| Summary: |
In the years between the two World Wars, Josef Tobak builds a quiet life around his friendships, his beloved wife, Anne, and his devotion to the old Jewish cemeteries of Vienna. Then comes the Anschluss in 1938, and Josef's world is uprooted. His health disintegrates. His wife and child are forced to flee to China. His closet Gentile friend joins the Nazi Party - yet helps him escape to America. When the war ends, Josef returns to Vienna and tries to make sense of what remains - including his former Nazi friend, who, he discovers, protected Josef's young female cousin throughout the war. Returning to his cemeteries and a Vienna shattered by war, Josef finds himself beset by secrets, darkness and apparent righteousness marred by private cruelty. As the truth is unearthed, Josef's care for the dead takes on new meaning as he confronts his own role in healing both his devastated community and his deepest wounds. |
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