden succeeds in shining a light into one of the leastremembered of Nazi atrocities
When We Were Ashes is an amazing read a pageturner plotwise imbued with language that dances on the page A sui generis and an unflinching take on the macro and micro evils of Nazi Germany Andrew Bodens debut novel throbs with humanity intelligence moral complexity and an understanding of the complications of extreme cruelty and extreme kindness The child narrator Rainor his brilliant friend Emmi and the conflicted bus driver Peter Berger have stayed resident in my mind
Andrew Bodens novel is smart and compassionate and gives new blood to the ghosts of the Second World War I loved the plot and pace the unfamiliar stories and unsung heroes who richly come to life Despite dark scenes and beneath a tone of measured reminiscence this is a story of overcoming and of finding daylight
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Details
Dimensions:
242 Pages
340gr0.625in5.5in * 8.5in
Published:
September 10, 2024
Publisher:
ISBN:
9781773103365
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Language:
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