Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Displaced
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1957
WEBSITE:
CITY: Potsdam
STATE:
COUNTRY: Germany
NATIONALITY: German
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 94001935
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n94001935
HEADING: Abarbanell, Stephan
000 00485cz a2200157n 450
001 791911
005 20170405070332.0
008 940107n| azannaab |n aaa
010 __ |a n 94001935
035 __ |a (DLC)n 94001935
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |d DLC |e rda
046 __ |f 1957 |2 edtf
100 1_ |a Abarbanell, Stephan
670 __ |a Fernsehen verstehen, c1993: |b t.p. (Stephen Abarbanell)
670 __ |a Liebe, Tod, und Lottozahlen, 1994: |b t.p. (Stephan Abarbanell) p. 492 (b. 1957)
953 __ |a lg02 |b jk28
PERSONAL
Born 1957.
EDUCATION:Holds a Master of Divinity degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and journalist. Public RBB Television and Radio, Berlin, Germany, head of cultural affairs. Worked as a chaplain at University Hospital, San Francisco, CA.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Stephan Abarbanell is a German writer, journalist, and novelist. He serves as the head of cultural affairs with Public RBB (Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenberg) Television and Radio in Berlin, Germany, a national broadcasting company. He spent time as a volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, noted a writer on the HarperCollins Website. He has been a chaplain at the University Hospital in San Francisco. Abarbanell earned a Master of Divinity degree in Germany.
Displaced, Abarbanell’s first novel, is a thriller set in Palestine during the period of World War II. “Abarbanell succeeds brilliantly in evoking this moment in history,” remarked Edward James on the website Historical Novel Society. Lilya Wasserfall, the novel’s main character, is a member of a Haganah combat unit in Jerusalem and a member of the Jewish underground resistance. Lilya is given a double mission that will take her across the war-damaged landscape of Europe. The first part of her task is to look into the status of various displaced populations that have been arriving in Allied territories in droves. Most of these individuals are Jewish, and part of the reason behind her mission is to find chances to encourage Britain to allow settlements in Palestine.
Lilya’s second mission is the search for Raphael Lind, a German Jewish scientist and scholar and the brother of Elias, a noted author who asks Lilya to help. The British have declared Raphael dead, but Elias believes that his brother is very likely to still be alive. With Lilya’s help, he’ll be able to find out the truth of the situation, one way or another.
As Lilya searches for Raphael, she uncovers plenty of reason to believe the scientist could still be alive. She looks for Raphael in Bavaria, at Camp Fohrenwald, where she sees first-hand the brutal reality the displaced populations face every day in refugee camps. Her competing but not conflicting missions provide her with unpleasant insights into the world around her, while at the same time her search for the truth puts her in the sights of someone who is willing to resort to murder to keep her from finding out the most important information she seeks.
Kathe Robin, writing on the website RT Book Reviews, remarked that Displaced benefits from Abarbanell’s “careful research of a scattered people” along with his “portrait of a fractured Palestine (Israel) fighting for autonomy.” Throughout the novel, “Abarbanell does a good job dramatizing the history of the period,” commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. “Populated with engaging secondary characters and providing a useful service, the novel has several merits,” observed a Kirkus Reviews writer. A contributor to Library Journal found the book to be an “engaging plot-driven tale.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Irish Examiner, May 6, 2017, Frank MacGabhann, review of Displaced.
Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2017, review of Displaced.
Library Journal, August 1, 2017, Laura Hiatt, review of Displaced, p. 76.
Publishers Weekly, September 25, 2017, review of Displaced.
ONLINE
HarperCollins Website, http://www.harpercollins.com/ (May 14, 2018), biography of Stephan Arbanell.
Historical Novel Society Website, https://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/ (May 14, 2018), Edward James, review of Displaced.
RT Book Reviews, https://www.rtbookreviews.com/ (May 14, 2018), Kathe Robin, review of Displaced.
Stephan Abarbanell
Stephan Abarbanell
Photo by Karo Kraemer
Biography
Stephan Abarbanell grew up in Hamburg. He holds a Master of Divinity in Germany, served as a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel, and worked as a chaplain at the University Hospital in San Francisco. As a journalist he is head of cultural affairs with the public rbb Television and Radio in Berlin. Displaced is his first novel.
4/12/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1523593064342 1/5
Print Marked Items
Abarbanell, Stephan: DISPLACED
Kirkus Reviews.
