Hannah Pearl is a woman in her mid-70's living in an assisted living home in rural Connecticut but in her mind she is a young woman living in WWII Europe. More than 50 years ago Hannah was that young woman, a 15 year old living in France with her parents and younger sister, Emma. Hannah's family was Jewish and when the war reached her town the family was split apart when Hannah's parents sent her to England to work as an au pair. Emma was too ill to travel so she stayed with her parents and all ended up, eventually, in concentration camps where they perished. In England, Hannah met and fell in love with a handsome RAF pilot who died shortly after they learned of Hannah's pregnancy. After giving birth to a daughter she named Miranda, Hanna boarded a boat for America to live with relatives. Now Miranda is grown with two daughters of her own, Fiona and Ida, a grandson named Seamus and Hannah is becoming lost in her memories and advanced dementia. The details of Hannah's life in Europe are only glimpsed by the reader through Hannah's mind as she relives her tragic past as though it were today.

This was a short book and easily read in a few hours. Hannah is a lovely character who has suffered great tragedy in her life, a life she was never able to discuss with her family although they begged her to tell of her history. Miranda and her daughters are thoughtful and loving to Hannah but Miranda finds herself getting frustrated with her attempts to reach the mother that knew her so well and now, on some does, does not even recognize her. It is a beautifully written story but very sad.
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This is a short but fulfilling story, heart-breaking at times. Hannah Pearl is living in a nursing home in Connecticut and no longer is able to keep in mind in the present. She drifts back to France, where she lived before WWII, when her parents sent her to England to be safe.Hannah married a RAF pilot who was killed and then moved to America. Hannah's daughter, Miranda does not understand why her mother is speaking French and keeps trying to bring her mother back to the present. Her two grand-daughter's Fiona and Ida also deal with Hannah in different ways. Fiona ignores and Ida tries to find out what they never knew about their grandmother.

my review: This was a beautifully written book, lyrical and touching. I liked how the author was able to show how all the characters deal with Hannah's illness, but also how Hannah herself feels. I felt she captured the frustration and confusion one must feel when dealing with Alzheimer's. We get bits and pieces of Hannah's life as if putting together a puzzle. The novel is only 160 pages but she accomplishes what it takes others 400.

my rating 5/5 ( )

unique, lovely

This is a gem of a novel that deserves to be savoured slowly, although I confess I read it all in one gulp. It’s the story of a woman whose present is unravelling (she’s suffering from dementia) as it blends with a tragic past she’s never talked about before. Little by little, her daughter and two granddaughters fill in some of the missing pieces (and we the readers fill in some of the rest). This is a stunning book—the segments written from the grandmother’s point of view are particularly moving. My only disappointment was that the back cover blurb led me to believe we would follow the journey of the granddaughter who goes back to France, but that’s a minor complaint. Harriet Scott Chessman is definitely an author I will be keeping an eye on.

A slightly different version of this review can be found on my blog, she reads and reads. ( )

Light on character development and plot.