Out April 30, 2016
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
Everyone knows that no one event is remembered the same way by everyone involved. Memory becomes even harder to pin down when those involved in the event have reason not to remember or lose that memory though illness or death.
In many ways, this hard to search for truth is what Borzeix is trying to straighten out in this book. He wants to discover the truth behind the death of four people, perhaps connected to the Resistance, as well as more about the fifth man that not everyone talks about. The fifth man was a Jewish man whose family survived the Holocaust. It is a discussion and a letter about a memorial and tombstone that, in part, sets Borzeix upon his quest. He also seems possessed by a desire to discover and come to terms with Occupied France’s treatment of its Jewish population.
The investigation aspect of the book is engrossing, if a little disorganized. At times, the direction of the book is a little choppy to follow. That said, the most important parts of the book conceal the sections about memory, in particular national memory and a struggle to come to terms with a nation’s past. Considering that is something many nations are dealing with, it brings the work a step above most.
