The Silence In Between

 By: Josie Ferguson

Location: FIC FER

Genre: Historical Fiction,  Berlin Wall, family

“And we are guilty. We did nothing. And in doing nothing, we gave our consent."

Imagine waking up and a wall has divided your city in two. Imagine that on the other side is your new-born baby...

This is what happens to Lisette. Overnight, on 13 August 1961, the border between East and West Berlin has closed, slicing the city - and the world - in two. With the streets in chaos and armed guards ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross, her situation is desperate.

Lisette's teenage daughter, Elly, has always struggled to understand the distance between herself and her mother. Both have lived for music, but while Elly hears notes surrounding every person she meets, for her mother - once a talented pianist - the music has gone silent.

Perhaps Elly can do something to bridge the gap between them. What begins as the flicker of an idea turns into a daring plan to escape East Berlin, find her baby brother, and bring him home....

 Review by Sharon
I love historical fiction, especially books which are set around real life events that I can go and read up about afterwards. The book is a dual timeline story which revolves around the Berlin Wall. Initially the story begins in 1961 when Lisette finds herself separated from her baby boy when the Wall is put up overnight. Her son is ill in a hospital in West Berlin and she is stuck in East Berlin having gone home for some rest. The storyline then takes us backwards and forwards from 1961 to the Second World War, following Lisette's story in the earlier years and her daughter Elly's story in 1961.

This was a truly amazing book! I thought it was only going to be set around the time that the Wall went up and what happened after that, I didn't realise it would jump back in time to the War also. The switch between the two times however was done perfectly and there was no confusion as to where you were in their stories. Their stories though were captivating, heart-breaking and took you right into the fear and uncertainty of what was happening. The characters were so well written and I equally loved Lisette and Elly's stories in the different times.

The author has put a huge amount of research into this cleverly written book and as I read I was looking up little bits and pieces to see if some of these things really happened. I'm glad to say a lot of the book was factually correct, but this did add to the sadness I felt as I read to know that so many people went through this. This was an absolutely brilliant book, full of emotion, and which will stay with you long after you have finished it.