22 Britannia Road

by Amanda Hodgkinson

"Hodgkinson's portrait of the primal bond between mother and child . . . leaves an indelible impression." — The New York Times Book Review Debuting its first week on the New York Times bestseller list and earning comparisons to Sophie's Choice and Sarah's Key , 22 Britannia Road is an astonishing first novel that powerfully chronicles one family's struggle to create a home in the aftermath of war. With World War II finally over, Silvana and her seven-year-old son, Aurek, board the ship that will take them to England, where Silvana's husband, Janusz—determined to forget his ghosts—has rented a little house at 22 Britannia Road. But after years spent hiding in the forests of Poland, Aurek is wild, almost feral. And for Silvana, who cannot escape the painful memory of a shattering wartime act, forgetting is not a possibility.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Historical, War, British Literature, Poland

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Amanda Hodgkinson is an award-winning British novelist. Her debut novel 22 Britannia Road was an international bestseller, an Amazon.com book of the year 2011, a Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee and was published in over sixteen languages. Spilt Milk is her critically acclaimed second novel published in 2014. (Spilt Milk is a refracted version of real life, that impossible mess we inherit and muddle through, yet transmuted here into something shining and meaningful, told in beautiful prose. THE FINANCIAL TIMES.)
In July 2014, Berkeley (Penguin Books) published a novella TIN TOWN by Amanda in Grand Central. Ten bestselling novelists have put together this collection of original stories of postwar love and reunion.
Amanda loves to travel, cook, garden and swim (but not all at the same time). She currently lives in the UK in an old stone cottage high on a hill in the middle of National Trust parkland. Lots of trees!

Reviews

[Susan in NC · Rating 2 out of 5]

"She is made of the thinnest eggshell, her toughness a veneer. . ." That is the way Janusz describes his wife Silvana as he embraces her; the scene is about two-thirds through the book and seems to be the first insightful thing he thinks about her. I chose this book from the Amazon Vine program because it sounded like a wonderful, moving premise for a novel, but I was disappointed. I expected it to be sad, but I also expected to feel for and empathize with characters who have been through so much. I found I just couldn't care about Janusz and Silvana as a couple - there didn't seem to be a real bond there. When they first meet as teenagers, they are just a couple of horny kids, feeling an instant physical attraction and apparently not much else. Silvana comes from a miserable, dysfunctional peasant family and seems motivated only by the desire to escape; Janusz seems to ask her to marry him out of duty, suggesting perhaps he's gotten her pregnant. Either way, I didn't feel like I knew the characters - what were their likes, dislikes, dreams, motivations, what made them laugh? They seemed very young and unformed, which they were, but the love they shared did not feel strong enough to sustain them through six years of war and deprivation.

And apparently, it's not; Janusz seems quite amenable to camping out wherever he lands and sitting out the war - whether it's the old goose woman's cottage or Helene's parents' farm, he seems quite weak and easily lead and just goes along. Granted, his life has been totally turned upside down, but I don't get the impression he's burning to fight for his country, or to see his wife and child again, or to do much of anything, except have an affair with Helene.

Silvana has a much rougher time (women in war often do), but she seems very shallow and unformed as well, basically a hollow shell doing whatever she's told by Hanka, or Gregor, or Janusz, or Tony, or Doris . . . She and Aurek endure a much harsher deprivation in the forests of Poland, but something about that didn't ring true for me. It went on way too long and became boring, and it seemed uneven - they stay for months with one farmer, then the Germans are coming and they must move on; then they wander a day and Gregor finds them and brings them into his dubious fold; next time they're abandoned they wander for days and days and see no sign of life - but then a farmer finds them near death. A while later, Gregor comes back into the picture and I thought, how come they didn't find Gregor or this farmer while they were wandering lost in apparently the same vicinity? Are these the densest, deepest, most desolate woods ever or the forest from "Midsummer Night's Dream", with characters constantly wandering on and off stage? It just seemed inconsistent. First Silvana is tough and independent, hunting and skinning animals with Gregor, and he tells her she'd be perfect for the Resistance - but when she and Aurek are alone again, they're eating whatever they find but almost starving. She forgot how to trap and hunt? Again, it just seemed inconsistent.

