The Orphan's Tale

This is the story of the (eventual) friendship of two women, Noa and Astrid. They each find refuge in a German circus during WWII. Astrid is a trained aerialist who had been with a Jewish circus, which can no longer perform. When Noa arrives with a baby, the circus owner offers her a job, and Astrid trains her to be part of the trapeze act. The story is based on a real situation in which a German circus owner sheltered Jews during WWII. The story alternates in points of view between Noa and Astrid.

I like the premise of this book. I always find it inspiring to learn about people acting on their beliefs in the face of great danger. I enjoyed the first half, where we learn the backstories of Noa and Astrid and how they (separately) show more arrived at the circus. The war is kept at a distance. There are few battle-related elements, and none of the scenes is set in the concentration camps.

Where the story falls short, for me, is in the second half, where it turns (needlessly) into a romance. I think it took away the power of the book, which, up to that point, had been based on the individuals finding different ways to resist the Nazis. I also found a particular scene, late in the book, to be extremely unrealistic. So, it was a mixed bag for me. There are parts I enjoyed but I think the author’s puppet strings showed a little too much.

3.5 show less

I will begin by stating that once I started, I couldn't put this book down. I loved it! The setting is WWII with a cast of characters, each who must make very difficult decisions which impact on their lives and those of others.

Different from other books with a WWII setting, this includes a cast of circus characters as they travel through war-torn Germany and France, stopping only where the Nazi regime tells them they can set up tent.

The story begins with a young German girl whose family abandons her when they learn of her pregnancy by a Nazi soldier. Ecking out a living at a train station, the lonely girl had her baby but it was immediately taken from her by the German authorities. Longing for her baby and the truth of what happened show more to him causes her to make a decision to grab a baby in a train car filled with Jewish babies headed East for extermination.

Fleeing in the frozen cold of Germany, baby cradled under her coat, she awakens to find that she and the baby are rescued by a traveling circus. Noa must find a way to earn her keep in order to survive with the baby.

Astrid is a Jew whose family was killed by the Nazi's. She was married to a German soldier who abandoned her when told by Nazi authorities that all soldiers who have Jewish wives, must put them aside. Heartbroken and stubbornly strong, Astrid hooks up with the traveling circus using her skills on the trapeze 40 feet high above the circus tent. Astird's family lost their circus during the war and she is hired by the lone remaining circus.

Teaching Noa to learn acrobatic feats high in the air, both learn to trust each other lest one fall. The backdrop of the circus holds the reader as we learn the cast of different characters trying to keep the circus alive. Bravely, the owner and ring leader, puts his life and those of the circus, by welcoming Astrid and Noa to the family. All too easily the authorities hear of a circus hiding a Jew, Astrid literally takes her life in her hands each time she performs death defying feats in the air while praying that on the ground there are no Nazi's in the crowd waiting to capture her.

Because Noa's stolen baby is Jewish, they also are at great risk. This is a story of the hardship of the war, the power of the Nazi's as the wipe out towns and lives, scattering bodies throughout, but mainly, it is a story of risk taking and of the ability to find friendship and trust in a world that spins out of control.

Thus far, this is the best book I've read this year! Highly recommended with Five Stars! show less

"Sometimes our forever life does not last as long as we think."
Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep... When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night. Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and show more Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another--or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.
This book was not at all what I expected and I think I loved it for that. The last thing I anticipated was a WWII novel set within a circus! Noa is very much a sixteen year old girl who has been forced to grow up too quickly, and it shows repeatedly throughout the book. However, her adoration for this child she rescues from the boxcar is unexpected and beautiful. I think Astrid, being in her 30s, provided a nice and more realistic contrast to Noa's character. Astrid was very much jaded by the world and the realities of the world she lived in. Noa was still naive enough to be hopeful about love and life. I think the most beautiful thing is that these two develop such an unexpected friendship.
I will admit at times I was so frustrated with Astrid who seemed to forget that Noa was a child; but somehow the two always resolved their issues. I think it was mostly easy at times to forget this was a story of WWII, but when you were reminded it was in the most intense and memorable types of ways. I will admit the book was a little slow to get started but by the end it just felt like everything was coming at you at once. The story has romance and betrayal and loss and grief and hope. It is a story of sacrifice and survival. But most of all it is a story of friendship. It really is a must read story for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. show less

I just finished this book and I am still crying. I am crying over the lives lost during this horrific time in history but I am also crying because this book was so wonderful and so beautifully written.

