“ A depiction of the horrors of the second world war. . . World War II has been the subject of more scholarly monographs and works of literature than readers could ever consume in a lifetime. In her debut effort, however, van Houten effectively plumbs the war’s meaning from a more personal perch. She pieces together letters between her mother and father, along with their diary entries, which were written while the conflict separated them…. The author’s running commentary helpfully provides historical context, but she always allows the letters themselves to take center stage in the narrative . . . As a result, this is both an informative and an affecting tale … A testament to the human spirit of perseverance in the face of danger and dislocation.”
