The Winter Guest
Pam Jenoff, 2014
Harlequin
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780778315964
Summary
A stirring novel of first love in a time of war and the unbearable choices that could tear sisters apart, from the celebrated author of The Kommandant's Girl
Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor.
Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn't be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.
Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena's concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee.
But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
• Education—B.A., George Washington University; M.A., Cambridge University; J.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Currently—lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England.
Upon receiving her master's in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The position provided a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senior levels of government, including helping the families of the Pan Am Flight 103 victims secure their memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, observing recovery efforts at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing and attending ceremonies to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of World War II at sites such as Bastogne and Corregidor.
Following her work at the Pentagon, Pam moved to the State Department. In 1996 she was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Krakow, Poland. It was during this period that Pam developed her expertise in Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. Working on matters such as preservation of Auschwitz and the restitution of Jewish property in Poland, Pam developed close relations with the surviving Jewish community.
Pam left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked for several years as a labor and employment attorney both at a firm and in-house in Philadelphia and now teaches law school at Rutgers.
Pam is the author of The Kommandant's Girl, which was an international bestseller and nominated for a Quill award, as well as The Diplomat's Wife, The Ambassador's Daughter, Almost Home, A Hidden Affair and The Things We Cherished.
She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and three children. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
I have not been so moved by a book in quite some time as I was by The Kommandant's Girl ...The remarkably accurate account of a world at war, and the repercussions of that war make this a brilliant debut novel...I could not put the book down, yet was sad to see it end.
Historical Romance Writers
Jenoff excels in her vivid portrayal of the deprivation and corrosive fear that afflicted those dwelling under Nazi aggression.... In the end, The Winter Guest proves compulsive as it races to its desperate denouement, the finale a moving testament to the suffering endured during the war.
Historical Novel Society
Brisk, romantic and emotionally satisfying.
Booklist
Successful and satisfying...[Jenoff] expertly draws out the tension and illustrates the danger and poverty of Eastern Europe as it falls under communism. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.
Library Journal
An 18-year-old Polish girl falls in love, swoons over a first kiss, dreams of marriage—and, oh yes, we are in the middle of the Holocaust.... [It is] the early 1940s, as the Nazis invade Poland and herd Jews into ghettos and concentration camps.... Romance and melodrama mix uneasily with mass murder.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Which sister did you identify with more closely, Helena or Ruth? If you have a sibling, were you able to relate to their rivalry, camaraderie, and the distinct role each of them played in the family?
2. Were there things that you wished Helena had done differently throughout the book? Under what circumstances would you make a decision like Helena’s—one that put yourself and potentially the ones you love at risk? Would you have helped Sam, or looked the other way to protect your family?
3. Despite the horrors of war, a romantic view of WWI and WWII abounds in historical novels. What is it about wartime that drew men and women together so powerfully, like Helena and Sam? Do you believe it is possible for people to fall in love so quickly and for such a love to last?
4. How did each of the sisters’ strengths and weaknesses come to light in the story—and what role did Sam play?
5. Discuss the sisters’ relationship as it evolved throughout the book. Do you think it improved or deteriorated by the end?
6. The Nowak sisters were young women dealing with situations that were completely overwhelming, especially at such a young age. What do you think each really wanted out of life, and in your view were those dreams achievable?
7. Did you identify with any symbolic items or places throughout the book? What did they represent to you?
8. Helena’s feelings toward the Jews, and the Poles’ views of the Jews, were multi-faceted throughout the book. What was your reaction to these varying perspectives?
9. Were you surprised to learn what had happened to the Nowaks at the end of the book? Did you feel it was the appropriate ending for each of the characters?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)