April 17, 2017
Cantor uses a mysterious Austrian stamp of an edelweiss hidden within a church steeple as the subject of her affecting new novel, which unfolds in dual story lines. For what reason was the flower added, after Hitler annexed Austria, to a stamp already in circulation? Why, as Katie Nelson discovers decades later, did her increasingly senile father seek out the stamp, still affixed to an unopened letter? Furthermore, what explains his outburst upon learning that Katie took his collection to appraiser Benjamin Grossman? It’s all about the symbolism of the edelweiss, “an expression of love proof of unusual daring,” and a gentile artist named Kristoff, who lived with his mentor, renowned Jewish engraver Frederick Faber. The Faber family’s Judaism, like the intense faith of Katie’s father, stands in stark contrast to her secular lifestyle in 1989 Los Angeles. As Katie and Benjamin methodically trace the stamp’s history and the letter’s intended recipient, the Berlin Wall is being pulled down. Its destruction is a metaphor for the barriers that fall in the story, walls erected within families and built on secrets, barriers created for emotional self-preservation. Cantor (The Hours Count) integrates her historical research well and effectively harnesses the story’s emotional resonance, slowly building tension before resolving the mystery and converging the two story lines.
April 1, 2017
Moving seamlessly between Austria in 1938 and Los Angeles in 1989, this novel connects a grim history to a more hopeful present.In Austria, the Nazis begin to roust Jews from positions, homes, and safety. Kristoff, an 18-year-old German, finds an apprenticeship with Frederick Faber, a Jewish engraver of stamps and documents. Frederick, his wife, and their two daughters, 13-year-old Miriam and 17-year-old Elena, become the family Kristoff never had. He comes to respect their traditions and forms a special bond with Elena, who, unbeknownst to her father, secretly practices engraving with Kristoff, a skill they use to forge papers to get Jews to safer countries. In present-day LA, Katie Nelson, soon to be divorced, is cleaning her apartment and finds the stamp collection her father passed along to her when he went into a home for Alzheimer's care. Determined to find something of value in his collection--her father always said he hoped to find a "gem"--she consults Benjamin Grossman, a philatelist, who unearths an unopened letter with a unique Austrian stamp. Benjamin keeps Katie apprised of the results of his research. They discover that Frederick Faber engraved the stamp and that it is addressed to one of his daughters, Fraulein Faber, with no first name. Benjamin finds the former Fraulein Faber in Cardiff, Wales, and he plans a trip to visit her, hoping to unravel the mystery of the stamp in which a tiny symbol is engraved. He offers Katie a ticket--he has lots of free miles--to accompany him. They hope to return home with at least a story about the stamp for her father to enjoy before his memory is totally gone. The past gives up its secrets reluctantly but give them up it does. Katie's father truly has found his gem, and eventually Katie recognizes hers. Cantor (The Hours Count, 2015, etc.) has mixed historical background with fictional characters for a believable, engaging tale in which the past indeed reconciles with the present. Cantor has done her research thoroughly to produce another captivating historical novel. Excellent writing, unusual storytelling, and sympathetic characters make a winning combination.
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April 15, 2017
Who knew philately could be a matter of life, death, and self-discovery? In 1989 Los Angeles, Katie Nelson is falling apart: her husband has left her, and her father's grip on reality loosens as he slips into the darkness of Alzheimer's. When Katie has her father's stamp collection appraised, an unopened letter with a unique stamp sends her on a quest across the world and into the past. Meanwhile, in 1939, young artist Kristoff, apprenticed to a Jewish master stamp engraver, is wrenched from his love, Elena, when the Nazis annex Austria. Cantor enhances the familiarity of the novel's structure and plotting through polished prose and a credible rendering of the painful process of losing a loved one to dementia. Themes of renewal after adversity and regaining what has been lost reverberate through both the character relationships and the fall of the Berlin Wall. This gives the novel a hopeful, poignant conclusion, guaranteeing appeal for fans of women's fiction as well as historical fiction, and for those who prefer tales that are heartening rather than starkly realistic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
February 1, 2017
In 1989, when her father enters a nursing home, Katie Nelson finds a distinctive Austrian stamp dating from World War II among his possessions. The stamp leads her to the story of Kristoff, apprentice to a Jewish stamp engraver in Austria, who joined the Resistance after his master disappeared during Kristallnacht. From the author of Margot, a LibraryReads pick; rights sold to five countries.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2017
In Cantor's latest novel (after The Hours Count and Margot), a mysterious letter with an unusual stamp reveals a family secret from World War II. Katie Nelson's life is not going well when she delivers her father's stamp collection to an appraiser in 1989 Los Angeles. Her father is suffering from Alzheimer's, and she has spent the past year getting him settled into an assisted-living facility. Her husband, who also happens to be her boss, has filed for divorce. The appraiser, Benjamin, however, does find one possible treasure--a letter with a German stamp from Nazi-occupied Austria, containing a hidden edelweiss flower. When Katie mentions this letter to her father, his agitated reaction propels her and Benjamin on a search for its meaning. Little does Katie realize that the quest for both the intended letter recipient and the stampmaker will lead her to her own family history. VERDICT Full of heartbreak and tragedy, this novel about love lost and found and the importance of memories, is ultimately uplifting and would be a great choice for readers who enjoy stories set during World War II. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/17.]--Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.