All the Broken Places by John Boyne

 Guilt and Consequences.

Oooh this book knocked me off my feet!  I have read a lot of good books, but this one was one of the best I’ve read in a long time!

 

It’s about guilt, conscience, our role in society and as humans.  It was such a well-crafted slow burn, I had a difficult time putting it down.  

 

In this riveting narrative, we are pulled from one page to the next edging toward a 91-year-old woman’s secret from WWII.  At the same time a drama plays out in current-day London, with both culminating to a jaw-dropping moment.

 

So good!! 

 

Here are a couple lines to give you a taste of the book.

 

“I told myself that none of it had been my fault, that I had been just a child, but there was a small part of my brain that asked me, if I was entirely innocent, then why was I living under an assumed name?” –pg 29

 

Gretel thought the sparkle had left her eyes—her best feature. “Now they were the color of barbed wire, of rusty ovens, of smoke and ash.” –pg 98

 

“My wife belongs to me.”

“Like a possession.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” –pg 369

 

 

Annette