All The Broken Places

From John Boyne, the bestselling author of the multi-million-copy classic The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Heart's Invisible Furies, comes a devastatingly beautiful story about confronting the past and finding the courage to face the future.

All The Broken Places introduces us to Gretel Fernsby, a seemingly ordinary woman who lives a quiet, unassuming life in a modest London apartment. Seventy years have passed since she fled from Germany, leaving behind the horrors of the Second World War and her father's involvement as the commandant of one of the most infamous Nazi concentration camps. The years that followed in France with her mother were filled with difficulty, but Gretel has always kept those dark times closely guarded, shrouded in silence.

Her carefully constructed world begins to unravel when a young family moves into the flat below hers. As she forms an unexpected bond with their curious and endearing little boy, Henry, suppressed memories resurface, haunting her once again. Gretel witnesses a severe altercation between Henry's parents, posing a threat to the tranquility she has long sought to maintain.

Suddenly, Gretel is thrust into a situation that mirrors a traumatic chapter from her past. She faces a moral dilemma: to intervene and save Henry, she must confront the burden of her buried memories, the guilt that has plagued her, and the grief that lingers. Yet, doing so would mean exposing her true identity and the legacy she has tried to escape for decades.

All The Broken Places is an evocative tale of redemption, courage, and the enduring impact of history on the present. Boyne masterfully weaves themes of bravery, forgiveness, and the complex nuances of human relationships, crafting a poignant narrative that lingers long after the final page.