A Flavour of the Book: "Maybe I should have persisted, Papa, but I didn't want to hurt you, or get hurt myself. At the time, I didn't realise how cowardly your attitude has been and that you sacrificed me out of fear of her, that tiny shit of a woman..."
The Authortrek View: This is a truly brilliant novel, about Rachel Sarai, a five-year-old girl who is tasked to take over her father's role in the resistance when he is forced to go into hiding. However, there is a terror within the home to equal that of the Nazis: Louise, the mother figure... This is a somewhat harrowing novel, full of dark and disturbing detail, as Rachel Sarai is spared no indignity by her mother and others throughout the course of the story. The young child does find some respite in the arms of Marie, a Jewish violinist who is inevitably in hiding. One of the most shocking scenes in the novel is when Louise takes the very young Rachel Sarai to witness a back street abortion. What makes this novel even more poignant is that it's based on Deborah Rey's own experiences as a child resistance fighter. So you must be made of stern stuff to read "Rachel Sarai's Vineyard" - however, if you do so, you will find it to be one of the most engrossing and rewarding novels that you have ever read. Deborah Rey is a really exceptional writer.
To find out more about the author, please visit our Deborah Rey page.
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