• Paperback
• Condition: Good
• 297 pages
• Fiction: Historical

A darkly funny novel about childhoods in chaos.

Johannes, a fanatical member of the Hitler Youth, is injured in an air raid and finds himself trapped at home as he recovers. When he discovers his parents illegally hiding a Jewish girl, he is horrified by the silent fugitive living in their house.

Though initially repulsed, he soon becomes fond of this girl living behind a false wall. Her name is Else. When his parents suddenly disappear without trace, Johannes realises he is the only one left aware of Elsa's existence. Torn by his lonely responsibility for her survival and his loyalty to the Fatherland, Johannes' grasp of reality begins to dissolve in the exploding world of the Third Reich.