Review by Booklist Review
In 1925, the Dubrovkys, a prominent Jewish German family with three daughters, attend an art opening. Hans Erich, an art-enthralled doctor, is stunned by artist Annelene's beauty, but when her pianist sister, Bertha, faints, a skewed alliance is forged. The youngest, Hilde, will become a poet and bookstore owner. Fleeing Nazi-ruled Berlin for Shanghai, the Dubrovskys arrange for three treasured paintings to be kept safe. But these treasures are looted along with millions of other Jewish-owned artworks, and the paintings' complex, dramatic, and peripatetic fates parallel those of the sisters. Bloom brings historical figures into her gracefully episodic and tenderly reflective first novel of loss, exile, and persistence, including artist Max Beckmann, writer Elias Canetti, and the overlooked yet remarkable painter Marie-Louise von Motesiczky. As the sisters eventually settle in New York City and Toronto, and Bertha's daughter Hanna becomes a gallery owner, Bloom considers the symbiosis between art and survival. This wise and nuanced tale of family, love, vocation, and brutality is, even with dark turns, keenly pleasurable, shaped by an abiding appreciation for "the incomparable solace of ordinary life."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT Each of the German Jewish Dubrovsky sisters (Bertha, Annelane, and Hilde) is a gifted artist: a pianist, a painter, and a poet, respectively. They lead comfortable lives in Mannheim until the Nazis take power. Forced to flee, the sisters pack everything that they are allowed to take into two crates and set sail for Shanghai, which is home to a Jewish community in exile. For dignified doctor's wife Bertha, the crowded, grimy streets of Shanghai's poor neighborhoods are a shock, while Annelane delights in the new colors and landscapes, which provide inspiration for her paintings. Meanwhile, Hilde runs off with a Communist poet and heads to Poland. The sisters' lives become more complicated as they seek visas that will let them settle permanently in other countries that are hospitable to Jews. The book takes readers to London, Toronto, and New York, showing the struggles of refugees trying their best to create new lives. In her debut, Bloom writes strong women characters along with vibrant depictions of famous artists Max Beckmann and Marie-Louise von Motesiczky. The novel vividly creates a picture of intergenerational trauma and the healing that art can provide. VERDICT A strong debut that weaves time, place, and history gracefully.--Barbara Bibel
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