I felt like I never got to know Janusz or Silvana, and I don't think they knew each other. And they were so secretive with each other; granted, if you're guilty of infidelity in wartime, you're not going to rush up to your beloved and spill your guts right away! But I couldn't help thinking real lovers/partners would eventually share and talk about what they'd endured, seen, learned about themselves; not all at once, of course, but in dribs and drabs. Janusz and Silvana live in the same house but seem to rarely speak with or to each other; Silvana's obviously suffering from what we'd call PTSD (not even a recognizable condition back then), but you'd think they'd still slowly share and talk. But no, there seems to be no REAL talking until the last five pages. I frankly didn't care by that point; I felt like the author used the "Big Misunderstanding" device to push the characters and action along - fine for a fluffy romance novel, but really annoying here. It just reinforced for me the feeling that here were two people who didn't have much in common to begin with - I couldn't help feeling sorry for Janusz for missing out on his chance with Helene! If I didn't have to write a review for the Vine program, I doubt if I would've finished the novel - I would've just jumped to the end to see if Janusz and Silvana stayed together!

I'm sure some fans of historical fiction will find this a satisfying story of survival and "primal maternal love" as the back cover says; I just couldn't care much about the characters, so it didn't work for me.

[Book Concierge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook narrated by Robin Sachs

At the end of World War II, Silvana and her seven-year-old son Aurek board a ship that will take them to England, where her husband, Janusz, waits for them. As the war escalated, he had joined the Polish Army, leaving his wife and infant son behind. Then Warsaw was bombed and Silvana fled to the forest with Aurek. Now he has settled in England. He wants nothing more than for them to become a proper English family, with a normal life in the small house at 22 Britannia Road.

Hodgkinson’s debut novel is beautifully told. The war has affected all of them, and they each bear secrets that lead to misunderstandings and feelings of distrust. How these damaged people struggle to become a family once again forms the central theme of the book.

I was engaged and interested in the story from beginning to end. Hodgkinson divides her chapters by location/time and by character, telling parallel stories: Poland during the war, England after the war. I liked how she used this technique to slowly reveal to the reader what Silvana and Janusz endured during their years apart. The choices they made carry consequences they dare not share with one another. And yet, they must find the love they once shared and nurture it, for themselves as individuals, for their child, and for their family.

Aurek fascinated me. When he and Silvana arrive in England he is understandably clingy. Janusz knows they lived in the forest for a time, but he’s not prepared for a son who hoards food, and doesn’t know how to tie his shoes or even how to sleep in a bed. Silvana tells Aurek again and again that they are safe, that Janusz is his father and loves him. But Aurek learned to be suspicious of men during their time in the forest, and he thinks of Janusz as “the enemy.”

Robin Sachs does an excellent job narrating the audiobook. He has good pacing and clearly differentiated the characters. I was never confused about who was speaking or what time frame I was in.

[The.Saved.Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

22 Britannia Road was most definitely a pleasant surprise for me. There are so many books out there relating to WWII and sometimes I think there can possibly be anymore to contemplate regarding WWII, but, again, this book has proven me wrong. The scope of people affected by WWII is hard to grasp, but definitely a reality.

In this story, a newlywed couple and there infant son are separated when Poland is invaded by German forces and must go to war to keep their country. Janusz, the father, is required to enlist in the army and leaves his new wife, Silvana, and son, Aurek, behind in Warsaw. Almost as soon as they couple are separated, they are affected by the war. Janusz's train suffers some sort of attack on the way out of the city and miraculously survives. Silvana's apartment is inhabited by a German soldier who rapes her and offers protection if she gets rid of her child and stays on as his maid.

