Price: $19.00 - $13.68
(as of Feb 26, 2025 15:14:32 UTC – Details)
“You can’t prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel.” —John Irving
From the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a stunning tour de force about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery
Ninety-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 doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age twelve. She doesn’t talk about the grim postwar years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps.
Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t 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 Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence.
Immersive, chilling, unputdownable, All the Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel’s girlhood in Germany and present-day London. Here, Gretel is at a similar crossroads to the one she encountered long ago. 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.
Publisher : Penguin Books (November 28, 2023)
Language : English
Paperback : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593653440
ISBN-13 : 978-0593653449
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.27 x 0.8 x 7.99 inches
Customers say
Customers find the story engaging and complex. They describe the book as an amazing, compelling read that is worth their time. The writing is praised for its captivating narrative and immersive storytelling style. Readers appreciate the unexpected twists and turns in the story. They find the main character compelling and well-developed. Many find the book difficult to put down and easy to follow. However, opinions differ on the pacing – some find it smartly moving between 2022 and the post-WWII period, while others consider it slow.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
