A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 17th November 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 25th October 2019)
★★★★★ 5 stars
As a fan of WW2 fiction, A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is unlike any other I have read. A touching tale of love, hope, courage and betrayal in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, it is evocative, emotional, unsettling and yet it is hauntingly beautiful.
It's 1941 and the Nazi's have invaded Amsterdam, taking it over and setting up occupation in the name of the Fuhrer. There are German soldiers at every turn making the Dutch town a dangerous place to live. Radios were confiscated, food, clothes and medicine were in short supply and with their city under complete rule of the Nazis, the people were isolated from the outside world.
Professor Josef Held has never gotten over the loss of his beloved wife Sarah who died 20 years ago whilst giving birth to their first child. He has barely lived in the time since, refusing to forgive himself for letting it happen. By day he teaches advanced mathematics at the university and by night he sits at home alone with his cat, eating a plain and simple meal and listening to his neighbour play her piano. He has no intention of letting anyone else into his world...this existence in which he lives until the day he rejoins his beloved Sarah.
A sympathetic and compassionate man, Josef does not think of himself as brave. He has no intention of involving himself in the war around him. He just wants his life to remain as simple as possible. And yet, one night his life is changed forever when the Nazis come for his neighbour, Mrs Epstein, who both delighted and soothed his soul every evening with her beautiful piano. She begs him to help her but is wretched from his arms by the Nazis and shot. Josef is horrified and speechless. But more than that...he feels an incredible guilt as the Nazis thanked him for his good work. He knew then that he had a hand in his neighbour's demise when he told his niece Ingrid of his Jewish neighbour who played the piano, teaching local children how to play. And now Josef must live with what he has done.
Michael Blum is a young Jewish man and a student of Josef's at the university. He is a dreamer, a romantic, a poet and cares nothing for mathematics...but is following his father's aspirations to study numbers in the belief that he would make something of himself. But Michael comes up against adversity when Jews are banned from attending classes and in a final act of defiance completes his last exam with the writings of Josef's late wife's favourite poets, Rilke.
Michael wants nothing more than to live a quiet life on his girlfriend Elke's houseboat, writing poetry and making love. But when his childhood friend David comes knocking frantically, the Gestapo hot on his heels, Michael then attempts to escape the city...but David is killed. With frantic promises to Elke, Michael flees to the one person he feels he can trust.
When Josef hears the insistent banging on his door he worries that the Nazis have returned after shooting his neighbour in cold blood. But upon opening his door he is surprised to find his former student Michael, terrified and shaking...and a Jew on the run for his life. Without thinking twice, Josef offers Michael safe shelter in his attic for the night. But things become far too dangerous and fearing his house is under watch, Josef concedes that Michael must stay if he is to survive. This is especially true with Ingrid working with the Third Reich and dating a high level SS officer - Major Heinrich von Strauss - putting his life at an even greater risk. But after the death of his neighbour, the Major was of the firm belief that Josef was "one of the good Dutch". Indeed he was...just not in the way the Major thought.
Then there is Ingrid. As Josef's niece, she was orphaned at a young age when Josef himself was still grieving the loss of his own wife and was unable to take on the care of the little girl. So she was sent to live with relatives and attend boarding school...leaving Josef feeling guilty that he should've been there for Ingrid in her younger years. Now she is an adult and excited about her new job with the Third Reich. Josef is mortified. But Ingrid is naive in her knowledge of the Nazis, believing she is on the path to a better life - a richer life - with Heinrich by her side.
Meanwhile there are elements of romance throughout. While in the shadowy quiet of his secret room, Michael regales Josef with stories of his beautiful fearless girlfriend Elke, with whom he insists that not even the Nazis will come between. But Elke is a non-Jewish Dutch woman and their relationship is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, there is also Hannah Porter who works at the university where Josef teaches. Completely unaware that Hannah is interested in him, Josef surprisingly finds himself also intrigued by her but believes her to be a married woman so refuses to pay any heed to his attraction. But Hannah, who lives with her aging mother Clara, is a widow and tries in vain to capture the attentions of the somewhat aloof and indifferent professor. But given the troubled times in which they live, was it wise to embark on a new relationship?
A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is not a fast paced tale and yet it is so beautifully told that you find yourself so immersed within the story that you devour it all too quickly. I read it in two sittings, staying up till 3.30am until I turned the final page.
A haunting tale, A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is unlike any WW2 historical novel. Every character draws you in as you invest yourself in each of their stories, whether they be good or bad, devouring it all with baited breath. Josef's heroic actions, Michael's strength, Ingrid's naivete, Elke's fearlessness, Hannah's courage, even Heinrich's insidiousness. By the end, I was left both heartbroken and satisfied.
A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is not just another Holocaust or WW2 story. It is something else entirely. Poignant, moving, tragic and heartbreaking but it is also inspiring, beautiful and hopeful. You will need a box of tissues for this one...but you won't regret it.
I would like to thank #SuzanneKelman, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #AViewAcrossTheRooftops in exchange for an honest review.
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