Silvana manages to get out of the city and survives for several years in the forest, sometimes with groups of people and at other times it is just her and Aurek. During the same period Janusz lives alone for some time is a small cabin, until two other soldiers who have defected come across his cabin and warn him that enemy troops are near. Then ensues a long process of getting out of Poland through several "underground" means.

While Janusz and Silvana are doing there best to survive the war, they both suffer immensely and do things they would not have otherwise done. This book to me was not just about survival and putting a family back together when you have made it to the other side, but also about finding yourself and coming to terms with the atrocities of war. This book touches on some pretty tough topics, but it is most definitely a worthy read.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ex-AS-perating! Could have been so much more.
The writing was actually decent enough that I could have given it three stars, but by the time I got to the end I was tearing my hair out in frustration at what she chose to include and what she chose to leave out of the story. I was left with a feeling of pointlessness. 2.5 stars

[Connie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silvana and seven-year-old Aurek are reunited with Janusz, her husband, after World War II. He has settled in England after the war, and his family was found in a refugee camp. Silvana and Janusz have been through separate terrible wartime experiences when Poland was invaded by both German and Russian soldiers. Janusz traveled to safe houses to finally get to England. Silvana and Aurek lived in the forests of Poland, and Aurek has only known a wild existence. Their adjustment is difficult, and the secrets of those wartime years are slowly revealed as the story unfolds.

I enjoyed the beginning and the end of the book the most, with the middle losing a bit of momentum. The book makes the reader understand that in wartime people may be forced by circumstances to make quick imperfect decisions.

[Lydia Laceby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewed at Novel Escapes

The portrayal of World War II in 22 Britannia Road doesn't hold back, which I really appreciated, but unfortunately I found it came across as emotionally stilted - which maybe was the point. These were characters hardened by war and had lived through torturous years apart when the war separated the recently married couple. But I still couldn't help wanting more. I wanted to empathize and root for these characters and their relationship, but didn't seem to be able to. Unfortunately the idea of this novel was fabulous, but the follow through I ultimately found disappointing.

The one thing this novel opened my eyes too was just how many couples were displaced during and after the war and how easy it was to pick up and find a new life, completely abandoning the old one. I can see the appeal based on circumstance and how difficult it must have been to go back to normalcy after everything had changed and how much each person would have changed. It made me yearn for a more romantic story to come out of this novel, and this one was slow growing and didn’t fulfil what I had anticipated.

I wanted more of a spark to Janusz and Silvana’s relationship from the beginning, which might have made the rest of the novel more believable. A sense of duty brought them back together, but there wasn't anything there to hold onto and I found it difficult to root for their relationship. Janusz had more spark with Helene and their relationship seemed much more believable while Silvana was cold and emotionless most of the time.


None of Silvana's interpersonal relationships carried any depth nor did they seem real to me and I found her character to be contradictory. She’s a survivor and is like a big momma bear with her son, but then she lets Janusz tell her how to get on with things and what to do. I expected she would have stood up for herself a bit more. I do realize the time they were living in, but after her experiences, I thought she would have more spark when the war ended but maybe she was just happy to let someone else lead. The is especially evident where her son is concerned, but she pretty much lets Janusz do whatever he pleased, which surprised me after the lengths she went to keep her son safe.

I really wanted more shown of the boy and his feral ways. How he was suddenly shipped off to school after three months back to 'normal', in a different country, in a different language when he would never have been to school before surprised me. I wanted to see more from his perspective rather than him simply running away from school. I wanted to see his integration, as well as more of Silvana’s and had hoped for more here.


