THOSE WHO SAVE US

Jenna Blum’s debut novel is a haunting story that brings to life the shame, sacrifices, and atrocities faced by many German citizens as they attempted to survive during the Nazi regime. The story of Trudy Swenson and her mother, Anna--who refuses to discuss her life during the War--is also a novel of spirit, in which Trudy discovers the depths to which her mother sank in order to save their lives. Suzanne Toren’s reading is as impressive as Blum’s prose. Toren handles the intense events of the novel with gentility and measured restraint, yet she fully conveys the unspeakable brutality of the Nazis, particularly the Obersturmführer, whose evil, in many ways, saved mother and daughter. THOSE WHO SAVE US is destined to win awards, both for Blum and Toren. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 05]