| Title | : | The Daughters Tale |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1501187937 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781501187933 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 303 |
| Publication | : | First published May 7, 2019 |
NEW YORK, 2015. Eighty-year-old Elise Duval receives a call from a woman bearing messages from a time and country that she forced herself to forget. A French Catholic who arrived in New York after World War II, Elise is shocked to discover that the letters were from her mother, written in German during the war. Despite Elise’s best efforts to stave off her past, seven decades of secrets begin to unravel.
Based on true events, The Daughter’s Tale chronicles one of the most harrowing atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during the war. Heartbreaking and immersive, it is a beautifully crafted family saga of love, survival, and redemption.
The Daughters Tale Reviews
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Horrible things happened during WWII as we know. Books were burned. Jews arrested. Millions were killed. Children were separated from their parents sometimes initiated by mothers and fathers in efforts to save their children. In this story, based on true events, a small village is destroyed with almost no survivors. This novel reflects the strength of the people in the French resistance and tells the story of difficult decisions a mother makes to save her children. Memories are pushed back and a life of secrets was led for decades by Elise Duval. I read a lot of WWII books and it seems there is always something to learn. In this case, it was the horrific fate of the people who lived in a small French village, Oradour-Sur-Glane. While it has its merits and is meaningful in that it based on real events, I have to judge this book against other WWII novels I have read. This is important and sad, but I can’t give it more than three stars. The writing style, flat and straight forward at times didn’t captivate me. There are several very positive reviews and I recommend you read those as well.
This was an ongoing monthly read with my lovely book buddies Diane and Esil.
An advanced copy of this book from was provided by Atria via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. -
I know it's only January but I have a feeling this could end up being my favorite historical fiction read of 2019. This book gripped me pretty darn near close to the start and didn't let up until the last page. I highly recommend this one even if you feel like you have read one too many WW2 historical fiction books. It's worth reading.
Eighty year old Elise Duvall has been living in New York for the past seven decades when she receives quite a shock. A woman has contacted her and wants to deliver letters written to Elise by her mother during World War 2. Time has a way of helping you forget your past but now all of it will come back to the surface for Elise along with so much she never even knew about.
I like when historical fiction books are able to teach me something. In this case there were two things I didn't know about prior to reading. One was the tragic massacre of a village in France in 1944. Another thing that was part of the plot was the ship that left Germany with refugees bound for Cuba. The way both were weaved into the plot made for a compelling story and I am thankful the author chose to include them as it made me interested in looking up more information about both after I was done reading.
Most people liked The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and I think if you enjoyed that one you should definitely check this one out. While I thought that book was well-written it took me until almost the end before I felt a strong emotional connection to the characters. With this one it was so easy to immediately feel for the character of Amanda and your heart breaks with the choices she and other characters had to make not knowing how history would play out. One of the themes of the book is what you would be willing to do for someone you love and the different scenarios that played out have left me thinking about them still even though I finished the book days ago. I love when stories just stay with you in your head and that's why this was just a really good reading experience.
I won a free advance copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion. -
***NOW AVAILABLE***
I loved “The German Girl” by this author and was excited to read his new novel. From reading the blurb for this book I was hoping that there would be more and continued events and stories from people aboard the St. Louis. This is the ill fated ship that carried German Jewish families who had some funds hoping to land in Cuba. Unfortunately by the time the ship lands the Cuban officials refuse most of the passengers for political reasons and only a handful are allowed to disembark. This sent the rest to other countries that wouldn’t accept them and eventually back to Germany and for some concentration camps.
The book starts with a phone call that an older woman Elise Duval receives from someone who had recently visited Cuba. A woman and her daughter visit Elise and bring with them an ebony box containing letters, photographs and more. It is such a shock that Elise collapses and has to be taken to the hospital.
This book ultimately is a story of mothers and daughters and the difficult decisions that sometimes had to be made to protect their children. Some got sent away to live in another, safer country, some were sent to live in the French countryside which was felt to be safe. I thoroughly enjoyed these parts of the book and felt for the terrible decisions that people had to make.
I read a lot of WWII books and unfortunately for me there wasn’t really anything new in this book that I hadn’t read about before, although I appreciate the extensive research the author must have done to write this novel and the fact that it's based on true facts.
I already knew about the St. Louis from The German Girl and also had read another book about the terrible slaughter of women and children that was carried out in Oradour-Sur-Glane, by their own countrymen who were now following the Nazi’s and their rule of the country. Extremely immoral and unbelievable events.
I think that this is a good book to read, particularly if you know nothing about the above mentioned events. I did think there were a few too many characters to keep track of and at times I found it a bit confusing. There isn’t much that takes us back to Elise in her older age, and I think that would have made it more interesting for me. It’s still a good book and I recommend it to lovers of historical fiction.
I received a galley of this book through the publisher. -
Amanda and Julius Sternberg were soon to be first time parents to a baby girl they would name Viera in 1933.
They owned a book store in Charlottenberg, Germany. Amanda was supposed to get rid of all the books that were considered offensive, unpatriotic, or not sufficiently German. The intention was to eliminate all Jewishness from the printed universe.
Julius had just started a new medical practice which was growing nicely.
Amanda ran the bookshop.
Bookshelves were piled high with Amanda brother’s books. He was a Russian poet but he had left Germany several years earlier for a Caribbean island.
She also had many of her father’s storybooks that he had read to her when she was a child.
She was trying to figure out which book she would save - only one. The others she was going to be burned.
She decided to protect the French botanical album with its hand-painted illustrations of exotic plants and flowers that her father had given her.
Getting rid of all the wonderful books felt like a mother casting her child into oblivion. Devastating!!
“The era of extreme Jewish intellectualism has come to an end, and the German revolution has again opened their way for the true essence of being German”.
National socialists were boasting the new era
Frau Strasser was part of an army of women pretending to be soldiers. They never had actually been called to arms.....
but Frau Strasser put the death of threat to Amanda - a last warning - she needed to burn all those books. Horrific bonfires of burning books were going up in flames around the city.
