The story is set in the years preceding World War II. The pivotal historic event, or series of events, is Hitler's subjugation of Austria. On the historical level, we see Europe step aside and allow it to happen. We also see the events leading up to the critical episode in Uris's Exodus, the boatload of children who are turned away from Palestine, is set up. I assume that it takes place in a later volume in the series.
Elisa Linder/Lindheim is a blonde, blue-eyed German Jew (by Nazi definition) who is a violinist in the Vienna Philharmonic. She can, and does, pass for Aryan. For the bulk of the story, she remains certain the what is happening in Germany cannot possibly happen in Austria, but eventually she takes her Aryan appearance and forged documents to run a stage on an underground railroad rescuing Jewish children.
On another level, Elisa cannot meet a man without having him fall hopelessly in love with her. There are three in particular: a German army officer, an Austrian peasant, and an American journalist. At essentially the same level, we have an almost ridiculously unrealistic happy ending - Elisa's mother and brothers are temporarily safe in Prague and her father escapes from Dachau (really?) just in time to collapse on the steps of Elisa's apartment in Vienna and be loaded up to escape Austria with Elisa and her husband (guess which one) just ahead of the Anschluss.
There were enough hanging threads that I am guessing that the characters and story continue through the series. If not, Thoene has a great deal to answer for in failing to explain how the Jewish concertmaster's Guarnarius turns up without provenance years later in the prologue to the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment