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Vala's Bed
Choosing to marry an American GI and accompany him home to Cold Creek, Ohio, after World War II, Vala Hess manages to escape her past and provide shelter and protection for her two young sons, Emo and Milo. But her tormented, traumatized past doesn’t let go.
Told from the point of view of her older, more sensitive son, “Vala’s Bed” explores the emotions and ramifications of growing up as a German in post World War II America. As an American, Emo espouses American ideals while remembering fragments and dreams of a darker past. As he approaches manhood, he is forced to ponder what that means for him. Who is his natural father? Why is his mother so reticent? Who are the strangers who come knocking—or breaking in? What secrets are hidden among the documents, letters, and photographs in his mother’s closet? His search leads Emo to a shocking discovery that could change everything he knows about his grandparents, his mother, his sibling…and himself.
Told from the point of view of her older, more sensitive son, “Vala’s Bed” explores the emotions and ramifications of growing up as a German in post World War II America. As an American, Emo espouses American ideals while remembering fragments and dreams of a darker past. As he approaches manhood, he is forced to ponder what that means for him. Who is his natural father? Why is his mother so reticent? Who are the strangers who come knocking—or breaking in? What secrets are hidden among the documents, letters, and photographs in his mother’s closet? His search leads Emo to a shocking discovery that could change everything he knows about his grandparents, his mother, his sibling…and himself.
331 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 23, 2017
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About the author
Joyce Faulkner
34 books33 followersJoyce Faulkner loves stories -- fiction or non-fiction. She also has a compulsive need to know why. To this end, her work focuses on how her characters react to their environment, to the people around them, to the events of their lives -- and to the various opportunities and disappointments impact their journeys.
She has studied the art of writing since the 1960s -- exploring not the right or wrong of a given approach, but the effectiveness of it on her declared audiences. She likes to manipulate her readers -- challenging them to navigate complex plots to get to the core question...why?
She has studied the art of writing since the 1960s -- exploring not the right or wrong of a given approach, but the effectiveness of it on her declared audiences. She likes to manipulate her readers -- challenging them to navigate complex plots to get to the core question...why?
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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April 30, 2020MWSA Review
Vala’s Bed by Joyce Faulkner is a fictional story of a young German woman who married an American G.I. and moved with her two sons to a small town in Ohio right after World War II ended. Her husband, Sonny, readily considers Emo, known as EJ, and Milo, known as Mick, as his own, even they are aren't his biological children. One possession Vala manages to have shipped from Mannheim, Germany, is her ornate bed, which she treasures. But she is haunted by memories of life as a young girl in Nazi Germany, where she lived with her older sister and her parents. Staunch Nazis, her parents had considerable social standing. Elder son EJ has a mild form of epilepsy and sometimes experiences vivid dreams. He ultimately suspects they may not be dreams at all, but memories. However, his mother refuses to speak of her life in Germany and offers no clues. Mick and EJ secretly rummage through their mother’s suitcases of mementos and documents, trying to find out more about their—and their mother’s—past. As they grow from young boys to men, EJ in particular, questions anyone he thinks might have a key to his mother’s demons and real answers to his own history.
Much of the story reveals itself in dialogue and the story is told through EJ’s point of view. The characters in Vala’s Bed are richly drawn and their voices are distinct. Anyone interested in what it might have been like for a German to move to the U.S. right after World War II ended will find this story enlightening. It allows the reader to understand how a parent’s beliefs and actions can affect a child’s life forever. It warmly draws vivid images of life in a small town and deftly weaves together relationships from Vala’s childhood in Germany and her adult life in the U.S. This is a book worth reading…a book that will make your care about what happens to its characters.
Review by Patricia Walkow (April 2020)
Vala’s Bed by Joyce Faulkner is a fictional story of a young German woman who married an American G.I. and moved with her two sons to a small town in Ohio right after World War II ended. Her husband, Sonny, readily considers Emo, known as EJ, and Milo, known as Mick, as his own, even they are aren't his biological children. One possession Vala manages to have shipped from Mannheim, Germany, is her ornate bed, which she treasures. But she is haunted by memories of life as a young girl in Nazi Germany, where she lived with her older sister and her parents. Staunch Nazis, her parents had considerable social standing. Elder son EJ has a mild form of epilepsy and sometimes experiences vivid dreams. He ultimately suspects they may not be dreams at all, but memories. However, his mother refuses to speak of her life in Germany and offers no clues. Mick and EJ secretly rummage through their mother’s suitcases of mementos and documents, trying to find out more about their—and their mother’s—past. As they grow from young boys to men, EJ in particular, questions anyone he thinks might have a key to his mother’s demons and real answers to his own history.
Much of the story reveals itself in dialogue and the story is told through EJ’s point of view. The characters in Vala’s Bed are richly drawn and their voices are distinct. Anyone interested in what it might have been like for a German to move to the U.S. right after World War II ended will find this story enlightening. It allows the reader to understand how a parent’s beliefs and actions can affect a child’s life forever. It warmly draws vivid images of life in a small town and deftly weaves together relationships from Vala’s childhood in Germany and her adult life in the U.S. This is a book worth reading…a book that will make your care about what happens to its characters.
Review by Patricia Walkow (April 2020)
December 21, 2017
A lesson in history
A fascinating story of a young man trying to find himself! I couldn't out it down! I would but it
again
A fascinating story of a young man trying to find himself! I couldn't out it down! I would but it
again
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April 30, 2020Read and scored as part of the Military Writers' Society of America's 2020 Awards Program.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews