WW2 in Albania

I love historical fiction, amongst my favourite authors are Diney Costeloe and I think this book by Rose Alexander is for sure a book for people loving Diney’s books. The story alternates between 2019 and the period between 1939 and 1945 in which we follow Bekim, his family and the Frankl’s, Hannelore’s family.

The tiny minus I can say is that I did not find it that logical that you give a book, or a stack of papers with a life-story, written by your dad to somebody you have just met. But that does not change how I felt when reading about this country, Albania, which has been closed to the rest of the world for so long. Albania helping a lot of Jews in WW2 and being very humble about this. Bekim’s story is a compilation of stories you can read on the website of Yad Vashem about BESA which is a code of honour the Albanians have.

Alternating between Bekim’s story and Ruth and Zak in the present is a perfect mix. Zak being Bekim’s son living in Italy for a mere thirty years, meeting Ruth who is staying in an apartment just up the road where he lives. Zak giving Ruth the life-story of his dad and Ruth, as a former investigation journalist, is totally engrossed in the story of Bekim and Hannelore. Of course she says yes to Zak when he asks Ruth to accompany him to Albania, where she also meets his parents.

I loved how the story ended and find the mix of fiction and facts perfectly done!

Characters = 9 | Atmosphere = 8 | Writing style = 8 | Plot = 9 | Intrigue = 9 | Logic = 8| Enjoyment = 9 | Score 8.43 = 4 stars