Tears of Amber
Who could get me to read an almost 500 page WWII historical fiction novel? Sofia Segovia - that’s who. After falling in love five years ago with her first translated work The Murmur of Bees set in the time of the Mexican Revolution, I knew she’d take this topic that’s been done over and over again from countless angles and make it an equally unique and special experience, and she did with help from her wonderful translator, Simon Bruni, who returns for this book. I don’t love war fiction, but what I do love about Segovia’s writing is her talent for immersing you in the experience of her characters. Her ability to capture time and place and the sensory details of what they’re going through - of putting you in their shoes - is what brings her stories to life in a way that immediately draws you into the story, even if those details hurt. The setting for this story is Prussia. I won’t try to detail its history, other than to say it was a German territory that had been divided after WW...
