Author: Alyson Richman

Nominated By: Judy Nielsen

fiction

Richman reveals that the idea for the book was the response to a comment that was overheard at a wedding rehearsal. The groom's grandfather met the bride's grandmother and recognized her immediately saying,"I know you from somewhere", after her repeated denials he asked her to lift her sleeve, revealing the number tattooed on her arm. He knew her! "You were my wife", said he. The first and last chapters of this historical novel are set in NYC 2000 but in-between we meet Lenka, an art student and Joseph, a medical student in Prague pre WW11. It's a beautiful but heart wrenching story but we witness how love between Joseph and Lenka, between families/friends and even among those kept at Terezin is never lost or forgotten even in the midst of tragedy and violence. Visual art, poetry and music play a significant role in both the personal and political realm during the telling of the story. Joseph and Lenka are fictional characters but the events/places that are the backdrop of their journey are true.

More: Publishers Weekly