Tears rolled down Amanda’s eyes as she began throwing books onto the floor preparing them for the worst.
“Where they burn books, they will also end up burning people”.
Being Jewish themselves - with friends in France - Amanda and Julius could secure a safe passage and leave everything behind starting new in Paris or some small town. However, Julius felt he could not abandon his cardiac patients.
Viera was born in 1934 in Berlin.....born into a hostile world.
Amanda had saved that botanical album and would often read to her baby in French or Latin.
A year later, in 1935, another daughter, Lina, was born.
Lina had the most prominent blue eyes with golden curls.
Viera had reddish hair and honey-colored eyes.
Julius was worried about Lina. She was tiny and weak. She had little interest in food.
Lina was smart-as-a-whip though and seemed more mature than Viera.
The city was in uproar. Things were getting worse. People rushing and bumping into each other.
Frightening times.
A Jewish synagogue went up in flames.
Julius was nowhere to be found - was kicked out of his medical building.
When Amanda was nervous-afraid - or worried she counted in silence.
One..two..three..four..five..
six—( she later taught her children this calming exercise).
Eventually- Amanda learned the unspeakable - shocking truth.
Julius was in Sachsenhausen: “a forced labor camp on the outskirts of Berlin. No one came back from Sachsenhausen.
My heart continued to break as this story went on.
Amanda received a beautiful letter from Julius. He could no longer walk.
I wanted to cry ....
This story is soooo intimate...
Julius was in a dark cold place where you knew he was going to die - but the way he expressed his love to Amanda and their little girls - just wrecked me.
The last thing Julius said to Amanda was:
“My Amanda, I want you never to forget we were happy once. Your Julius”.
The cruelties of war are impossible to fully climb out of. I’m always left with war is war is war ... HORRIFIC - i never understand it. It’s NEVER GOOD!!!
Innocent people - German children - have been shunned by the whole world . Jews are still recovering.
Generation after generation innocent people have been wiped clean.
It’s just SAD!!!!
I’m going to stop here as I don’t want to give any of the main specifics away of what happens as the story continues.
.....You’ll meet 80-year-old Elise Duval in the year 2015.... and learn how she fits into this story. BASED ON TRUE EVENTS!!!
Thank you to Goodreads friends, Katie and Tammy. When I read their wonderful reviews- I knew I wanted to read this.
Thank you -to my reader- friends before me. I was inspired.
Glad I didn’t miss this story. The ending was so deeply felt. The authors notes excellent too.
Page turning! It’s easy to inhale this book in one or two sittings.
Thank You Atria Books, Netgalley, and Armando Lucas Correa. -
3.5 Stars* (rounded down)
A Story of Heartbreak, Loss and Family.
Amanda Sternberg is crushed when her husband is taken into custody by the Nazi’s. His fate is sealed. Amanda is left to care for her two children, Viera and Lina. Her husband left strict instructions for her to send them on a refugee ship (The St. Louis) to Havana. Amanda cannot bear the thought of losing both her girls. Viera is old enough to take care of herself, Lina is not, thus Amanda makes an impossible choice, sending Viera on her own to Cuba.
Amanda and Lina are then taken by the Nazi’s into a Labor Camp, where Amanda endures and sacrifices for her daughter, until the day Lina can escape to a French Village. There, Lina, now known as Elise, learns what it means to survive, to exist, to persist and to love.
“The Daughter’s Tale” is a novel that grapples with the relationship between mothers and daughters and sisters and the family you make in the most difficult of times. I had previously read Armando Lucas Correa’s “The German Girl” and loved it and while I liked “The Daughter’s Tale” I was not left with quite the same feeling after reading it. It lacked the same emotional bandwidth. Throughout the novel I desperately wanted to know more about little Viera’s story and unfortunately that story was never told and I felt that was a missed opportunity as Lina/Elise’s story didn’t captivate me. Armando Lucas Correa’s writing is however lyrical and lovely and I think this novel is to be enjoyed by lovers of historical fiction.
Thank you to Mirtha Pena at Atria, NetGalley and Armando Lucas Correa for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 5.1.19.
*Will be published on Amazon on 5.7.19. -
Multitudes of families were decimated or shattered by the holocaust. Based on a true story, this is a fictionalized account of one of them. We bear witness to a mother’s anguish and desperation as she tries to save her two daughters. Substitute families, in various forms, are constructed in order to survive and the outcome is nothing short of astonishingly miraculous. One of the most traumatic scenes occurs as the villagers of Oradour-Sur-Glane are savagely slaughtered and the town annihilated. This is a story of sacrifice, betrayal, guilt, absolution and great love during one of the blackest periods of history.
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The story revolves around two little known, real life events that took place during the Holocaust. It is a haunting and moving story and an enduring one. I can't imagine how children who survived lived with all the hatred they saw acted out everyday and that was aimed at them. Another theme besides basic survival is how do you rebuild your life after everyone you love is gone? I highly recommend this thoughtful and perceptive book.
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A mother’s heartbreak, impossible choices, desperate circumstances, and a daughter’s secrets to survival.
The Daughter’s Tale is an unforgettable heartbreaking family saga that follows The German Girl. It explores the heart-wrenching decisions of one mother’s choices made out of love and for survival. The story pulled at my momma heartstrings and I could feel our main character’s Amanda’s desperation to save her daughters and her strength as she made the impossible, haunting decisions she had to.
Armando Lucas Correa does a good job here evoking the horrors here in the story but keeps the details lighter compared to some historical fiction I have read. It did lack some emotional pull and depth to some of the characters needed to connect on an emotional level. However, it did leave me a sobbing emotional mess in the best way in the end, thinking about all the mothers out there that had or have to make impossible decisions to save their children. For that, I highly recommend and I recommend to readers who like to keep the horror lighter but still get a feel for the events.
I haven’t read The German Girl yet, however, I now need to read it and I look forward to the next book from Armando Lucas Correa
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for my complimentary copy. -
𝔖𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔱𝔥. ℜ𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢. ℌ𝔬𝔭𝔢.
