REVIEW:

You know the blueprint by now. WWII historical fiction. Alternating timelines that weave between characters in war-torn Europe and their grandchild(ren) in the present. Said grandchild stumbles upon something that makes her want to connect more with that lineage.

And there you have the basic structure of Lauren Fox’s Send for Me. A notable deviation from the norm is that the earlier time period is not quite war-torn Europe, but rather Germany just prior to the war. We follow young Annelise as she slowly begins to experience the spread of anti-Jewish sentiment that will of course alter the course of her and her family’s lives forever. One scene in particular where her best friend essentially breaks up with her because of societal pressure is truly heartbreaking. I wish I could say I didn’t feel any connection between this part of the story and the prejudices of the world we live in today, but sadly it felt all too relatable... and cautionary.

There are sentences in Send for Me that are simply exquisite. I also marveled at the fact that I enjoyed the granddaughter’s modern-day narrative as much as Annelise’s. So why just 3 stars?

Because for me it’s a wisp of a novel that blew in and out of my life without much fanfare. At a mere 272 pages, I formed no attachment. It’s a good book. A fine book. And if you’re not fatigued by World War fiction with dual timeline narratives, you might enjoy it more. Many other early readers have. On that note…

Send for Me is the February 2021 Read with Jenna book club selection.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War II and present day Wisconsin, unspooling a thread of love, longing, and the ceaseless push and pull of family.

Annelise is a dreamer: imagining her future while working at her parents' popular bakery in Feldenheim, Germany, anticipating all the delicious possibilities yet to come. There are rumors that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, but Annelise and her parents can't quite believe that it will affect them; they're hardly religious at all. But as Annelise falls in love, marries, and gives birth to her daughter, the dangers grow closer: a brick thrown through her window; a childhood friend who cuts ties with her; customers refusing to patronize the bakery. Luckily Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain.

Two generations later, in a small Midwestern city, Annelise's granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon a trove of her grandmother's letters from Germany, she sees the history of her family's sacrifices in a new light, and suddenly she's faced with an impossible choice: the past, or her future. A novel of dazzling emotional richness, Send for Me is a major departure for this acclaimed author, an epic and intimate exploration of mothers and daughters, duty and obligation, hope and forgiveness.