JERUSALEM INTERLUDE

Leah and Shimon Feldstein escape to Jerusalem's Jewish quarter from Austria just before WWII erupts in Europe. Reports from England on the wireless have promised Palestine will be a safe haven. But Leah is wounded by a car bomb, and Shimon barely misses being lynched by an Arab mob. These pioneering Jewish settlers, attempting to reclaim their Biblical Promised Land, face the same terrors that still haunt Israel today. Thoene's fourth novel in the inspirational Zion Covenant series follows the Feldsteins and other families fleeing persecution in Nazi-threatened Poland. Susan O'Malley's calm, matter-of-fact tone contrasts with the violence in the story to chilling effect. Her tender yet determined delivery renews the listener's belief in the power of faith against overwhelming odds. E.V. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]