MADreads

Journey west

July 2nd, 2008 Lesley - Central

Chris Bohjalian’s twelfth novel, Skeletons at the Feast, follows the journey of a group of refugees as they attempt to escape the Red Army at the end of the Second World War.  Inspired by the diary of an East Prussian matriarch whose family travelled to the West in 1945, Bohjalian’s narrative adds a human touch to actual historical events.

Eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich and her family have lived on their Prussian estate throughout the War until the advancing Russian Army has forced them West to the British and American lines.  Also along on the journey is Anna’s lover, Scottish POW Callum Finnella, who has been working as a laborer on the Emmerich estate. Anna’s  group soon includes German Corporal Manfred-actually Uri Singer, an escapee from an Auschwitz-bound train.  Manfred/Uri soon becomes the Emmerich’s  protector as their travels take them through the ravaged cities and war-torn landscape of Eastern Europe.

Skeletons at the Feast is a departure from Bohjalian’s previous books set in New England.  His latest novel presents a compelling story that doesn’t focus on the Allies but instead provides details of events in the lives of the many European refugees during the last year of World War II.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction