The Things we Cannot Say

Title: The Things we Cannot Say

Author: Kelly Rimmer

Publisher: Hachette Australia, 26th February 2019

Pages: 432 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women’s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love and honor. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

My Thoughts

“War had taken almost everything from me; but I refused to let it shake my confidence in the man I loved.”

This book is a definite 5 star read. From the beginning to the end, it had me completely enthralled. The characters, the double storyline, Kelly did an amazing job with this book! She weaved the two storylines together so well and each one had its own identity as well as being mingled together with the other one. I really enjoy reading books between the past and the present day and this one was no exception.

In the present day story, Alice is a mum of 2 children, Eddie and Pascale, Eddie has severe autism and is non-verbal so it’s extremely difficult for everyone when his routine is disrupted or anything changes.

“Today’s disaster happened when Eddie reached the yoghurt aisle...At some point recently, someone at Go-Gurt decided to improve the design of the graphics on the tubes...I’m sure no one at Go-Gurt realized that such a tiny change would one day lead to a seven-year-old boy smashing up a supermarket aisle in a bewildered rage.”

The significance of what the old lady in the supermarket gives Eddie to calm him down, only comes out right at the end of the book.

I especially loved the special relationship between Eddie and Alice’s grandmother (his great grandmother), Babcia.

“In a world that doesn’t understand my son, he’s always had Babcia, who doesn’t care if she understands him or not-she simply adores him the way he is...He nestles into her side and closes his eyes, and as she sinks back into the pillow, she rests her cheek against Eddie’s blond hair. Then Babcia closes her eyes too, and she breathes him in as if he’s a newborn baby.”

The other part of the story is set in Poland, during the Nazi Occupation and outlines Alina’s relationship with her family and her great love, Tomasz. Alina is quite naive and until she personally witnesses the struggles of her family and loved ones, she doesn’t realise the severity of the war and then her innocence is gone forever.

“From there though, I saw everything differently-for the first time, I understood the recently frenetic activity of my parents and brothers, and I finally understood their bewildering insistence on preserving perfectly good food before it was even necessary to do so.”

After Alina witnesses a brutal execution, her life changes forever and she has fears for her and her families’ safety. She grows up and realises she has to be the one to try and save them and find Tomasz.

I loved the way this book switched between the two stories and they both intermingled so well together. The ending provided answers to all of the unanswered questions throughout the book in both time frames and the twist at the end, tied it all up so nicely. Kelly did an amazing job of being able to combine two stories together and her descriptive writing really made me think I was there in both the past and the present.

I highly recommend this book and know you will love it as much as I did. A 5 cup read for sure!  

"Thank you, Babcia, I whisper, as a gentle breeze stirs the branches above me. Thank you for trusting me to find out the answers for you. I had forgotten I knew how to do that."

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.