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By 1944, war has ravaged most of the world for five years. The Nazi war machine has plowed throughout Europe, its goal of conquest only beginning to be checked. In Hungary, Marika and her family have not been subject to invasion. However, the Hungarian government has been ramping up legislation and mandates targeting the Jewish citizenry. Soon news reaches Marika and her family that the German soldiers are arriving in Hungary. Repression against the Jewish people, from confiscation of property to extradition to concentration camps, begins en masse. Marika bears witness to the deteriorating situation among friends and family, but she is a part of the resistance movement fighting against the Nazis. Marika is willing to sacrifice her own life in order to aid her family’s flight from the deadly grasp of the Nazis and their willing collaborators.
Jay has written a moving work of historical fiction delving into familiar topics: World War II and the Holocaust. While these are not sunny subjects, they are perfect for the theme of survival, which is paramount and omnipresent throughout the book. The horrors committed by the Nazis and their various collaborators shock the conscience yet provide the key emotional backdrop for the characters’ journey. Marika is a strong heroine attempting to weave her way around the horrors of war while risking her own life, giving aid to orphans and shelter to refugees. The book will provoke intense feelings in the reader, from empathy for the oppressed people of Hungary to a visceral dislike of the Nazis and their willing enablers. The author has written an impactful work of deep resonance.
Jay's It Happended in Silence was an 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize Short List book.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review