The world that we knew, by Alice Hoffman

Hoffman’s newest work reminds me a bit of The book thief, in which Death appears as the narrator and is an almost sympathetic presence.  In Hoffman’s novel, which also takes place during World War II, primarily in occupied France, there is a female golem.  This (wo)man-made creature has many mystical gifts but lacks a human soul.  The golem is named Ava, a young, strong woman in appearance, that Ettie, a rabbi’s daughter, has brought into being to protect Hanni’s twelve-year-old daughter, Lea, as she travels alone from Berlin to escape the Nazi death camps.  As part of the payment for performing the rites, Ettie also demands train tickets out of Germany for herself and her favorite sister.  Despite the horrors surrounding the protagonists, there are many lyrical passages that serve as a counterpoint to the grief and death everywhere as well as strong elements of magical realism throughout the book.  I found this very effective in creating a different atmosphere from the many, many novels about the Holocaust, and it is one of the best I have read.  It will break your heart, but also give you hope.  365 pp.