The life of a young German man is turned upside down by the outbreak of World War II in Graydon’s historical novel.

Growing up in Halbe, Germany, in the 1930s, Oskar Bachmann is surrounded by the echoes of the First World War. His father, a brilliant but brutal tyrant, was once a respected pilot in the German military but came home from the frontlines forever changed. He often beats poor Oskar within an inch of his life, but spares Oskar’s brother, Emil—because Emil is part of the Hitler Youth, an organization Oskar’s mother abhors (she hates all things associated with the Nazis) and forbids Oskar to join. As Germany descends into Hitler-led madness, Oskar’s best and only friend, an ingenious scholar, commits suicide after Nazis burn down his one-of-a-kind library. The violence around Oskar only intensifies while he is a student in Berlin, and his mother arranges for him to finish his studies in the relative safety of New York City. Stateside, Oskar is gifted with a lavish apartment and discovers that his mysterious “landlord,” Aleks, is also German, from the same town where Oskar’s father is now stationed as a pharmaceutical researcher—and he seems to know quite a bit about Oskar. When Herr Bachmann is mysteriously killed, Oskar must choose between loyalty to his family and country and commitment to his ethical center. Graydon explores compelling territory in this historical novel, shedding light on the young Germans who did not identify as Nazis yet found themselves caught up in fascist hysteria nonetheless. Oskar knows enough to see the truth (“The Nazis were adept at psychological tricks…[but] a bouquet of flowers at the centre of our table would not be enough to enhance my outlook”), but the bonds of family and country are a powerful siren song. The nuanced depiction of a seemingly “good” young man torn asunder by conflicting beliefs is where this novel really sings.

A well-researched WWII novel that tackles compelling questions of family loyalty and broader ethics.