The Umbrella Maker's Son
A Novel of WWII
On Sale: 02/11/2025
The Umbrella Maker's Son
A Novel of WWII
On Sale: 02/11/2025
Format:
About the Book
"This powerful, heart-wrenching novel follows a young Polish Jew through his incredible journey to escape the Nazis. Reuven’s story typifies that of millions of others experiencing the horrors and deprivations suffered by Jews in WWII and those who tried to help them. And yet, it is also an ultimately uplifting and inspiring tale of one man’s coming of age in horrific times."—Heather Morris, #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
For fans of Heather Morris and Lisa Barr, a powerful and unforgettable novel of survival against all odds and the remarkable power of love, in which a Jewish teenager in World War II Poland fights to save his life and find the young woman who holds his heart.
Born to a secure, middle-class Polish Jewish family, seventeen-year-old Reuven works alongside his father, an artisan businessman whose shop creates the finest handmade umbrellas in Poland. But the family’s peaceful life shatters when the Nazis invade their homeland, igniting World War II. With terrifying brutality, the Nazis confiscate their business, evict them from their home, and strip away their rights, threatening the lives of the city’s Jewish population, including Reuven and Zelda, the girl he loves.
Shortly after the Nazi occupation, Zelda and her family disappear, and Reuven and his father are forced into backbreaking physical labor that nearly kills them. For the young man and his family, the only chance to survive is escape—and some of them will die trying.
Fleeing a Nazi ambush through the surrounding forest, shot and wounded, Reuven is found by a local farmer who has never met a Jew—and agrees to help because he needs the boy to work the farm with him. The farmer’s wife, however, is not as kind. Her betrayal forces a desperate Reuven to escape. He embarks on a perilous journey through the Polish countryside, determined to reach the Kraków ghetto where he hopes to reunite with Zelda, whose life has also been forever changed by the horrors of occupation and war.
A love story and a story of family, The Umbrella Maker’s Son is a riveting, heartfelt, and beautiful tale of survival and unexpected hope in the face of terror and violence. A chronicle of triumph, it joins the ranks of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and other memorable works of modern Holocaust literature.
Critical Praise
“[A] compelling and heartbreaking debut novel. At once well told and ineffably sad. Read it but keep your tissues handy.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Fans of Heather Morris and Lisa Barr will be captivated by Lending’s story of resilience and romance, a must-have for historical fiction sections.” — Library Journal
“Lending eschews the sentimentality common to much recent Holocaust fiction, instead bringing the horrors of the period to visceral life.” — Publishers Weekly
"This powerful, heart-wrenching novel follows a young Polish Jew through his incredible journey to escape the Nazis. Reuven’s story typifies that of millions of others experiencing the horrors and deprivations suffered by Jews in WWII and those who tried to help them. And yet, it is also an ultimately uplifting and inspiring tale of one man’s coming of age in horrific times." — Heather Morris, #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
“The Umbrella Maker’s Son is a must-read for fans of historical fiction. It is a heart-rendering reminder of the human capacity for both cruelty and compassion that will stay with you.”? — MSN.com
-Product Details
- ISBN: 9780063413849
- ISBN 10: 0063413841
- Imprint: Harper Paperbacks
- On Sale: 02/11/2025
- Pages: 400
- List Price:23.99 CAD
- BISAC1 : FICTION / Historical / World War II
- BISAC2 : FICTION / Jewish
- BISAC3 : FICTION / Cultural Heritage
- BISAC4 : FICTION / Romance / Historical / 20th Century
