My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Marta was Ingrid’s cousin. She was also the old man’s last helper. It was fair to say that it hadn’t gone well. It had ended with Marta refusing to ever darken Jürgen Anderson’s door, even if he died, and someone needed help moving his mouldering body …‘Even then – find somebody else,’

That was our surname – before I changed it after the war. It means swallow, like the bird…. My father used to say that the two of us were like our namesake – you know that swallows seldom rest, they spend most of their lives in flight? … Except of course we became birds without a nest to return to.

If I ever find out who your father is, you horrid brats, I’m going to send him my condolences!

There are people that should be sorry, but you’re not one of them.

My Review:

I must confess to being rather ignorant about the countries of Denmark and Sweden, other than a vague notion of where they rest on a map. Shortly after starting this missive I stopped reading and consulted my go-to all-knowing source, the font of all the important knowledge worth knowing, and my chief source of information – Mr. Google. Armed with a bit more reference and leaving many of my researched pages open, I returned to my rapt perusal of this poignantly written, heart-rending, and compelling tale.

Lily Graham’s moving and thoughtfully written account repeatedly bruised and squeezed my coronary muscle in a ruthless manner before breaking it completely and finally patching me up again.   I am ruined! Her evocative yet tensely striking storylines were expertly crafted with well-chosen words, which delivered a resounding emotional impact and hit all the feels from the carefree childhood of clever prankster twins to their traumatic escapes and distressing and harrowing adventures once separated.   I was quickly sucked into every new thread and felt familiar with each new locale with her vivid and haunting depictions. She has mad skills and an ardent new fangirl.