This was a compelling story about love, heartbreak, and sacrifice. No matter how many books I read about WWII I am always shocked by the horrors of war and The resilience of humans. Amanda was a happily married mother and the owner of her family bookshop. Then things begin to change. The books were ordered to be burned, her husband was sent away, and her daughters’ lives were in danger. Amanda’s one goal now is the survival of her daughters and she will sacrifice whatever it takes to ensure their safety. 80 years later Elise receives letters written by her mother all those decades ago. Letters that make her face secrets, some she has live with and some she never knew. Who are you really, when you’ve lived someone else’s nlife? This book wove some true events into the story. Including book burning, the annihilation of a French Village, and a boat of German refugees heading to Cuba. This is something I really love about historical fiction, you always learn something while reading.
This book grab me from the first page. The writing was straightforward and concise, and I thought that was perfect for the subject matter. My heart broke for Amanda and I was humbled by her strength. The atrocities of war are so disturbing, so dark, so unfortunate. The bulk of the story was bleak but there was hope peppered throughout. Although I have to say as dark as most WWII books are I always find light in the strength of the characters.
This was a well told story that read quicker than most historical fiction books. The characters were so compelling and I felt so much for them. This is a book that I think will appeal to most historical fiction fans.
*** Big thanks to Atria for my copy of this book *** -
The soldiers are fleeing, ashamed of the crime they’ve committed, Elise dared to hope.
We all die at least once. But what must it be to experience what feels like the end multiple times? How much of who we are remains after each passing? Who do we become? What do we owe to the lives we’ve lived before?
She was sure they wouldn’t come back just for her. The German soldier must have thought she was a ghost. Or maybe he didn’t see her because she no longer existed. She had died several hours earlier...She had also died two years earlier, that night in the forest, before she woke up burning with fever in Maman Claire’s arms. Now she was living another of her deaths. God only knew how many more deaths she would have to escape.
Armando Lucas Correa - image from his FB pages
World War II and the outrages of the Nazis never seems to fade as a source of story-telling treasure. Armando Lucas Correa adds two factual period elements that are less than common knowledge to distinguish his story. The first is from a lane he has sailed before. In his 2016 international bestseller, The German Girl, Correa followed a twelve-year-old Jewish girl fleeing Nazi Germany on the
SS St Louis. The transoceanic passenger liner sailed on May 13, 1939 from Hamburg, bound for Havana, Cuba. There were 937 passengers aboard, almost all Jews fleeing Germany. Only a few would be allowed to disembark there. The ship became a cause célèbre, as it tried to find ports willing to accept its passengers. The United States refused to accept any. Some passengers were allowed to disembark in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. A large number of those who were returned to the continent died at the hands of the Nazis. That voyage is noted again in this book, although it does not occupy center stage. To reveal the other dark deed would be far too spoilerish, so I will leave it to those undaunted by such things to check it out here. For the rest of you, suffice it to say that it is a violent and unspeakable outrage against humanity, but one that is not widely known.
Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis attempt to communicate with friends and relatives in Cuba, who were permitted to approach the docked vessel in small boats - image and text from The Miami Herald
These bleak events frame the story of a family desperately trying to survive, having waited too long to flee Germany. We meet Amanda Sternberg when she is pregnant with her first child, Viera, in 1934. Nazi forces are removing from bookstores books they consider offensive. Amanda’s bookstore is The Garden of Letters, and she is selecting which book or books she will save, if it comes to that. Her husband, Julius, is a cardiologist, with a thriving practice. It was doing so well, that he thought they might be unaffected by the changes taking place. Their second child is born in 1935. They stay put. In November, 1938, Krystallnacht sounds the final bell. It is too late. Amanda hopes to get her girls to safety with her brother in Cuba, and plans to that end. Things do not go quite to plan.
The story is told through Amanda’s letters to her daughter, and through a daughter’s recollection of the trials of her early life. The tale was inspired when Correa met a particular Holocaust survivor.I’ll never forget my visit with Judith in her small, dark apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens. She whispered her story to me, struggling against her failing health. She said she had been relatively happy in the camp with her parents and the other children, until one afternoon, just before everyone was thrown into battered wagons bound for Poland, she found herself in the middle of a forest, holding her father’s hand. Her father came closer and whispered in her ear: “Look up at the treetops.” For an instant, she felt alone. Suddenly, another firm hand, one she didn’t know, took hers. When she turned, her father was gone. She never saw him again. As I sat there with Judith, transfixed by her words, I felt something blooming inside of me. That afternoon, The Daughter’s Tale was born. - Armando Lucas Correa – from Dear Reader section of the ARE
Correa lights our way through this dark passage with repeating motifs of hope and courage. Primary among these is botanical imagery. The letters that Amanda composes to her daughter are written on pages torn from a botanical album, offering a bit of color every time she writes, from a world in which even color seems to have been carted off to a grim end. Botany meets literacy in the naming of Amanda’s bookshop, The Garden of Letters, offering an Edenic fusion of the root of biological life with the good side of knowledge, and the terrors of having been driven out…in her dreams she saw a desolate future in which she was just another book, destined for the bonfire. One day she too would die in agony amid the flames.
The girls’ father offers his daughters a tool for gaining control of themselves in difficult times, by blocking out all exteriors and counting the seconds between their heartbeats. It proves a useful aid in the trials ahead.
I do have a couple of gripes about the book. Sadly, they are very spoilerish in nature, so, as with the second big picture awful thing noted above, I feel it necessary to tuck these under a spoiler label as well. If you have already read the book, dive in. The water’s fine. But if you have yet to read the book, I would skip on past these.
Correa keeps our attention focused, as well, on the importance of naming. What we call ourselves, what others call us, and what we call them, all impact how, and whether we will find our way through to a complete life. And the notion of rootedness is, of course, major, in a tale of people driven from their homes. Where is home when the obvious choice is no longer an option? How much of home must be assigned to a place, and how much of it do we carry with us, like wandering tortoises? The Daughter’s Tale is a moving, if often sorrowful read. Lives threatened, begun, formed, and too often lost under the worst of circumstances. A heart wrenching tale of people struggling to survive. Some do. Choices are fraught in this story, as one would expect. Do this or that. Go here or there. Speak or remain silent. Pick this or that one. Stay or go. All choices have a cost. Thankfully, you will have only to choose whether to read or not. I would. The cost is minimal and the reward is significant.
