Review: The Hidden Book

Title: The Hidden Book

Author: Kirsty Manning

Publisher: 29th August 2023 by Allen & Unwin

Pages: 368 pages

Genre: historical fiction

Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Jade Lily comes a compelling novel based on a true story of a WWII European heirloom that brought down war criminals and travelled through history ... to be found in an Australian country shed in 2019.

Europe, 1940 Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think ...

 

Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.

 

Australia, present When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell's Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in calico cloth which Roza, Hannah's mother, quickly hides.

 

Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.

 

At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to 'bear witness' to history.

A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.

My Thoughts

Australian author Kirsty Manning is a firm favourite with readers and this time offers a fictional story wrapped around historical facts. Kristy sets out to honour the people involved with saving clandestine photos from Mauthausen Concentration Camp that were used to convict Nazi war criminals. History buffs are sure to appreciate her research efforts in creating compassion and awareness from this sad time.

‘There are so many stories, big and small. We need to tell them all.’

The Hidden Book is a dual time narrative based on true events surrounding a book of photos that was smuggled and then hidden from Mauthausen during WWII. The first timeline is from 1944 with several narrators at the time the book was being made. The second timeline is the present day when Hannah (grandchild) embarks on a journey to discover the history behind this mysterious book. 

‘… if she destroyed the images the prisoners had entrusted to Lena, how would anyone eventually know what went on inside those dark walls?’

Whilst I honour and respect the topic, I just found this book lacked depth in the contemporary timeline. I found the inclusion of Hannah’s story troubling at times with huge time jumps and began questioning the reasoning behind it being there at all. The links - not to her grandfather's story but that of her own storyline - were too tenuous especially concerning her romantic relationships - that I began to question why they were even alluded to. I found her personal life story irrelevant and detracted from the book as a whole.

The Hidden Book at its heart is a story about WWII and the brave actions of those to ensure the truth of the trauma be revealed. Readers who enjoy historical fiction that is based on real events are sure to find value in this tale. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.