There were a few tender scenes that I did appreciate, but they came so late that I couldn’t really grow excited about them. Ultimately this novel fell short for me and I was disappointed that what could have been a fantastic plot was dragged down by wooden, unrelatable characters.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book dealt with the aftermath of the war and how it affected the relationship of this couple who had been lost to each other for 6 years. You hear the expression, "war destroys lives", but how do you pick up the pieces and move beyond it. This story attempts to do that.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

War destroys lives. People make choices that don't always make sense. And most of us would do whatever they could to survive.
When Poland is invaded Janusz leaves to join the Army and makes absolutely no preparations for his wife and newborn. He does not get them to his parents. He just leaves. Silvana seems to go into some type of protective shell and does nothing. It reminded me of when I was diagnosed with cancer. Somehow your mind shuts down and you hear people but they sound so far off- not really connected to you. It is in that bubble that Silvana goes through the war. She just floats through the War just stumbling around and doing whatever it takes to make it through another day. She makes no plans, no real decisions and just rolls with whatever happens. It is exactly how I felt when I was in my own War with another invasive enemy.
When Janusz and Silvana reunite, they don't want to share the secrets of how they survived. It seems so shameful to them. Janusz wants a perfect life now that blot out his horrible life. Silvana wants to be safe. Unfortunately, the secrets don't allow them to bond or heal. It's the unveiling of those secrets that almost destroy them.
To me this is a book of survival. What would you do when you face the unimagable? What would you do to survive? How would you cope?

[Pam Jenoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This remarkable book chronicles the struggle of a Polish woman to make a new life for herself and her son in England in the aftermath of World War II. But her life is crippled by questions: Can she overcome the horrors she has been through to reunite with her husband (whom it now seems she barely knows)? And what really happened during the war? Original, memorable and heartfelt.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.99 on Amazon

I thought this was a powerful debut by Hodgkinson. I enjoyed reading about the struggles of Polish refugees during and after WWII. It moved at a good pace and kept me interested.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading so much WWII literature for the past few years, I turned to this novel that tells the story of a young woman and her son who spend much of the war in hiding in the forests in Poland. The book starts where she has been located in a British resettlement camp, and will shortly be reunited with her husband, who she hasn’t seen for six years. This is the story about the damage done to each of these people, and how they struggle to move forward in the world recovering from war. I thought the book was very well done!

[Amina Hujdur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teška i bolna priča o ponovnom početku života porodice rasturene u ratu.

[Ladyslott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a number of books set during the onset and duration of World War; many of them focus on The Holocaust or the United States involvement in the war. 22 Britannia Road takes a different approach in the story of Janusz, Silvana and their son Aurek.

The novel opens with the reunion of the little family six years after they were separated in 1940 when the Germans Army invaded their homeland of Poland. This reunion is not a joyous Hollywood style meeting. After so many years apart the two are virtual strangers and each of them keep secrets they are not ready to share. In alternating chapters we learn the husband and wife’s very different war stories.

I loved this book. The story grabbed from the very start. I found the writing beautiful and the development of the story of two people who are desperate for a normal life again was nicely done. Complicating their struggles are the secrets they are keeping and their son Aurek’s difficulty in adapting to civilization after many years hiding with his mother in the forests of Poland. I liked the fact that these people were not perfect; they made choices both good and bad which seemed very realistic considering the horrific circumstances. When all is revealed it isn’t a happily ever after moment, decisions have to be made about living in the past or trying to build a future either together or apart.

This is a debut novel from a very promising new talent and a definite Top Ten book for me this year. I am looking forward to Ms. Hodgkinson’s future works. I recommend this book very highly.

[Felice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 22 Britannia Road of the title is the destination for a young family destroyed by WWII. Silvana and Janusz Nowak and their 8 year old son Aurek are Polish refugees. When the novel begins it's 1946 and they are all about to start a new, picket fence life in England. They have been separated since 1939 when Janusz left his wife and son to fight for Poland against the Germans. Each of these spouses then spent the next seven years struggling with the choices that would keep them alive. Once the war began the lives of all three of the Nowaks became equal parts horrific and terrifying but so far peace has not brought them a happy ending. Their efforts to reunite as a family are stymied by years worth of suffering and guilty secrets.