Review posted – May 3, 2019
Publication date – May 7, 2019
An ARE of this book was received from Atria, in return for an honest review. It was not translated from Spanish.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Correa’s main gig has been journalism, beginning in 1988, when he was still living in his native Cuba. After emigrating to the United States, he worked at the Spanish version of The Miami Herald from 1991, later moving to NYC in 1997 to work for People en Espanol Magazine. He has been editor in chief there since 2007. He lives in Manhattan with his partner and three children.
Links to the author’s
personal,
Twitter,
Tumblr,
Pinterest,
Instagram,
LinkedIn, and
FB pages
Items of Interest
----- For another article about the spoilered material in the review, check
this out
-----by the author – People Magazine -
“I’m a Terrible Cuban” – One Editor’s Powerful Journey to His Past
-----The Miami Herald -
Loss, grief and one of modern history’s most shameful moments - by Ana Veciana-Suarez“Part of the human DNA I think is not to accept the other — the other because of the color of their skin or the language they speak or the religion they practice or whatever,” he says. “It’s more than not being tolerant. It’s a deep fear of something that is different and makes us turn away.”
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The Daughter’s Tale is based on a true story and one you won’t forget any time soon. The year is 1939 in Berlin, widower Amanda Sternberg must flee Nazi Germany with her two young daughters. Heading towards France, Amanda is hoping they will be safe, but sadly this may not be the case.
As the years go by we learn of the struggles, deaths and torture that so many went through during these times and I must say it was heartbreaking to read about this. Something most us have never been through and it just seems unimaginable what these men, women and children went through. Husbands being taken away from their families and then children being separated from their mothers.
This is a really beautifully written historical fiction tale which I highly recommend. With thanks to Simon & Schuster for my copy to read and review. -
Like his ‘The German Girl’ this story includes the historic voyage of the S.S. St. Louis which left Germany with the intention to deliver these passengers, most all of whom were Jewish, to Cuba. Political issues prevailed upon their arrival, and a small handful of passengers were allowed to disembark, taking a smaller boat to come ashore in Cuba, but the rest were turned away.
The release of ‘The German Girl’ brought forth survivors who shared their personal stories with Correa, and out of those painfully shared personal histories, the idea for ’The Daughter’s Tale’ began to take shape.
Mothers and daughters, how one mother is forced to make one decision after another in order to save the lives of her daughters, often at her personal expense. Sending them to a place she believes will offer them safety, to become part of another family, a family that will change over time, as well.
Names are changed. Life changes, and lives change. And war changes everything. Once again, Correa shows us another historically significant event - the horrific slaughter in the village of Oradour-Sur-Glane, in Haute-Vienne, France - portrayed with accuracy, but without being overly gruesome in detail.
This story begins, briefly, in New York City in 2015 with Elise Duval, an eighty-year old woman, and weaves it’s way back to 1930s Germany, to the lives of Amanda and Julius Sternberg, and their two daughters, Viera and Lina. In part, this is also an epistolary novel, including letters that Amanda writes to her daughter over the years, beginning in the summer of 1939.
Throughout, secrets are exposed as we follow this family’s experience of the Nazi occupation in these various places, along with the sense of the growing fear. Fear makes those who have no issues with the Jews or the others targeted, to shun them in fear of Nazi retaliation. The determination of one woman to protect her daughters, the sacrifice she is forced to make for their safety, the heartbreaking guilt she feels for her decision, and the painful memories of the past that return to haunt another woman’s final days.
Pub Date: 07 May 2019
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Simon & Schuster, Canada -
Told in two timelines, The Daughter’s Tale is another captivating story involving WWII. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The first timeline is Berlin in 1939. Amanda and Julius Sternberg have big dreams for their daughter that are dashed when the Nazis take over Berlin. Their bookshop is burned to the ground, and Julius is sent to a concentration camp.
Amanda is fighting for her daughters’ lives, so she heads towards the south of France where a family friend has offered to take them in.
But before she arrives there, Amanda is offered the chance to board a ship filled with refugees headed for Cuba. Should they board the ship, or stay in France? This decision could mean their lives.
The second timeline is New York in 2015. Elise Duval is eighty-years-old and is called by a woman who knows many things about a time Elise has done her best to forget. Elise came to New York after World War II, and she finds out this woman has letters from her mother written to Elise.
The Daughter’s Tale encompasses another atrocity carried about the Nazis of which I had no idea prior. It seems the list is endless, and so are the perspectives and stories to tell from the war, and I’m always grateful for those who choose to write them. This is a horrific time we can never forget.
I was immediately drawn to Amanda as a character. My stomach turned as she had to make decisions with her daughters’ lives in the balance. There was no way to know which was up, much less which was route was the safe one.
I also have to mention the books and the horrible acts related to them. That made my heart ache as well, and you just have to read about it.
The Daughter’s Tale is inspired by true events. Overall, it is a story told in sparse prose with a powerful message. A mother’s sacrifice and guilt, redemption, and love for family. It’s all here.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog:
www.jennifertarheelreader and instagram:
www.instagram.com/tarheelreader -
Favorite Quotes:
Elise tried to stand up, but could feel her heart failing her. She was losing control over herself, over the life she had so carefully constructed. She could see her own face at a distance, staring at the scene from afar like another witness in the room.
Since his schooldays in Leipzig, Julius had been fascinated by the heart—its irregular rhythms, its electrical impulses, its alternating beats, and silences. “There’s nothing stronger,” he told her when they were newlywed and he was still at the university, always adding the caveat: “The heart can resist all kinds of physical trauma, but sadness can destroy it in a second. So no sadness in this house!”
Whenever you’re afraid and can feel your heart racing, start counting its beats. Count them and think of each one, because you’re the only person who can control them. As the silence between one beat and the next grows, your fear will start to disappear. We need those silences to exist, to think.
From this dark, cold place I can hear your heart. I know from memory all its movements. When you are asleep or awake, happy or sad, like today. My Amanda, I want you never to forget that we were happy once.
Claire looked down anxiously at the ebony box on Amanda’s lap. In the half-light, her friend’s face lost its soft outline and looked severe, imposing. “The only thing that unites me and my daughter is in here, Claire. Can you imagine that something so big could fit into such a small space?” There was no answer to a question like that.
My Review:
This was my first exposure to the phenomenal artistry of Armando Lucas Correa, and I will confess to being a smitten kitten. I quickly fell into his vortex as if under a spell, Mr. Correa appears to be a deftly skilled and superior Wizard of Words as I was definitely mesmerized. His premise was based on actual events and several of the horrific and diabolical atrocities dreamed up by the Germans – military and citizenry alike.
Mr. Correa’s writing was poignant, highly emotive, devastatingly evocative, and required occasional breaks in reading as my eyes were too wet to continue. His insightful and moving prose squeezed my chest, burned my eyes, and put hot rocks in my throat. His compelling characters were intricately drawn and I became so entrenched in their captivating storylines that their struggles became quite real to me.
Like most Caucasian Americans of European ancestry, I am unsure of much of my heritage as basically, we are all mutts and have absolutely nothing to feel superior about. I am uncertain if I have much if any German heritage in my DNA, but if I do, I want to know if it can be removed – pronto! -
A series of letters, a time of war and a mother's devasting choice
The Daughter's Tale takes readers from Berlin, Germany in the 1930's to New York City in 2015. Much like
Suite Française, The Daughter's Tale shows the brutality, resistance, and cowardice of ordinary people during a time of war. The central event that Armando Lucas Correa brings to this tale is that of the Nazi massacre in a French village in 1944. A heartbreaking book, Correa's strength is the way in which he is able to show the many complicated faces of humankind.
A Daughter's Tale was one of my eagerly anticipated books of 2019, having adored the author's previous novel, The German Girl. It did not disappoint!
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date 07/05/19
Goodreads Review 09/05/19 -
Barely 3 stars.
It feels a bit sacrilegious to say that a book that is meant to depict the horrors of WWII felt dull and uninspired, but that was my reaction to The Daughter’s Tale. The story focuses on Amanda Sternberg and the plight of her two daughters during WWII. After Amanda and her daughters are forced to leave Poland, there are no good choices for Amanda to ensure the survival of her daughters. Early on, she sends one daughter off to live with her brother in Cuba, and the rest of the story focuses on the survival of her younger daughter. Who stays in France. This should have been better, but the writing and emotions felt a bit flat. Also, the plot got a bit hard to follow and convoluted at times. I think I would have liked this one better if it gave us more of a perspective on the life of the daughter in Cuba. This was a monthly read with Diane and Angela. We all had similar reactions, although there are plenty of positive reviews. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy. -
Amanda Sternberg lives in Berlin with her husband Julius, and their two daughter's Viera and Lina. Amanda owns her family book shop, and her husband Julius is a respected cardiologist. The family are Jewish, the Germans burn down the book shop and Julius is sent to a concentration camp. Julius had been worried about his families safety for sometime, he has secretly saved a large sum of money and has made plans for them to leave. A parent of one of his patients agreed to provide the opportunity for Amanda to flee Germany and she has to leave quickly and has no time to dwell on what will be her husbands fate.
Amanda has a chance to save her daughter's, to send them to Cuba and on a ship called the St Louis, she decides her youngest daughter Lina is too little to make the journey and only sends her eldest daughter Viera. Part of her husbands plan was for Amanda to go to France, to stay with his friends widow Claire and her daughter Danielle. Amanda writes letter's to Viera, every letter is returned unopened and she has no idea what happened to her daughter and if she made it to safety in Cuba?
Amanda and Lina are eventually taken from Claire's house to a concentration camp and Amanda will do anything to make sure her youngest daughter is safe. In France, the German's round up all the people in the village, all the women and children are taken to a church in Oradour-Sur-Glane and the church is set alight by the German SS. Lina is one of the lucky children to survive and the story explains what happens to her after the fire.
Elsie Duval lives in New York, she receives a call from a woman who explains that she has letters written by a woman called Amanda to her daughter seventy years ago and the shock causes her to have a heart attack. Ida Rosen and her daughter Anna are entrusted to deliver letters written to a girl called Viera by her mother and they fly to New York to deliver them to a woman who they believe might be Viera and is she?
The Daughter's Tale, takes you on a heart breaking journey from Germany, France, Cuba and to New York. It's a story about tragedy, sacrifice, betrayal, secrets, a mother's love for her daughter's, and about tough choices people had to make during world war two.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, thanks to NetGalley for my copy and five stars from me. -
Berlin 1939 was the beginning of a terrible time for Amanda Sternberg and her two young daughters, Lina and Viera. After her heart specialist husband had been taken away to a camp and had subsequently died, Amanda knew she had to flee the city with her daughters if they were to be safe. The original plan was for both girls to board a ship and be taken to their uncle. But Amanda decided to keep Lina with her, entrusting a stranger with her elder daughter, Viera’s care. After staying with a good friend, Claire for only a short time, Amanda and Lina were captured by the Germans and removed to a camp.
The horrors inflicted by the Germans in France was something Amanda knew would remain in their memories forever. But worse – much worse – was to come. Lina was confused, scared and lonely. Her childhood was gone, her memories of her Papa, and sister Viera muddled. What would be her future?
In New York in 2015, eighty-year-old Elise Duval was given messages from her mother – from a long ago past. Seventy years prior, when atrocities were tearing the country apart, her mother wrote letters on torn out pages of a book. Elise suddenly, and painfully, had more recollections than she realised were locked inside her head…
The Daughter’s Tale by Armando Lucas Correa is a heartbreaking tale based on the true story of the Nazi annihilation of a French village in 1944. It beggars belief to know what one human being can do to another, yet it happened back then; it still happens now. The Daughter’s Tale is one of survival, hope, caring and friendship; it’s one I enjoyed and recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. -
Vivid, stirring, and immersive!
