The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer was, to me, an incredible story. An amazing slice of history woven into the story of a modern-day family. This book is told with alternating timelines, it begins with a wedding in a camp in 1942. We don't know who is getting married, we don't know her story. We then meet modern day mom, Alice, her special-needs son is having a meltdown in the grocery store, she needs to get to the hospital to visit her grandmother.
Alina Dziak lives on her family farm in Poland. She is in love with Tomasz and they are planning to be married once she is old enough and once he returns from University. Hearing rumors about the Nazi soldiers getting closer to her village doesn't necessarily concern her, but who could imagine what was to come. We all know the stories now, how it happened, what atrocities occurred but back in the 1940's who could have imagined such things could occur. The world wasn't equipped like it is now with 24/7 news coverage.
I loved the different perspective of the holocaust, told from a non-Jew, from a young Polish woman, what she saw, how she survived, and forced to see the destruction of her country. It is unfathomable to this day.
What made this book so good was the weaving of the two women's stories, how she intertwined their stories, and how it was triumphant in the end.
I couldn't put this one down, I needed to know how it ended. Did she get out, did her and Tomasz reunite and get their happily ever after.
How did their story affect the next generations, and how did Alina's story finally get out and reach her family.
Alice is asked one last favor by her grandmother, Hana. She must go to Poland, send her back pictures, and resolve what is haunting her. How can Alice leave her family and begin this quest when she doesn't even know what she is to find, what are Hana's questions? Hana can't speak after a stroke, so her request is limited to a few words, words that don't make sense.
This book moved me, it speaks of horrors one still can't begin to imagine, the way it's written you feel it and see it. It also speaks of the modern-family, how we can get lost in the day-to-day, and not see the bigger picture of the world and ourselves.
I was sent a complimentary copy by the publisher but was under no obligation to post a review.


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