After reading 22 Britannia Road it's difficult to believe that it is author Amanda Hodgkinson's first novel. She confidently travels well trodden territory with a fresh eye in this book. The characters lives go from storybook to nightmare to somewhere in the middle of each of those extremes in 300 pages. Through each of those stages Hodgkinson details not only the events of the story but the emotional circumference of her characters. Janusz, Silvana and Aurek are well defined, charismatic characters who are lucky enough to come out the other side of war but may or may not be able to win their peace. Amanda Hodgkinson brings a sensitive but authoritative voice to what could have been soap opera historical fiction.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book. It's so difficult to believe that this is a debut novel, the author shows such deftness of touch in telling the story of the reunited Polish family in Ipswich after the war. I read the book in two sittings and found it absolutely unputdownable, so involved did I get with the stories of Janusz, Silvana and Aurek. There are passages telling of the most horrifying privation and wartime cruelty and tragedy, set against the domestic detail of resuming life in Ipswich and their attempts to rekindle family love. There were passages involving the emotionally damaged young Aurek that were incredibly painful to read, and I shed several tears. There are also secrets aplenty, and I thoroughly enjoyed the slow - and matter-of-fact - revelation and unravelling. Overall, the story is about the redemptive power of love, and it left me wholly satisfied. A wonderful read, and I eagerly await her next.

[Wendy Pearl Karanfilian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderfully written first novel! I just read it a second time (cover to cover), before hosting a dinner with the author and some Bay area booksellers. It's less of a WWII story than a story of what happens after the war. If you enjoy books like: Sarah's Key, Book Thief, and even the new YA novel, Between Shades of Gray, you'll like this one! This one's gaining fans and "buzz" among independent booksellers across the country!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tragedy -what a beautiful written Second Worldwar story! and that boy, Aurek.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written debut.

[Kinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janusz and Silvana are separated by war and spend six years apart. This book describes what happens to them and their son Arek when they are reunited. I liked the fact that the book is set partly in Ipswich, which is nearby for me, and that 22 Britannia Road is an actual address in that town. The feelings of alienation from each other rang true, as well. I have known many migrant families who were split for some years while one of the members settled in a country abroad. Sometimes it took many years for them to be reunited and they often struggled to be a family again. Distance and time had changed people and this was well documented by the author.

I had a couple of quibbles: Polish women tend to wear their wedding ring on their right hand, not left, so when Sylvana looks for a ring on her left hand, this rang false. Also, Aurek ad Silvana are not traditional Polish name (though Arek and Sylvia are). But these were minor issues in what is otherwise a great book.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been drawn to read this by the title - as I went to school at Britannia Road in Ipswich. However, I was rather disappointed with the story and how it was written.

The story kept going backwards and forwards and between the two lives of Janusz and Silvana and their expereince escapng from Poland.

[Khrystian Ruiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little hard to read, it’s a slow start picks up a little but over all a little disturbing. It really makes you think about the awful things that happen during a war, and the awful things people will do when they believe they have no other options.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, I felt like I was in a movie theatre, just sitting back and enjoying the story. I kept imagining a very young Meryl Streep as Silvania.

This book is set in 1946 in England but has flashbacks to Poland during WWII. The flashbacks were handled flawlessly so you always knew which character and what place you were going back to. The book opens with Janusz, a Polish immigrant to England trying to immerse himself in English culture and customs. He desparately wanted to fit in and not be the guy with Polish accent. He had been separated from his long ago sweetheart and wife, Slivania and his young son, Aurek since 1937.

Pre-war Poland was not so bad. There were many movie theatres and Silvania was proud of the beautiful uniform that she wore as an usherette at the Kine cinema. She was very glad to escape her depressing home to marry Janusz. In 1937, the grass was green and full, the trees blossuming with hope. Janusz had decided to not follow his father's advice to be a lawyer but to do what he loved, to work with mechanical things instead. The future was full with promise.

Then the war came to Poland. The Germans invaded Warsaw and entirely changed the lives of Janusz, Silvania and little Aurek. As the story unwound, events were the starting points of long held and scary secrets. Some secrets were not so obvious and I had literally gasped out loud.

