“Reads like a memoir but has the kind of intimate detail born in the imagination of a novelist at the top of her game.” People
Description
An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War II and present-day Wisconsin, unspooling a thread of love, longing, and the powerful bonds of family
Annelise is a dreamer: imagining her future while working at her parents’ popular bakery in Feldenheim, Germany, anticipating all the delicious possibilities yet to come. There are rumors that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, but Annelise and her parents can’t quite believe that it will affect them; they’re hardly religious at all.
But as Annelise falls in love, marries, and gives birth to her daughter, the dangers grow closer: a brick thrown through her window; a childhood friend who cuts ties with her; customers refusing to patronize the bakery. Luckily Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain.
Two generations later, in a small Midwestern city, Annelise’s granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon a trove of her grandmother’s letters from Germany, she sees the history of her family’s sacrifices in a new light, and suddenly she’s faced with an impossible choice: the past, or her future.
A novel of dazzling emotional richness, Send for Me is an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness.
Praise
“Reads like a memoir but has the kind of intimate detail born in the imagination of a novelist at the top of her game.” People
“Beautifully written, deeply felt…[a] vivid depiction of a family’s heartbreak, its rending and rebuilding.” New York Times Book Review
“Real family letters from Nazi era heighten Send for Me…to portray four generations of women in a family ruptured by the Nazi regime.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“An artfully constructed and richly absorbing novel that shows how love is strengthened, not weakened, over distance and time.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“An intimate, insightful, intricately rendered story of intergenerational trauma and love.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Feb 1, 2021 |
| Release Date | February 2, 2021 |
| Release Date Machine | 1612224000 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, World Literature, Literature & Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Book Club, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult, Book Club Favorites |
Author Bio
Lauren Fox is the author of four novels, including Send for Me, which was named a best book of the year by the New York Times and Parade magazine. She earned her MFA degree from the University of Minnesota, and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Glamour, and Salon.
Narrator Bio
Natasha Soudek was raised in the South, speaks native German, lived in Berlin and Vienna, and finally settled in the Lower East Side of New York City. After honing her stage presence by studying acting and playing hundreds of live music shows (singing and playing bass), she moved to LA to record with Channel/DreamWorks and act on TV. Her voice is as distinct and memorable as the range of characters she’s played on-screen.
Overview
An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War II and present-day Wisconsin, unspooling a thread of love, longing, and the powerful bonds of family
Annelise is a dreamer: imagining her future while working at her parents’ popular bakery in Feldenheim, Germany, anticipating all the delicious possibilities yet to come. There are rumors that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, but Annelise and her parents can’t quite believe that it will affect them; they’re hardly religious at all.
But as Annelise falls in love, marries, and gives birth to her daughter, the dangers grow closer: a brick thrown through her window; a childhood friend who cuts ties with her; customers refusing to patronize the bakery. Luckily Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain.
Two generations later, in a small Midwestern city, Annelise’s granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon a trove of her grandmother’s letters from Germany, she sees the history of her family’s sacrifices in a new light, and suddenly she’s faced with an impossible choice: the past, or her future.
A novel of dazzling emotional richness, Send for Me is an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness.
Reviews
Write Your Own Review