The World That We Knew: A Novel - Hardcover

Hoffman, Alice

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1501137573 ISBN 13: 9781501137570

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2019

Synopsis

“Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman’s exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us—it is a glorious experience. The book builds and builds, as she weaves together, seamlessly, the stories of people in the most desperate of circumstances—and then it delivers with a tremendous punch. It opens up the world, the universe, in a way that it absolutely unique. By the end you may be weeping.” —Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive Kitteridge

“Alice Hoffman’s new novel will break your heart, and then stitch it back together piece by piece. It’s about love and loss, about history and the world today, about what happens when man goes against the laws of nature for good and for evil. It’s my new favorite Hoffman book—and if you know how much I adore her writing, that’s truly saying something.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light

“An exceptionally voiced tale of deepest love and loss...one of [Hoffman’s] finest. WWII fiction has glutted the market, but Hoffman’s unique brand of magical realism and the beautiful, tender yet devastating way she explores her subject make this a standout.” —Booklist (starred review)

In 1941, during humanity’s darkest hour, three unforgettable young women must act with courage and love to survive, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites Alice Hoffman.

In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but it’s his daughter, Ettie, who offers hope of salvation when she creates a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Lea. Once Ava is brought to life, she and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwined, their paths fated to cross, their fortunes linked.

Lea and Ava travel from Paris, where Lea meets her soulmate, to a convent in western France known for its silver roses; from a school in a mountaintop village where three thousand Jews were saved. Meanwhile, Ettie is in hiding, waiting to become the fighter she’s destined to be.

What does it mean to lose your mother? How much can one person sacrifice for love? In a world where evil can be found at every turn, we meet remarkable characters that take us on a stunning journey of loss and resistance, the fantastical and the mortal, in a place where all roads lead past the Angel of Death and love is never ending.

About this title

Review

An Amazon Best Book of September 2019: Alice Hoffman's novel is a beautiful union of history and myth in a world gone wrong. As The World That We Knew begins in Berlin in the spring of 1941, Hanni Kohn is left with no choice but to get her 12-year-old daughter, Lea, out of Germany if she has any hope of saving her life. Hanni will do anything to for Lea, even something as dangerous as soliciting the creation of a mystical golem to act as her protector. Ettie is a rabbi's daughter, wise beyond her years, and when Hanni comes to her home pleading for help, Ettie takes matters into her own hands. Ettie, Lea, and the golem they name Ava make their way to Paris, Ava and Lea following one path and Ettie another. Hoffman’s tale of these three lives is one of love and sacrifice, kindness and cruelty, and throughout it all the Angel of Death fills book after book with the names of those murdered by the Nazis. The World That We Knew is exquisite and hopeful, a reminder that even when life as we know it has disappeared, and evil seems to have inexplicably won the upper hand, love will always find a way. --Seira Wilson, Amazon Book Review

About the Author

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. She lives near Boston.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1501137573
• ISBN 13: 9781501137570
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384