The Daughter’s Tale is a gripping, moving story set predominantly in Germany and France during WWII, as well as present-day New York City, that follows the lives of the Sternbergs, a young Jewish family who at a time of horrific persecution and extreme brutality are forced to make unimaginable choices and heartwrenching sacrifices to keep those they love safe.
The prose is perceptive and descriptive. The characters are anguished, courageous, and resilient. And the plot using a past/present style unfolds chronologically into a tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, injustice, guilt, self-identity, ancestry, war, bravery, and survival.
Overall, The Daughter’s Tale is a hauntingly tragic, insightful, heartrending tale that highlights the inconceivable hardships, suffering, and horrors endured during a heinous time in history and reminds us of the incredible power of familial bonds.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. -
“...cada vez que tengas miedo, y sientas que tu corazón está galopando, comienza a contar tus latidos. Cuéntalos y piensa en cada uno, porque solo tú puedes controlarlos. En la medida que crezca el silencio entre un latido y otro, el miedo irá desapareciendo. Necesitamos esos silencios para existir, para razonar.”
Lo primero que voy a decir es que el autor me ha hecho llorar desde el inicio de este libro… hasta el final. Tiene tanto de verdad y de realidad entre sus personajes (recordemos que está basada en hechos reales) que a pesar de toda la crudeza del relato, hay una absoluta belleza.
Conocí al autor con su primera novela “La niña alemana”, el cual disfruté muchísimo, y en ésta su segunda novela ha logrado cautivarme nuevamente. El autor tiene una capacidad impecable para el relato, me ha hecho vivir y sufrir cada momento con Amanda, desde la pérdida de su marido, hasta en cada decisión que ha tenido que tomar por sus dos hijas. Realmente reflexionas y te preguntas: ¿Hasta dónde es capaz de llegar una madre para salvar a sus hijas? ¿Cuánto dolor somos capaces de soportar? ¿Qué hacemos con lo que hemos dejado atrás? ¿Cómo vivir con los recuerdos?
Dentro de la comunidad judía sobreviviente o descendiente del Holocausto siempre encontraremos el lema “nunca olvidaremos” y a pesar de no ser de dicha comunidad, pero si ser descendiente de una persona maravillosa que luchó y sobrevivió este episodio, creo que está en cada uno de nosotros seguir contando estas historias, para que no vuelvan a suceder. Admiro la capacidad del autor por la sensibilidad de su relato, por la sencillez de su lenguaje y por esos personajes maravillosos que lo acompañan.
100% recomendado
“No hay perdón que valga. Ni para ellas, ni para nosotros, ni para nadie.” -
Thoughts soon.
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This is the second book I’ve tried to read by this author. The style of writing is descriptive. I struggled to get engaged with this story. However, there are others who appreciate this style of writing and they will reveal veracious reviews.
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The Daughter’s Tale
This is a tale of “what would YOU do????” as so many of the Holocaust stories become to those of us who are far removed from the horror and ever-present fear our grandparents had to daily face. A happy family is introduced at the beginning of the story and as it happens in happen family children pop out – in this case 2 daughters who are quickly the ones who need to deal with before and after. Before their father was taken, before they had to move, before everyone was killed, before, before, before. . . .and why did Amanda make that choice??? I never did get that. I wouldn’t have . . . .would you? I think most mothers would do “we all go or no one goes”. . . .in my life with my 5 it was always a clear “we sink or swim together!” At the end of the tale the remaining family members must deal with the after, landing in a future that is peopled with humans (in many cases some of their very own posterity) who wrap themselves in a benign, yet relentless ignorance as to the terrible events in the past. (What we don’t know won’t hurt us. . . .) And how could they, really, KNOW the terrible events, happenings? So many kept quiet, kept secrets, were keeping faith with saviors in a long, gone time and place.
It is heartbreaking to learn, and read and be reminded of these terrible times. And it is compelling in its own way. . .but in the writing of this tale, after the horrors, the down hill half that attempted to tie the loose ends, to reconcile who went where and why, and what happened when and how. . . .well, I got confused enough that I had to back track, had to reshape parts of the tale that my mind had painted differently. At the very end, all the resolves thrown out on the page one after the other felt a lot like a list of events was driving the action, and time was running out so it happens all in a few pages, and then we . . . .are. . . . .Done. Abruptly done. That was a tad irritating. Had I been at the campfire while the tale was being told, I would have urged more time taken for the end and characters, reconciliations, answered questions, and a less for the terrible times in the middle.
Worth the read, 3.5 rounded up . . . -
When it comes to historical fiction based around war, I always find it difficult to review the novel. How can I review a story centred around an event in history that was so terrible and traumatic but was the real life for so many? Maybe it's just me but I always have that thought when I go into writing a review for a novel including war.
With all of that being said, although this novel was horrific in the aspect of war, it was a beautiful and emotional story in the midst of that. The story did expose some disturbing realities of what would have occurred during that time which made it difficult to read, but I do think it's important to read stories like these. It's our history and our duty to remember.
The writing was beautiful and fit incredibly well with the story that was told.
Although this was a difficult one to read, I certainly would recommend it.
***I received an ARC of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for hosting this giveaway*** -
A Daughter’s Tale is Correa’s second book of historical fiction, following the publication of The German Girl in 2016. In ‘A Letter to the Reader’ penned by the author he explains the story was inspired by a conversation with a holocaust survivor, and his desire to tell another forgotten story of WWII.
Despite the troubling unrest in the streets of Berlin, and then the forced purge and closure of her bookstore, Amanda and her cardiologist husband Julius, naively believe their family, which includes young daughters Viera and Lina, will come to no harm from their German compatriots. It’s not until Julius is forcibly dragged from his office to serve the Führer in 1939, that Amanda finally realises the danger she and her girls are in, and when the pogrom begins, she is forced to flee. One of Julius’s last acts was to secure passage for their daughters on a refugee ship destined for Cuba, but unable to abandon both her children to an unknown fate thousands of miles away from her, Amanda sends only Viera to her brother’s adopted homeland. With three year old Lina in tow, Amanda makes her way to a friend’s home in southern France, hoping to escape the persecution she and her daughter face as German Jews.