(Sept. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Abarbanell, Stephan DISPLACED Harper/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $26.99 11, 7 ISBN: 978-0-06-
248447-5
A post-World War II thriller from an unusual perspective.This debut novel, translated from the German,
recounts the misadventures of Lilya Wasserfall as she pursues a dual mission across a shattered Europe. The
story opens in Jerusalem, where Lilya, a member of an elevated Haganah combat unit and dedicated to the
creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, receives her multiple assignments. First, she is to survey and
assess the situation of the displaced populations, mostly Jewish, that have inundated Allied territories; in
particular she must look out for opportunities to pressure the British to open Palestine to settlement. She is
also asked to research the fate of a German Jewish scientist, Raphael Lind, whose death was reported by the
British but whose brother, Elias, feels may still be alive. Lilya begins in England and is ambiguously aided
by British officials: she's assisted in traveling into Germany, but she also acquires Maj. Terry, who will tail
her dutifully. By the time she has transport to the continent she has also uncovered reasons to keep
searching for the scientist. She arrives in Bavaria and Camp Fohrenwald, a sprawling refugee camp under
the administration of the attractive but enigmatic David Guggenheim. She learns several sharp lessons about
the realities of postwar displaced populations, and in these places the novel is usefully informative. An
informal appendix provides some of the sources of Abarbanell's research. As Lilya becomes more involved
in the displaced person issue, her search for the scientist also heats up, and at various points she finds
herself in trouble. Populated with engaging secondary characters and providing a useful service, the novel
has several merits. Overall, though, the plotting is a little simplistic, the intrigue surrounding Raphael Lind
and the dangers posed to Lilya are not especially compelling, and in the end Lilya herself is a
disappointment, neither as independent nor as fierce as one might hope, and her inevitable romance with
Guggenheim diminishes her. Well-intentioned and instructive but short of thrills.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Abarbanell, Stephan: DISPLACED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A502192382/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=837f6c6a.
Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502192382
4/12/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1523593064342 2/5
Fiction
Library Journal.
142.13 (Aug. 1, 2017): p76+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No
redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Abarbanell, Stephan. Displaced. Harper. Nov. 2017.336p. tr. from German by Lucy Renner Jones. ISBN
9780062484475. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062484505. F
DEBUT British-occupied Palestine, 1946. Lilya Wasserfall, a member of the Jewish underground resistance
movement, is tasked by Elias Lind to find his scientist brother Raphael, who has finally been declared dead
by the British. He was last seen alive in Germany in 1941, but Elias has puzzling proof that the official
declaration is wrong. Working as part of the American Joint Distribution Committee, Lilya travels to
England to begin her search. The trail takes her to the heart of war-torn Europe: to refugee camps, to
devastated cities, even to a former concentration camp. Along the way a story emerges of duplicity, love,
and the ravages of war. But someone who does not want her to find out the truth is set on murder to keep
her away. German debut author Abarbanell has written an engaging plot-driven tale set during the early
years of post-World War II Europe. However, the novel's drawbacks-jagged, confusing flashbacks,
unfocused meanderings--will frustrate die-hard spy fiction fans. VERDICT Readers who prefer lighter
thrillers and quick reads may find this first novel suitable to their tastes.--Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Babst, C. Morgan. The Floating World. Algonquin. Oct. 2017.384p. ISBN 9781616205287. $26.95; ebk.
ISBN 9781616207632. F
DEBUT A richly written, soak-in-it kind of book, Babst s debut takes us to New Orleans in the days after
Hurricane Katrina made landfall, revealing the consequences for one beleaguered family. Descended from a
freed slave and son of a cabinetmaker whom he's caring for assiduously, artist Joe Boisdore is married to
Dr. Tess Eshleman, a white woman from New Orleans high society, and their fraying marriage is totally
upended when older daughter Cora refuses to evacuate as Katrina approaches. Cora survives but fears she
has done something terrible, and the mystery of what really happened unfolds with breath-holding
poignancy throughout the shifting narrative. Meanwhile, Tess links up with past friends while accusing Joe
of cowardice for failing to rescue Cora, and younger daughter Del, home from New York, remains crusty
with her parents but acts boldly to help her sister. In the end, the hurricane doesn't so much change these
people as send them down paths they were already starting to walk, if not always happily, so that finally
they live up to the book's last sentence, "I'm home." VERDICT Now you'll know what it was like to have
survived Katrina. Occasionally overly detailed but utterly affecting. [See Prepub Alert, 5/22/17.]--Barbara
Hoffert, Library Journal
Benjamin, Chloe. The Immortalists. Putnam. Jan. 2018.352p. ISBN 9780735213180. $26; ebk. ISBN
9780735213197. F
4/12/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1523593064342 3/5
An Edna Ferber Prize winner for The Anatomy of Dreams. Benjamin opens her second novel with four
children in 1969 New York daringly visiting a fortune-teller said to be able to predict the date of one's
death. Elder siblings Daniel and Varya grow up to become an army doctor and a scientist, respectively,
while rebellious Klara works as a magician in Las Vegas and the insouciant youngest, Simon, finds love and
dance in San Francisco. Yet thinking they know when they will die powerfully shapes their lives, often to
their detriment, and we see each sibling struggling with this burden in four distinct narratives. How
differently would their lives have turned out had they not made that visit? Could Benjamin have told the
story of four close and sometimes troubled siblings without recourse to this hint of magic? The answer to
that last question is yes, as the narratives she offers are intriguingly intertwined and beautifully rendered.
