All the Broken Places: A Novel

ISBN: 0593653068

Author: Boyne, John

Condition: New

You cant prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel. -John Irving, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The World According to GarpExceptional, layered and compellingThis book moves like a freight train. -Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In LoveFrom the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for braveryNinety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesnt talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesnt talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesnt talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reichs most notorious extermination camps.Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel cant help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henrys beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretels hard-won, self-contained existence.All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretels girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before-whatever the cost to herself.