Memories of Glass
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4.6 • 14 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Reminiscent of Diane Ackerman’s The Zookeeper’s Wife, this stunning novel draws from true accounts to shine a light on a period of Holland’s darkest history and bravest heroes.
1942. As war rips through the heart of Holland, childhood friends Josie van Rees and Eliese Linden partner with a few daring citizens to rescue Eliese’s son and hundreds of other Jewish children who await deportation in a converted theater in Amsterdam. But amid their resistance work, Josie and Eliese’s dangerous secrets could derail their friendship and their entire mission. When the enemy finds these women, only one will escape.
Seventy-five years later, Ava Drake begins to suspect that her great-grandfather William Kingston was not the World War II hero he claimed to be. Her work as director of the prestigious Kingston Family Foundation leads her to Landon West’s Ugandan coffee plantation, and Ava and Landon soon discover a connection between their families. As Landon’s great-grandmother shares the broken pieces of her story, Ava must confront the greatest loss in her own life—and powerful members of the Kingston family who will do anything to keep the truth buried.
Illuminating the story and strength of these women, award-winning author Melanie Dobson transports readers through time and place, from World War II Holland to contemporary Uganda, in this rich and inspiring novel.
Customer Reviews
SOUL-STIRRING!
Using historical facts, author Melanie Dobson’s latest novel MEMORIES OF GLASS is SOUL-STIRRING! Dobson uses the time-slip method, traveling from WWII Holland to present day Uganda. The plot is built around the lives of two intertwined families who have amassed a fortune. However, how the fortune was gained is a closely guarded secret that is known to only a select few. This is a story built built on love and choices. In the past it shows a love that turns to greed and in the present day a love that grows in word and deed.
As you read this jewel of a novel, you may learn many new facts and be reminded of facts you’d rather forget. I know I am appalled to read that Americans were EVER involved in financially supporting Hitler! Even worse, as Dobson writes in this novel, they funneled money to the Holland Trade Bank that invested heavily in the research and proliferation of Zyklon, the poison that Nazi Germany used in their gas chambers! I personally have stood in “The Showers” (that’s what they told the unsuspecting prisoners) at Dachau and I can assure you I will forever be changed by the emotions I experienced. It was 40 years ago and I still remember it as though it were yesterday. Truly one of the most sobering experiences of my life!
Dobson approaches subjects that are difficult for any of us to face - the Holocaust - those who were forced to wear “The STAR”, those who hid their friends, those who did everything they could to protect innocent children, those who made choices purely for survival and those who made choices based purely on greed and leave you asking yourself, “What would you do to save the life of your child?”
I was provided an ARC of this novel by Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.