Living in the forests outside Warsaw for Silvania and Aurek seemed so real that I often forgot that that I was reading a book! What they had to do to survive, how they had to completely depend on each other. They seemed like one unit. Janusz also had some life experiences that became memories and memories that became secrets.

With this book, you realize how much wartime experience can take over the souls of people and utterly change their inner life. Secrets from Silvana held both by Janusz and those terrible life changing memories held by Silvana from her husband take on a life of their own.

This book is a must read. The author, Amanda Hodkinson is very talented and is a joy to read. All the major and minor characters were vividly fleshed out and the scenes in Poland and England were rich with visual images. You will forget that you are reading and will feel that you are in England and Poland. The Polish customs, food and farms were beautifully interwoven in the story. By the end of the book or maybe before, you will be thinking of what war does to people and if and how those experiences can be overcome.

I received this book as a part of the Amazon Vine Program but my review is based entirely my own thoughts.

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently I search for books about World War II and impact of it on what Tom Brokaw dubbed, “The Greatest Generation”. In my quest, I search for books that look at different aspects, countries and ethnic groups impacted by this war.
“22 Britannia Road” by Amanda Hodgkinson has a similar tone to another book I recently enjoyed, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”. Since my weakness is history, I am joyful when I learn something new about history that escaped my limited education.
Janusz Nowak and his wife Silvana marry and have a baby they name Aurek. Janusz joins the Polish Army when the threat of Hitler’s invasion is imminent. Silvana is left in Warsaw and experiences part of the German occupation before she escapes to live with Janusz’s parents.
Nothing turns out as planned--Janusz is waylaid on his quest and so are Silvana and their son. Silvana and her Aurek become woodland creatures while Janusz travels undercover trying to find an army to join. Finally he succeeds and ends up in England where he embraces everything English. After the war, Janusz asks the Red Cross to find his wife and son and they do!!
Reunited in England, Silvana, Janusz and Aurek try to rebuild a family, a life and a future. Will their past secrets and sins hinder and destroy this dream? Will past and possibly future romances ruin this family?
While reading this book on the beach, I was seated next to my friend who was reading Tina Fey’s “Bossy Pants.” While my friend was laughing and reading excerpts from the book for me, I was living with Silvana in the Polish forests, skinning and roasting rats and breastfeeding my baby. However I would not have traded reading this book for these laughs.
This is a tender and sweet book with brutal images of a brutal war.
So themes, I love themes:
1. What actually makes what we define as a family?
2. Can people move beyond past loves that are dead?
3. What makes a neighborhood a melting pot?
4. Why do some busy bodies try to ruin other’s lives?

[Silke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the first time I actually saw this book in my local bookstore. It called out to me. Maybe it was the picture on the front page, maybe it was the title. I am not quite sure, because I am not very found of books that are set in the war. I left the book in the bookshop. But every other visit it kept calling to me. So eventually I actually took it home with me and boy am I glad I did! This is one of the best books I read this year.