Noa was kicked out of her house at 16 when she became pregnant by a German soldier and she found a job cleaning a railway station. She hears a strange sound and finds a railway car full of babies, some dead and some alive, and she is so upset that she grabs a baby and runs way into the cold and snowy night. She is found by a performer from a nearby circus and offered refuge. To remain undetected, she needs to become one of the circus performers. She is mentored by Ingrid, an aerialist, who is also being sheltered by the circus because she show more is Jewish. As the two women train together, they become friends and then sisters as they try to remain hidden from the Nazi regime.

The characters in this novel are fantastic and their lives in the circus was very informative. The circus becomes one of the characters and is a microcosm of life during war time in Europe. There are food shortages, frequent identity checks from the local officials and arrests. It's difficult to trust anyone and life is very stressful.

This's is a novel about love and friendship during the harshest of times and shows that family is not just who you are related to but true family is made up of those that you love the most.

I loved this book and predict that it will be one of the major books of the winter.

Thanks to Edelweiss for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. show less

Pam Jenoff has always been hit or miss with me. I usually either love the book or hate it so much I drop it. This one, thankfully, was a homerun. Rich descriptions of a hidden world, flawed characters who make me fall in love with them, and a suspenseful tale of survival kept me thoroughly engaged.

The world of the circus inherently has that allure and mystery of the unknown. Whether it’s true or not, circus individuals are shown in various media outlets as closed off from outsiders, a world of secrets and intrigue. Now imagine all that in a setting like Nazi Germany and World War II, and you’ve got a captivating background for our story. The background story of a circus hiding Jews during the war is also a true story; I remember show more first reading about it in middle school when we were studying the Holocaust. That also gives it more weight, knowing elements were true.

Jenoff did a fantastic job in making us live and breathe a circus in freefall. In a world where being different can mean a death sentence and money is tight everywhere, trying to make a living as a circus was almost impossible. Yet, we still get a sense of that magic a circus can bring. The wonder of the exotic animals, the death defying flight of the acrobats, and the overall excitement all bleed through to make the reader experience this world of enchantment.

Her characters were also stellar here. Every single one are beautifully flawed and intrinsically human. From insecurity to fear to deep love, all emotions shine crisp and vivid. I love how each character grew in changed on this book journey. Noa, especially, showed this growth. She started out as such a broken down and lost individual; finding Theo gave her the push to leave her grinding situation at the train station and develop as she strived to save him.

I also loved Astrid and Peter. Both of their lives were destroyed by the Nazis and Stalin; yet they both had the incredible courage and fortitude to stay strong despite that. They both showed defiance in their own way, showing the world that evil would not crush them. Yet, for all that defiance, their emotional scars from the tragedy of their lives prevented them from reaching true happiness. In a world where life and death could be decided on the turn of the moment, this story element truly hits the heart when it comes to these two.

This tale hits the ground running from page one with a daring winter rescue. From that point, the action and suspense doesn’t let up. As the reader gets drawn into Noa’s and Astrid’s story, we get daring rescues, hair-raising close calls, and the knowledge that betrayal could come from anywhere. As we build to the suspenseful climax, the reader can’t help but turn page after page in a desperate struggle to keep up with the pace of the story. The power of the ending and the big reveal at the end is excellent pay-off and truly satisfying.

I’m glad this is one volume of this author’s that I truly enjoyed. She balances suspenseful storytelling and complex characters in a world so vivid I could hear the roar of the circus crowds beautifully. I look forward to another in-depth and fascinating exploration of World War II and the Holocaust from this author’s talented pen. show less

An excellent book - very readable with vivid characterizations. Jenoff has researched well, both German practices during WWII as well as circus life. She builds a highly believable fictional world populated by characters that you would really like to meet. It is something of a unique plot: the circus binds together Astrid, a Jewish divorcee without a home, Noa, a Dane who has been exiled from her home, and Theo, the orphan baby Noa rescues from the train. Astrid is a seasoned veteran of the circus and Noa a novice, but they not only need the circus to shelter them from the Reich, they also need each other. Their struggles to survive and even thrive amid the backdrop of Nazi Germany and occupied France make a compelling story. The book show more will grab you and hold you right up to the end, but it is a tearful ending that catches you off guard - as do the tides of war and oppression. show less

What a gorgeous, heartbreaking tale! Pam Jenoff meshes two seemingly incompatible ideas - a traveling circus and the Holocaust during WWII - and produces a beautiful, devastating tale. From the opening pages where the as-yet-unidentified woman makes her break from her nursing home, to the moment Noa makes a devastating discovery in the railway station that will change her life, we are completely swept up and away into the story. For both characters, survival and fear drive them as their lives become entwined.

I simply couldn't put it down, and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding when I finally did. Simply a stunning novel for such a heavy setting.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy.