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Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Things We Cannot Say in Books

Jun 5, 2019

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer delves into how loved ones are never forgotten within the backdrop of WWII. At the drop of a hat someone’s life can change all of sudden, which is what happened to a family after the Nazis occupied Poland.

Based on her own family, Rimmer tells how “my grandparents were Polish Catholic. They never spoke a lot about what happened to them before they immigrated to Australia. We did not know about how they lived. They would not talk about the war and seemed to put it behind them. I saw this picture of my grandparents in the sunshine and so relaxed. This got me thinking about their story, how they had hope and despair. I decided to travel to the village where they lived in Poland with my aunt and sister. I was able to capture what life was like including Auschwitz and Birkenau, which was such a shocking experience. It is impossible to get my head around the violence of that era, the utter brutality and cruelty.”

The story alternates between war-torn Poland in the 1930s and 1940s and modern-day Florida. The main characters are Alina, having to endure the horrific Nazi occupation; Alice, and her grandmother Hanna, who has made a dying wish, find Tomasz, her soul mate in Poland.

Alice is living in Florida, juggling between being the mother of a six-year-old boy, Eddie, who has autism and her ten-year-old daughter, Callie, who is extremely gifted. Hanna, her grandmother, at the age ninety-five, has suffered a debilitating stroke where she can no longer speak. These present-day characters are somehow related to the past through Alina.

Enduring the Nazis, Alina is struggling to survive and find hope that she and Tomasz can marry at the war’s conclusion. But as their situation gets worse hope begins to dwindle and they wonder, after being separated, will they ever see each other again. This story does not spare the reader all the horrors of the Nazis where they killed in cold blood and used the tools of starvation, rape, and disease.

What makes this story stand out are the relationships. It is heartwarming to read how Eddie has connected with his grandmother and the love between them. Alice and Hanna also have a special relationship since she was the one who gave her granddaughter unconditional love and support, while Alice’s mother became a career mom. Alina and Tomasz also had a special love that was deep and touching.

“I wanted to write about autism and how Eddie is a real person who had the people around him benefit from his life. He and Hanna understood and accepted each other. I also wanted to show how technology helped both he and Hanna communicate through an App. I had some experience with not being able to communicate. Just before I left for Poland I collapsed from a seizure of temporal lobe epilepsy, and was not able to speak for half an hour. I realized how frustrating it is and how scary.”

This emotional historical novel brings together the present and the past. It encompasses loyalty, love, and devotion.

Kudos

Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Good Sister in Books

May 8, 2021

The Good Sister

Sally Hepworth | 2021 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences

8.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is the first book I read of hers, but it will not be the last.

It appeared Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be. In reality, their relationship is much different. Rose is the responsible, pragmatic sister who always looks out for Fern. Fern is the quirky one who always sees the good in everyone. People do not realize Rose looks out for Fern because of her publicly perfect mother, who in secret is a sociopath, and because of what Fern did when she was younger.

The book is much more than I thought it would be. It is a psychological thriller that explores how people with high-functioning autism are treated and how they view everyday occurrences. It is also a family drama, a dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

Hepworth builds the main characters and the people surrounding them well. She describes their world well enough to be in their world but without too much detail slowing down the story. Her storytelling and the story made Sally Hepworth an author. I want to read more of her work.

On Goodreads, Hepworth is the #1 most followed author in Australia.

This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.com.