Sure the book is about the war. But at the same time it isn't. This might sound a bit complicated but I ll try to explain. The whole book is centered around the war. Actually it is about WW II and what it did to this particular family. They got torn apart, each had to make choices to survive and they have to deal with the consequences once they get back together. These people are formed because of what happened in the period that they were separated. Shackled if you like by the big war that almost destroyed Europe. And at the same time the war is never the main subject. Human beings and feelings are. All the fighting and the politics are in the background. They are there but they don't seem to be playing a big role. I loved that! I loved how this family fought for survival. I understood every one of them and the choices they made. Sometimes the wrong choices, but still every-time right in some other perspective. This book shows that everybody makes mistakes, that everybody has a past with secrets in it. But it also makes all the characters lovable, sympathetic. Its written in easy sentences, not big literature, with long descriptions and deep emotions. No it crystal clear writing and that a strength for this story. It makes it more human. It shows the human complexity just as it is in real life. Never too sentimental, never too cold. Just right... I think thats why the book called out to me. It is just right.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful and moving, but sad story about a family torn apart by war. The story moves back and forth in time (pre-WWII, during the war, and after the war), location (Poland, France, crossing the channel, and England) and between three characters – wife/mother, husband/father and child/son. Despite the fact that the story involves very painful topics – death of family members, rape, loss of loved ones, separation, witnessing violent deaths, etc. – the story was not depressing. I won this book from First Reads hear on goodreads, but I chose to listen to the narrated version instead. I believe the story is a good first start from this author. I think the transition from each character’s point of view, was done well but perhaps could have been done better. I did not like the male protagonist. I thought he was weak and easily influenced, but ultimately he does right by his family. I also thought that the silence and secrets between the reunited characters was overly dramatic, I just did not believe the level of secrecy and lack of intimacy between them but then I have never survived a war while separated from my spouse. I was completely surprised by the twist in the story and the revelation still breaks my heart. I am giving this 4 stars, while I think it is a 3.5 star book because the story left me emotionally moved and thinking about the characters. I believe if a reader is a fan of literary fiction, interested in the post-WWII time period, or interested in stories of surviving and moving on – then this book will be enjoyed. It isn’t the best book I have ever read, but it is good.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just out and as it is a WWII era story I had to read it. It was a good story but didn't grab at me enough to give it a four. I would give it more like a 3.5. It is another sad story about war and how it can so destroy people, both physically and emotionally.

This book centers around two Polish survivors of the German invasion of Poland. Living in Warsaw and happily married with a baby boy named Aurek, Silvana and Janusz seem to be on their way to a promising life. Until the Germans invade Poland and take over Warsaw. Janusz goes off to help save his country but in the process is overwhelmed (mainly emotionally) by it all. He manages to get to England and helps the Brits fight the war.

Meanwhile Silvana and Aurek finally manage to escape the Germans in Warsaw and end up spending the war (six years in all) hiding in farmer's barns, ditches, and forests. When the war is finally over, Silvana is a ghost of the woman she once was and Aurek is like an animal.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for families separated during this period to become reacquainted? This book takes place in flashbacks to what Silvana and Janusz each experienced separately during these six years along with what they are going through together as they become reacquainted after the war. Each has secrets they don't want the other to find out. 22 Britannia Road is the address of their house where they unite together to become a family again.

[Johanna Sargeant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author will be running a writers workshop I'm attending in October and I was very eager to read her debut novel. The verdict? Well, it was good. But not great. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't engrossed by it. There were no images that will forever stick with me, which was a little annoying considering the multitude of opportunities her plot gave her for strong imagery. She seems to write 'faster' than I do, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some incredibly intense moments lost a lot of their impact due to her emphasis on brevity. Don't get me wrong - I, too, value well-placed silence. Eli Wiesel's 'Night' taught me power of leaving things out. There were times, though, where Hodgkinson's skipping over some dramatic moments made me want to grab my pencil and play around in the margins.

I wanted it to be Anne Michael's 'Fugitive Pieces' but it wasn't.

The most telling sign for me was that this book sat next to my bed for over a week with around ten pages to go, and I just didn't really feel like picking it up. And not because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters...

[Natasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about a couple who survive the war when the Germans take Poland during WWII. The story describes each struggle because the war separates them and must find their way. They try to pull their lives together in England after the war when they are reunited.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Heartwrenching with a good ending. I give this one 5 stars.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of WWII stories, this one was unique. It deals with the emotional aftermath of war.

The story is told from 2 POV's, a husband who has gone into the war fighting for Poland and a wife and mother left behind in Warsaw. Janusz ends up in France and then England while Silvana spends the years living in the forests of Poland. The contrast, of how they lived and what happens when they are reunited, is told in a heartbreaking tale.

On a personal note: My husband was born in Poland. He defected in the 70's and spent 20 years never being able to go home-so this story affected me in a lot of different ways.

This was Amanda Hodgkinson's first book and I found her writing beautiful yet simple. I will look into her other works.

I completed my personal GR goal of 120 books read with this book, ending my year of reading on a high-note-