Yet the added dimension proves effective while feeling entirely natural, and readers can believe what they
want of the fortune-teller's power. VERDICT Both thought-provoking and entertaining, this title is highly
recommended for a wide range of readers. [See Prepub Alert, 7/3/17.]--Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Bolton, Guy. The Pictures. Point Blank. Sept. 2017.400p. ISBN 9781786070395. $24; ebk. ISBN
9781786070401. F
DEBUT The year is 1939, and Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer Studios is celebrating its 15th anniversary, studio
head Louis B. Mayer is at the top of his game, and The Wizard of Oz is about to premiere to eager fans. Not
far from this glamorous setting a young woman is savagely murdered in West Hollywood, calling LAPD
detective Jonathan Craine to the scene. Known to be Hollywood's inside man, Craine successfully pins the
murder on a convenient ex-con. Within hours, a second tragedy strikes, introducing Craine to Patrick
O'Neill, a young detective who is as straight as Craine is crooked. O'Neill's persistence in the investigation
forces Craine to confront his corruption and question the road he has chosen. Craine's feelings are further
complicated by the producer's widow, Gale Godwin, a beautiful and beguiling film star. As the body count
climbs, there is mounting evidence that something very sinister is unfolding and Craine might be the only
one who can stop it. VERDICT This debut novel by a British screenwriter takes its time drawing readers
into the glitzy, deadly world of Old Hollywood. A solid read for fans of the silver screen and intelligent
detective novels.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, Ml
Bolton, Sharon. Dead Woman Walking. Minotaur: St. Martin's. Sept. 2017.368p.
ISBN 9781250103444. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250103451. F
Bolton's (Little Black Lies) latest stand-alone hits the ground running--so to speak--with a terrifying hot-air
balloon crash. The passengers witness a murder from the air, and the perpetrator stalks the balloon from a
motorbike; eventually, all but one of the passengers are dead. The survivor manages to evade the killer, but
he knows she's alive and sets out to find her. Interwoven with the tense hunt are numerous other threads: a
family that runs a human trafficking ring from their heavily fortified compound; the police officer
investigating the balloon crash, who has his own complicated connections to the case; and the backstory of
the surviving woman and her late sister. The pace is propulsive, the plotting is twisty, and readers will tear
through the book as the tension ratchets up. That said, some readers may find that the reveal in the final
pages defies credibility and wraps things up a bit too neatly. VERDICT This will be the book of the fall for
4/12/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1523593064342 4/5
Bolton's fans and anyone who treasures the experience of staying up late reading just to find out what
happens next. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/17.]--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal
Bonini, Carlo & Giancarlo de Cataldo. Suburra Europa. Aug. 2017. 528p. tr. from Italian by Antony
Shugaar. ISBN 9781609454074. pap. $18; ebk. ISBN 9781609454081. F
In this gritty, beautifully translated crime novel, Bonini, a journalist for La Repubblica, and de Cataldo, a
novelist, screenwriter, and circuit court judge in Rome, delve into the complex world of Italian political
corruption. As promoters of a public works project, a cabal of ruthless profiteers--Neapolitan Camorristi,
hoods of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, a Roma tribe, local mafiosi, whore-mongering politicians, and a
monsignor of the Catholic Church--consort and compete to bring a Las Vegas--style casino strip to the
beaches of Rome's port district, Ostia. When gang war breaks out, a stalwart Carabiniere officer, Marco
Malatesta, butts heads with not only a former and now deadly childhood adversary who goes by the
moniker Samurai but the bent bureaucracy of his own service and the often lax Italian judiciary. As the dead
pile up, no one escapes unscathed, not even Malatesta. Italophiles will love the violent scaramuccia
(skirmishes) that carry the many unforgettable characters through the streets of Rome. VERDICT The basis
of an award-winning 2015 Italian film, this contemporary noir will appeal to readers intrigued by gangland
crime, big-city corruption, and how Italy actually "works."--Ron Terpening, formerly of Univ. of Arizona,
Tucson
Brady, A.F. The Blind. Park Row: Harlequin. Sept. 2017. 400p. ISBN 9780778330875. $26.99; ebk. ISBN
9781488023651. F
DEBUT Sam James, a psychologist working at a Manhattan psychiatric institution, has been assigned a
difficult patient named Richard. Apparently, Richard has spent considerable time in prison, and he suffers
from some kind of mental illness, but he doesn't answer questions so no one can figure him out.