Correa’s tale is one of courage, hope, desperation, and tragedy, as Amanda and Lina fight to survive among those that hunt, and fear, them. I appreciated the way in which he shows how Amanda struggles with each decision she makes, never certain if her choices will save, or condemn them. A brief period of respite with her friend Claire and her daughter, Danielle, renews Amanda’s optimism for the future, and she writes loving letters to Viera on the few pages she rescued from her favourite book, a botanical encyclopaedia, hoping they will find her in safe in Cuba. But their situation worsens when France surrenders to the Nazi’s, and Amanda grows ever more determined that Lina will have a future, and eventually reunite with her sister, no matter the cost to herself.
The strength of A Daughter’s Tale is in the characterisation, Amanda and Lina in particular are fully realised and sympathetically rendered. I was especially affected by the guilt Amanda felt, and the sacrifices she made.
Where it suffered, I felt, was in the pacing. Though I liked the way in which the story was introduced, and ended with Elise in 2015, I think the tale in Germany perhaps began too early. Only a fraction of the story, barely a few pages in fact, actually features the horrific event in 1944, where the villagers of Oradour-Sur-Glane in the south of France, were brutally massacred by soldiers, though the tragedy becomes a pivotal moment for Lina. Such a heinous act is difficult to convey, and while I think Correa gave it the gravitas it deserved, I’m not sure the brevity had the impact within the story that the author hoped for.
A Daughter’s Tale is a moving novel, also exploring larger themes such as identity, home, family and faith, it’s impossible to be unaffected by the experiences portrayed by Correa. -
A good historical novel, such as this one, enables to see events through the eyes of the characters we have gotten to know on the pages. This makes the facts laid out on a dry history text become more vivid and involves our emotional reactions.
I became informed about two events with which I was unfamiliar. I had not heard or read about the massacre by the Nazis of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in France, 1944. Six hundred forty-two men, women and children were slaughtered.
I knew of the ship, St. Louis, which in 1939 carried over 900 passengers, mostly German Jewish refugees. They were refused entry into Canada which is a blot on our history. I did not know it was the same ship first denied permission to land in Cuba, and then refused entry to the USA. They were forced back to Europe where most died in concentration camps or in the chaos of war.
The book chronicles a dark and evil time. Families were decimated, substitute families formed, millions died. It touches on many lives lost, how some people managed to survive the horror, sacrifices made, and difficult decisions, guilt, terror, and some kindness under risk to lives. The main theme was of a mother’s love for her children, She would do anything to enable them to survive the war.
The story centres on a Jewish family, living comfortably in Berlin, 1939. The father is a successful cardiac physician, whereas the mother owns a bookstore. Amanda Sternberg and husband, Jules have two young daughters. Amanda is ordered to burn the books in her shop. As the books are set on fire she thinks those who burn books would next be burning people. Jules is sent to a work camp, from which no one returns. Amanda with her two little girls manage to get to France where they think they have found a safe haven, but the Nazis are approaching. She has received only two permits to board ship to join her brother who lives in Cuba. She is desperately deciding who will board the ship. The family is shattered as a result of her choices.
This is just the beginning of the story. I won’t give away the rest of the plot, except to say that there are heartbreaking events which occur in Nazi-occupied France.
The author is a Cuban who has won literary awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications as well as journalism awards. He now lives in NYC, and his historical novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Highly recommended for people who enjoy historical novels based on fact, as well as books focusing on WW2.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in return for an honest review. -
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A family splintered by war and the strength of parental love is at the core of The Daughter’s Tale, the second novel from author Armando Lucas Correa. Corresponding between New York City in 2015, World War II Germany and France, this moving story chronicles the strength, endurance, sacrifice and love of a family during one of our worst periods in human history.
Inspired by the true account of a young girl’s life in World War II and modelled in part on the horrendous events of a massacre of a French village at the hands of the Nazi war machine in the 1940s, The Daughter’s Tale is a haunting novel. The second book penned by Armando Lucas Correa begins its journey in New York, in the year 2015. A woman in her eighties, Elise Duval, is shocked to receive a phone call, taking her back to a past she has long forgotten. This phone call is followed by a set of letters addressed to Elise from her German mother. The content of these letters brings plenty of secrets to the surface. Linked to this story is the life of Amanda, a bookstore owner. In the year 1939, in Berlin, Amanda is forced to escape the dangers of Nazi dominated Germany, in order to secure the safety of her two young daughters. Amanda aims for France, a somewhat safe zone. But the journey is treacherous. The family are torn apart and they face further hardship when they are sent to a camp. The Daughter’s Tale utilises real life events as an impetuous to form this tense story of strength, survival, loss and faith.
Armando Lucas Correa is one of those very talented historical fiction experts. Correa unearths forgotten fragments of history and embroiders the facts around a compelling historical narrative. The Daughter’s Tale is a select piece of literature that excels in conveying a chapter in the past that is just so upsetting and regrettable that it should never be forgotten. The role of a historical fiction novelist, especially when handling such delicate and emotional events of the past is integral, drawing present day readers to the plight of those in the past. We need these special and talented writers to cross that bridge between history and the reader.
I have the deepest respect for Armando Lucas Correa, he is a really campaigner for historical fiction, with a particular emphasis on World War II. Correa’s first novel examined the largely unheard of plight of hundreds of Jewish people on board a ship that was bound for the safe waters of Cuba. Dejected by this country and many others, the ship was forced to sail back. In refusing entry and asylum for the passengers, many of these unsuspecting countries sealed the fate and death warrants for many of the occupants of this ship. It is utterly appalling, and an event that didn’t need to happen, but it did and to this day, after learning about the terrible fate of these people, the story has refused to leave my side. This was again the case with The Daughter’s Tale, based on the events of a Nazi massacre in a French Village in 1944, Correa demonstrates his deep commitment to resurrecting historical events of the past, which are often very difficult to comprehend. There is no questioning the validity and passion demonstrated by Correa in terms of his story crafting. The Daughter’s Tale is a carefully constructed and well informed book. The Daughter’s Tale works to strengthen the reader’s understanding of the facts, feelings and actions of those who lived during this dangerous time in history.
The rich history of The Daughter’s Tale is complimented by an emotive family saga that centres the novel. As a mother, I really bonded with the mother figure of this tale, Amanda. I felt every setback she experienced and I had great hope that she would be able to secure her family’s long term safety. I was moved emotionally by the events that the characters in this novel negotiate, it increased my connection to the novel. The Daughter’s Tale is definitely worthy of your full attention from start to finish.
The Daughter’s Tale is a highly emotive tale, which is carried along by Correa’s receptive prose. The Daughter’s Tale is underscored by a strong focus on the history and the lived experiences of a family that battled against the horrors of war. Readers with a vested interest in World War II will find The Daughter’s Tale of great interest.
*I wish to thank Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes. -
I've just had the privilege of reading The Daughter's Tale by Armando Lucas Correa. It is due to be published on May 7th, 2019. #NetGalley #TheDaughtersTale
Many thanks to #NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advanced readers's copy in exchange for an honest review.
I believe it is very important to read books that tell the stories of those who lived during the era of the rise of Fascism, the second World War, and the time afterwards. They have much to teach us and are still very applicable to our lives. Sometimes fiction is the best way to share a story and regardless of whether these are "real" characters or not, there were in fact many people who went through experiences like the ones shared in this novel and they no doubt served as an inspiration to the author.
There has seemed to be a real explosion of books based on this particular era and many do it by telling the story both in the past as it was occurring and in a look back from the present day. Correa chose to do this too, but quite differently from most authors. He introduces us to Elise in the present day. She is an older woman whose health is poor and who only has a daughter and grand-daughter as family. She receives a phone call from a stranger who wishes to visit her and give her some letters that are written in German. Upon the arrival of her visitors, the shock is too much for Elise and she collapses, waking some time later to find herself in hospital close to death. She uses breathing techniques to calm herself down as she faces what she believes to be her final moments. The story then moves into the past and doesn't return to the present until almost the end of the book.
The story itself is a heart-wrenching one.. Amanda Sternberg and her husband live in Berlin, deeply in love. He is a cardiologist. She runs a bookstore and they are expecting their first child - a daughter. Life is beginning to be very difficult for them. Amanda must turn over any books that are "suspect" to be burned and she can't bring herself to do it. She hides one under her pillow and means to sort through the rest, but leaves it too late. A mob comes in and burns all of her books. Life continues and after the birth of their daughter Viera, another daughter named Lina comes along. Her husbands cardiology practice which had been booming - including some patients who were Nazi officials - is suddenly reduced to nothing. and then he is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. One of his erstwhile clients informs Amanda of his death and the fact that he had been preparing to to move the family out of Germany to Cuba where Amanda's brother lives. She is told to take her daughters to where she can load them on a boat that is heading to Cuba. When the time comes to send them off, she has a difficult choice to make. One daughter goes and one remains.
I don't want to spoil the story by telling everything that happens.. Life is not easy for those left behind. Initially they move to a small village in France where they feel at least some sense of safety, but nowhere in Europe is really safe and when France capitulates, the writing is on the wall. There are some twists and turns in the story. It is beautifully written and kept me hooked from start to finish.
A big takeaway for me after reading the book is the fact that war brings out the best in some and the worst in others and in between are those with a mixture of both. Ultimately though, the survivors are touched in ways that will impact them throughout their lifetimes. We need to learn that and take it to heart
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.with an interest in the Holocaust or World War 2. I feel it could also be of interest to a book club as there is lots of material worthy of discussion. I am very glad that I had a chance to read it. The story will definitely stay with me.. -
I read The German Girl around 2 years ago and it was such a fabulous book that I was thrilled to learn that the author would release a new book with links to the first book. The Daughter's Tale is a good novel, just not as engrossing as the first novel. For some reason didn't I feel that this book had the same interesting story as with the German Girl. It is a good book and yes I would recommend it. However, the historical aspect of the story in the German Girl was much more interesting. And I think it's because it felt like nothing I had read before. Also, the choice Amanda has to make in this book (can't write about it since I would spoil the book) would have been more interesting if one had gotten the full story. I was disappointed that there was not a POV from Cuba. I think that would have made the book so much more interesting to read.
The Daughter's Tale is for me a so-so book, perhaps my expectations were just too high after The German Girl. However, I still recommend reading it!
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! -
3.5 stars
I liked this story. It offered a unique telling of one German Jewish family's experience during the holocaust. It was a good look at how children were forced to hide their Jewish identity in order to stay alive. How families were literally ripped apart. We follow the Sternberg's, a family of 4, whose lives are drastically impacted as the Nazi's gain control. Mr. Sternberg, a successful heart surgeon, is one day taken away by the Nazis. However, suspecting that his family is in danger, he arranges a strategy to save his wife and 2 young daughters before he disappears. Unfortunately, the plan requires that Amanda Sternberg give up her two children with the possibility of never seeing them again and with no certainty that they will make it to their destination. It is a mother's nightmare and something much easier said than done. The story's main focus is on the youngest daughter, Lina Sternberg, and her experience during the war.
The plot starts off very strong as it details the impact of the Nazis regime on the family. However, about mid way through the book, the plot seemed to slow down and focused more on Lina's character. It felt more character than plot driven. I wasn't as drawn to the pages and it took me awhile to get through this part. I also wished the end of the story had included something more about Amanda's situation. That tangent felt unfinished for me. The only other piece that didn't work for me was the intro and very ending, which take place in present time. These bits seemed disconnected from the plot and needed more depth and perhaps a few more chapters weaved in to better amalgamate the two timelines.
This story is quite simple and predictable in its telling, but worth the read. This a book that will probably appeal to readers who enjoy WW2 historical fiction. Since there are very little graphic details involving the atrocities, it is a nice option for readers who prefer a tamer glimpse of what happened to people during the war.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
