Love and Treasure - 4 stars > Likes and Comments

This story is centered around an enamel locket, once the possession of a Hungarian Jewish suffragette in the early 1900s. It’s told from several perspectives. In the beginning, we know that the locket is owned by an old soldier, Jack, who, immediately after WWII, was in charge of supervising the safeguarding and return of a trainload of Nazi loot, stolen from Hungarian Jews. So, we have Jack’s story of acquiring the locket amidst the post war chaos of Europe. On his deathbed he asks his granddaughter, Natalie, to find the rightful owner and return the locket. Thus, we get the story of Natalie’s search in 2013. The story of Nina, a young woman who once owned the locket in Budapest in 1913, provides another perspective and her story is mostly related through the Freudian psychiatrist who treated her during that year. Although these three are the main protagonists, there are several other important characters. The provenance and eventual fate of the locket gets explained, but the human stories were more compelling than the mystery. I enjoyed each story on its own, although I could have done with less of the psychiatrist’s arcane theorizing. The history in the novel, including but not limited to the culture of early 20th century Budapest, the terrible disorder in Europe following WWII, the desperation that led to the migration of European Jews to Palestine, are all well researched and I found them interesting.

I remember this book! Though it's not my favorite of Waldman's, I did think it was worthwhile.