Unfortunately, Richard is just one of the hurdles in Sam's life that daily excursions to the local bar seem to
relieve. Plus she's got a gorgeous boyfriend who wants to move in together. What could be more perfect?
But as she continues to hide the truth with careful makeup and a few nips here and there, things begin to
unravel at an alarming rate. Desperate to hold on to her relationship and also prove her brilliance at work by
cracking the guarded Richard, Sam starts taking risks that could backfire in the worst way. VERDICT
Brady's fast-paced, riveting psychological chiller will wow suspense and thriller lovers alike. Brilliant
character study and superior writing make this an outstanding debut. [See Prepub Alert, 3/13/17.]--Cynthia
Price, Francis Marion Univ. Lib., Florence, SC
Cash, Wiley. The Last Ballad Morrow. Oct. 2017. 304p. ISBN 9780062313119. $26.99; ebk. ISBN
9780062313133. F
This third novel from a promising young voice in Southern fiction (A Land Mere Kind Than Home)
concerns a North Carolina woman's fight for workers' rights. By 1929, 28-year-old Ella May Wiggins has
had four children, the eldest of whom watches the others while their mother works nights at American Mill
No. 2 as a spinner, and a husband who disappeared shortly after a fifth child died in infancy. Hearing of a
rally in nearby Gastonia advocating a minimum wage and a 40-hour workweek, Ella May sees no choice
but to attend. When asked to speak about mill conditions, she instead delivers a moving song of her own
creation, becoming the face of the union struggle--and a target for anti-Communists. As in his previous
books, Cash uses various voices from different periods to tell his story, here including a mill owner, a train
porter, and Ella May's elderly daughter reflecting on her mother's complicated legacy in 2005. He writes
with earnestness and great sympathy but reveals the outcome early, taking the bite out of the story's climax.
VERDICT Admirers of Ron Rash's Serena and its Appalachian setting will find much to like here. [See
Prepub Alert, 4/10/17.]--Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ
Cassara, Joseph. The House of Impossible Beauties Ecco: HarperCollins. Feb. 2018. 416p. ISBN
9780062676979. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062676979. F
4/12/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1523593064342 5/5
DEBUT This exceptional first novel opens in 1980 New York with 16-year-old Angel feeling trapped in her
boy body. But she does something about it: she starts wearing women's clothes, which brings out the rage of
her hard-drinking mami, and introduces herself to larger-than-life diva Dorian. Then there's Thomas, first
introduced as a Barbie-loving boy from Staten Island and next as a runaway named Venus, who's saved
from a beating by Daniel. Venus takes him home to her family of trans outsiders, which includes Angel as
mother and handy-with-a-sewing-machine Juanito, with whom Daniel finds love. But all families have their
problems, and this one faces more than its fair share, starting with the advent of AIDS. The writing is
erotically luscious, lyrically intense, forthrightly in your face, and pitch-perfect in the dialog, and the
suspense comes from wondering what's going to happen to these people. When Dorian tells friend Keith of
one of his AIDS-inspired paintings, "Where is the beauty?" Keith responds, "You're telling me that I need to
turn this virus into something beautiful?" Taking on the difficult lives of his characters, that's exactly what
Cassara has done. VERDICT A grittily gorgeous work for readers who don't go for cozies.--Barbara
Hoffert, Library Journal
DeMille, Nelson. The Cuban Affair. S. & S. Sept. 2017.464p. ISBN 9781501101724. $28; ebk. ISBN
9781501101748. F
Key West charter fishing boat skipper Daniel (Mac) MacCormick is approached by three Cuban Americans
who want his help extracting $60 million stashed in a Cuban cave since 1959. The trio have their Cuban and
American contacts ready, dates picked out, and a harebrained proposition ready for Mac. It seems they need
his brawn, his brains, and his boat to get the money to the United States. Mac's not a stranger to danger,
having served in Afghanistan, but he's also not stupid and about to run screaming no when they offer him a
cool $3 million for his assistance. VERDICT DeMille's (Radiant Angel) latest is a timely stay-up-all-night,
nail-biting page-turner featuring his iconic tongue-in-cheek, articulate, rhythmic narrative. His affably
irreverent protagonist, fantastic believable supporting characters, and tense, realistic Cuba-set scenes
including some jaw-dropping revelations make this a must-read for his many fans. [See Prepub Alert,
4/24/17.]--Debbie Haupt, St. Charles City--Cty. Lib. Dist., St. Peters, MO
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Fiction." Library Journal, 1 Aug. 2017, p. 76+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500009439/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=35f84db8.
Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A500009439
Book review: Displaced
0
Saturday, May 06, 2017
Review: Frank MacGabhann
In 1946, when this novel begins, the world was still coming to terms with the horrors of the death camps of Nazi Germany and elsewhere.
Stephan Abarbanell
translated by Lucy Renner Jones
John Murray, €18
The League of Nations had given the British government an authority, a ‘mandate’, to rule Palestine from September 1923 “until such time as [it is] able to stand alone”.
By 1946 the British had been fighting Arab and Jewish insurgents for many years.
The novel’s main character, Lilya Wasserfall, is a restless 22-year-old member of the Haganah, one of the paramilitary groups fighting for the creation of a Jewish state. Her superior, Shimon Ben Gedi, gives her an unusual mission.
She is to meet a writer, Elias Lind, who has heard that his brother, Raphael, has died in a concentration camp in Germany.
She is to learn as much as possible about Lind’s brother and then go, eventually, to Germany and discover his whereabouts, or, if dead, what happened to him.
Her journey would take her to London before checking out leads in a number of places in Germany and discover that her life is in danger.
We meet, among others, the Haganah, the UK foreign ministry, British Army’s counter-intelligence officers, the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Agency and the officer in charge of the US Army’s depot for valuable books stolen by the Nazis.
The novel does not make clear why the Haganah would send one of its operatives, Lilya, on a mission to rescue a scientist who had either helped the Nazis or, if he had not and survived the death camps, would be in no physical condition to help the Haganah.
The Haganah was then waging a guerilla war against the British in Palestine. She herself is troubled that she is chosen for this mission and not on more active service.
Luckily for Lilya (and the story) she gets timely help from a number of individuals along the way.
The role of David Guggenheim, the US representative of UN Relief and Rehabilitation Agency in charge of one of the displaced persons camp in Germany and a man in search of his own displaced German mother, is well delineated.
Lilya’s unrequited love for Yoram, who was taken in by Lilya’s parents after they had died in a gun battle, has, ultimately, little real relevance to the novel.
Yoram, also in the Haganah, takes up a large part of the first half of the novel. However, this love has no resolution, except in what may be a possible dream sequence.
The irony of accepting the help of the British — the Haganah’s sworn enemy — comes across only to a certain degree.
Another Zionist group, the Irgun, with the approval of the Haganah, would bomb the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the British in Palestine, in July 1946, leaving many dead. Such was the hatred of the Zionists towards the British administration in Palestine.
The translation itself reads exceptionally well. However, the author in an afterword, tells the reader what the novel was about and why it was written as it was. This is a poor device.
A novel should speak for itself. He writes that it concerns loss, homelessness, the search for a homeland and “something like deliverance”.
However, these themes do not really gel in the novel. The chaos that would have been evident in post-surrender Germany, particularly carved-up Berlin, is not felt, nor is the outrage that would have been felt by anyone, especially a Jewish guerilla fighter from Palestine, spending time in the former Nazi Germany at that time.
For readers interested in Zionism this book may be of interest. Those who are not might usefully give it a miss.
© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved
Displaced
BY STEPHAN ABARBANELL
Find & buy on
In his afterword, the author declares that he wanted to describe Germany in the ‘time between the times’ at the end of WW2, when the dazed population came out of their shelters to pick over the ruins under the eyes of their conquerors. The end of the war also found tens of thousands of people in Germany who had been uprooted from their homes throughout Europe to be slave labourers in the Reich or to escape the advancing Russians. These were the Displaced Persons (DPs), now eking out their lives in refugee camps, mentally as well as physically displaced, poised between a world that was lost and one yet to be born.
Abarbanell succeeds brilliantly in evoking this moment in history. I wish I could be as complimentary about his story. It is told through the eyes of Lilya, a young Jewish woman from what was then still the British mandate of Palestine. She belongs to an underground organisation fighting against British rule, but rather than blowing up bridges in Palestine, as she prefers, her boss sends her on a mission to Germany to track down a scientist who may or may not have survived the war. This allows her to tour the country and the DP camps, seeing them through fresh eyes.
I never understood why the Jewish ‘resistance’ wanted to find the missing scientist, or why the British should not be left to do it by themselves. Instead the British trail Lilya, who leads them to him. Nobody seems to gain anything from this, except for Lilya, who falls in love with an American officer. There is one attempt on her life, but otherwise the ‘thriller’ is played out in interviews, letters and reports. A slight story in a powerful setting.
ADVERTISEMENT
« PREVIOUS REVIEWNEXT REVIEW »
Share this review
0
Details
PUBLISHER
John Murray
PUBLISHED
2017
PERIOD
WW2
CENTURY
20th Century
PRICE
(UK) £17.99
ISBN
(UK) 9871473635448
FORMAT
Hardback
PAGES
329
Review
APPEARED IN
HNR Issue 80 (May 2017)
REVIEWED BY
Edward James
Displaced
Stephen Abarbanell, trans. from the German by Lucy Renner Jones. Harper, $26.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-248447-5
German author Abarbanell’s ambitious if flawed first novel, a tale of intrigue, centers on post-WWII Palestine. In 1946, Lilya Tova Wasserfall, a member of an elite unit of the Palmach, the underground army devoted to establishing an independent Jewish state, receives an unusual assignment from her commander regarding the brother of an old friend of his. Elias Lind, a famous author who fought for his native Germany during WWI and later emigrated to Palestine, believes that his brother, Raphael, a Berlin academic, survived the war, but two British Mandate representatives recently informed him that the Nazis murdered Raphael. Lilya is directed to travel to Germany, where, posing as a member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, she searches for Raphael at one of the large displaced persons camps in Germany set up by the U.S. Army. She is also to look for information that can be used against the British occupiers and further the Zionist cause. Abarbanell does a good job dramatizing the history of the period, but the situations and characters will strike many readers as too familiar. (Nov.)
DETAILS
Reviewed on: 09/25/2017
Release date: 11/01/2017
Library Binding - 978-1-4328-4522-3
Ebook - 336 pages - 978-0-06-248450-5
Audio Product - 978-0-06-248449-9
Image of Displaced: A Novel
RT Rating:
Genre:
Germany, Jerusalem, Historical Fiction
Setting:
Germany and Jerusalem, 1946
Published:
November 7 2017
Publisher:
Harper
BUY NOW!
Amazon:
Buy Now
Barnes & Noble: Buy Now
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and purchase an item from the vendor, we receive a percentage of the profit (even if you don't buy the item we've linked to). Thank you for supporting RT Book Reviews!
BOOK REVIEWS
All Genres
Top Picks!
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
Historical Fiction
Romantic Suspense
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Paranormal
Fantasy
Urban Fantasy
Young Adult
Inspirational
Mainstream
Science Fiction
Series
Erotica
RT Review Source
RT RATINGS GUIDE
5 GOLD: Phenomenal. In a class by itself.
4 1/2: TOP PICK. Fantastic. A keeper.
4: Compelling. A page-turner.
3: Enjoyable. A pleasant read.
2: Problematic. May struggle to finish.
1: Severely Flawed. Pass on this one.
DISPLACED
Author(s): Stephan Abarbanell
A thriller that sweeps through war-torn Europe and into the emotionally traumatized world of displaced persons is sure to capture attention. The plot of Displaced is enhanced by Abarbanell’s careful research of a scattered people, along with a portrait of a fractured Palestine (Israel) fighting for autonomy. Some may find the story lacks the tension of a thriller, while others will be attracted by the detailed history.
Convinced his scientist brother didn’t die in a concentration camp, Elias Lind hires Lilya Wasserfall, a member of the Palestine Resistance, to locate the missing Raphael. Lilya’s search moves from Jerusalem to London to Munich and finally to the ruins of Berlin. As she gathers information, Lilya realizes she is not alone in her hunt. Someone is following her trail hoping to find the scientist before she does. Unexpectedly caught in the middle of a British Secret Service mission, Lilya is still determined to uncover the truth no matter where it leads. (HARPER, Nov., 336 pp., $26.99)
Reviewed by:
Kathe Robin