Like a River from Its Course

May 9, 2016
Four characters find their lives thrown violently off course as the Nazi blitzkrieg of Kiev opens WWII in Ukraine. Ivan's mercy toward his Jewish neighbors causes him to be mistaken for a Jew and herded into a mass execution, which he survives with terrible consequences. When his daughter, Masha, is sent to Germany as a slave, her abusive mistress cannot quench the hope and determination that motivates her to finally escape. Back in Kiev, the young teen Luda is pregnant following a gang rape. She must decide whether she can accept a child fathered by her enemy, and wonders how she could truly love a man after men so grievously harmed her. Finally, Frederick Herrmann is convinced that following the Führer's destructive vision will bring satisfaction and success. When he realizes the futility of his endeavors, he too is forced to choose between forgiveness and despair. Stuart's debut novel, based on true stories, weaves gritty scenes of war and death with touching moments of grace, hope, and life. Faith questions arise naturally, revealing a realistic view of the Russian culture and landscape of war. Through the darkness, the power of mercy, forgiveness, and love shines brightly.

Starred review from June 1, 2016

Maria Ivanova, deported from Kiev to work in the German artillery camps, worries that she will not live long enough to make it home. Her father, Ivan, is haunted by his failure to save his Jewish neighbors from the Nazis. He also grapples with the fear that none of his children will survive the war. Luda is pregnant, the result of a rape by a German soldier. She has no family or home, and Frederick Hermann, son of a high-ranking SS officer, detests the role he plays in a battle he no longer believes in and despairs over a father he can never please. Stuart's powerful first novel is based on 15 years of research and interviews with World War II survivors. Sadness and unvarnished brutality interspersed with pockets of human kindness are woven into descriptions of a wrecked world no longer familiar. VERDICT Readers who can handle disturbingly realistic World War II fiction will find this story engrossing.

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