The Boy in the Attic (Wartime Holland #3) by Imogen Matthews
Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, WW2, Dual timeline
Read: 27th August 2022
Published: 30th August 2022
★★★★ 4.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Anna opened the letter with trembling hands. ‘My darling, if you’re reading this, I haven’t managed to unravel my parents’ secret. But you can. Will you finish the search for me, find out who they were, and who you really are?’
Nazi-occupied Holland, 1944. As soldiers patrol the streets, nursing student Ilse is only just surviving the terrible famine and increasingly violent German occupation. Though exhausted by her demanding work at a hospital far from home, she can’t help but notice Levi, the young man with the dark eyes watching the world silently from the abandoned house next door.
Then, early one morning, she finds him terrified and trembling with cold on the back doorstep. Levi’s Jewish family have been arrested and sent to a concentration camp, their likely fate all too clear. And now he needs her help.
So Ilse makes the most dangerous decision of her life, and takes Levi in. Hiding him away in her tiny attic room, he must remain concealed or risk almost certain death. But as the war worsens, keeping Levi a secret becomes ever more difficult, even as their mutual affection grows. And when a local German soldier becomes obsessed with Ilse, they fear their time – and luck – has run out…
London, present day. When Anna’s father dies, he leaves her a ticket to Amsterdam, a bent silver sixpence on a delicate silver chain, and a note begging her to complete the journey he was never able to. To the town where he was born, to find out once and for all who his parents were, and to discover their wartime fate.
Based on the author’s incredible family history, a totally devastating and ultimately uplifting story about a girl who risked everything, including her life, to save the man she loved. Heart-breaking and timely, this powerful tale will be loved by fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and Fiona Valpy.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Imogen Matthew's breathtaking dual timeline tale THE BOY IN THE ATTIC.
I have read alot of tales centred around the Nazi occupation of various Eurpoean countries during the war and after a while they all become a little too "samey". So I was immediately drawn to THE BOY IN THE ATTIC for its dual timeline which would thus offer something different and break up the constant sorrow at the heartbreak, deprivation and tragedy suffered by those at the hands of the Nazis. I must add, that I have also read the two previous books in this series both of which connect each other but are wholly separate to this one. The fact that this is based on the author's own family history adds a touching sense of nostalgia and romance.
I must add, briefly, that the description given for this book is somewhat different to the actual story and therefore misleading. As I will outline in my review. I do hope it will be corrected because what it states in the description is not actually what happens.
Holland, January 1945: Despite the war nearing its end, for those under occupation that still seems to be a long way off. Before the war, Ilse had dreams of studying medicine to become a doctor. But then the Germans closed the universities and now every day she must forage for scraps of food in the fields to keep herself and her parents from starving. Ever since the Germans cut off the food supply as well as the electricity and gas, the Dutch people have had to struggle to keep themselves fed and warm...and not to mention, alive. Ilse's mother is bereft at what they have been reduced to the day Ilse returns laden with tulip bulbs, all that is left for food. Then she receives an invitation to help family friends at a sanatorium where they treat patients for a number of ailments and, namely, tuberculosis. It would certainly help when she can resume her studies when at last the war is over.
Ilse arrives at the home of her best friend Connie where she will be living and cannot believe the feast she is given more than once daily, and feels guilty that she is here to enjoy it when her parents are not. Added to this, is the freedom to go out dancing but is horrified to find their partners are Nazi officers. Connie shrugs off her concerns and encourages her to just enjoy herself, whilst sporting a knowing smile as if she were keeping a secret. But all too soon, Ilse also discovers that Connie hiding something more than just a secret. In their attic.
And it is a secret that has the power, and danger, to change their lives.
London, 2001: Packing up her father's belongings after his sudden death, Anna comes across a bent sixpence dated 1942 on a chain wrapped in a peacock blue scarf. What does this mean, she has no idea. But then her mother tells her a secret about her father's origins that turn everything she has ever known on its head. After further digging about, it seems her father had a ticket booked for a ferry crossing to the Netherlands alongside a name and an address. Something he never had to the opportunity to follow up before his death.
So in honour of her father's memory, Anna decides that she will make the crossing and meet up with old family friends who may be able to shed some light on her family origins. All she has is a name, an address and the sixpence pendant wrapped in the blue scarf. What they all mean, Anna was determined to find out, despite her own personal issues surrounding an absentee and strangely aloof boyfriend.
The moment she meets her old friends, she feels a sense of homecoming...but that could be that they bring back memories of her father and their holidays in the Netherlands as a child. Despite some setbacks and with Luuk's help, Anna is able to uncover the mystery of family's past. But after that, what will the future hold?
The third in the Wartime Holland series, THE BOY IN THE ATTIC is completely set apart from the first two, "The Hidden Village" and "Hidden in the Shadows" both which centre around a village built and hidden within a forest. This tale is a dual timeline one focusing on Ilse and Anna and how the past and present connect them. The transition from past to present is interwoven seamlessly as we discover what happened to Ilse and where Anna fits into that story. It was a time that was shrouded in heartache, tragedy and sadness but it is expertly written with such vivid descriptions and candour despite the tragic circumstances.
I love dual timelines and they are one of my favourite story formats as it keeps the pace moving and the story interesting, giving it that extra edge. I was immediately absorbed into the time and place which carried me throughout the entire experience. I didn't wholly connect with Anna but she was still a relatively likeable character. Ilse was completely different and her tale was haunting and tragic.
Overall, THE BOY IN THE ATTIC is an emotional and evocative dual timeline tale that brings to life a story that would otherwise be sadly forgotten. It is fortunate that the author had the temerity to use her own family's history to bring this one to life.
I would like to thank #ImogenMatthews, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBoyInTheAttic in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her first novel, The Hidden Village, is set in the Veluwe woods, a beautiful part of Holland that Imogen has visited frequently over the past 30 years. It was in these woods that she discovered the story of the real hidden village which provided shelter in underground huts for Jews during WW2. Imogen retells the story of the hidden village with characters drawn from real life and from her imagination.
Within weeks of publication in 2017, The Hidden Village became an international bestseller, ranking at the top of a number Amazon's most-read book lists.
Following on from The Hidden Village comes Hidden in the Shadows, which has the pace of a thriller yet is also a love story. It tells the story about two young people who are brutally torn apart and must find a way to be together against all odds.
Imogen's third WW2 novel, The Girl Across the Wire Fence, is set in Amersfoort, Netherlands, and is based on the unforgettable tale of two young lovers who risked everything to keep hope alive in the very depths of hell - the little known Dutch concentration camp called Kamp Amersfoort.
Imogen's WW2 novels are published by Bookouture, a digital imprint of Hachette.
Learn more about Imogen's story in this video.
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