The Language of Silence

If you’ve ever imagined that your past is behind you, think again.

As her mother becomes increasingly infirm, Anna desperately pursues clues about her parents’ hidden pasts. From Nazi Berlin to war-time Oxford, from Dublin to Durham, from 1930s Moscow to the files of MI5, layer upon layer of subterfuge and secrecy are peeled away. As letters from the grave are brought to light, The Language of Silence sheds light on how the tragedies of the past are resolved in the present.

The novel, set in London in the early years of the 21st century, provides a remarkable exploration of the personal consequences of political events and political resistance, and how those consequences have an impact across four generations of one family. It is a novel of immense power, shocking in its portrayal of family life, which nevertheless inspires hope for the future.

The Language of Silence is from new writer Merilyn Moos.

“This is a book about the shadow of the Holocaust, about constantly being torn between the past, present and future... It is a story told with a great deal of compassion and sensitivity, the reader caught up in carefully crafted vignettes and snapshots... Moos manages to keep the suspense hanging by a thread as family secrets are revealed little by little.”
David Clark, Second Generation Network

''It would be a pity if The Language of Silence was seen wholly as a Holocaust survivor story, because it also has much in common with recent memoirs from English literary women such as Xandra Bingley and Diana Athill, where painful histories are told with stoic wit.''
Amanda Sebestyen, Red Pepper

“This evocative novel, illuminated by a controlled but intense emotion, not without humour, slowly yields up the family’s silenced history.''
Helen Tyler

''This is, in short, an extraordinary book that traces the interrelationships between four generations of a refugee family in Britain, merging both fictional and non-fictional perspectives. It is an important book that deserves to be read.”
Charmian Brinson, Association of Jewish Refugees Journal

“I went to collect 'The Language of Silence' the other day. I can tell you, hand on heart, it's the only book I've ever read within 24 hours of opening it! I was hooked from start to finish.” Kate Jones

''We can only regret that...such an interesting novel did not get the commercial sponsorship it deserved.''
Ian Birchall, Revolutionary History