a novel
Pam Jenoff
PRAISE FOR PAM JENOFF AND THE ORPHAN’S TALE
“I read this novel in a headlong rush, transported by the relationship between two vastly different women during World War II: a Jewish circus aerialist and a teenage runaway with a baby. Deftly juggling secrets, lies, treachery, and passion, Pam Jenoff vividly brings to life the agonizing choices and life-or-death consequences for a hardy band of travelers under Nazi occupation.”
—Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train.
“In prose that is beautiful, ethereal, and poignant, The Orphan’s Tale is novel you won’t be able to put down.”
—Bustle
“Readers who enjoyed Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants will embrace this novel.”
—Library Journal
“The Orphan's Tale is a compelling and beautifully told story about the power of female friendship, with all its complications.”
─PopSugar
“A gripping story about the power of friendship to save and redeem even in the darkest of circumstances, The Orphan’s Tale sheds light on one of the most colorful and inspiring stories of heroism in Nazi Germany. This is a book not to be missed.”
—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife.
THE ORPHAN’S TALE the powerful new novel from international bestselling writer Pam Jenoff, blends two little known aspects of the human drama that was the Second World War into a heartrending story of friendship and survival. Set amid the unconventional world of a traveling circus, the novel brings together two women—both refugees from their own pasts and each attempting to live under the radar during the Nazi incursion. Forming an at-first tentative bond, the two resilient women learn to trust and rely on each other even as the threat of exposure closes in.
Noa, a sixteen-year-old Dutch girl, is banished from her home when her father discovers she has become pregnant by a German soldier. With nowhere else to turn, she enters the Nazi-run Lebensborn program, accepting care and shelter in exchange for the promise that she will give up her Aryan baby for adoption by a worthy German family. But, surrendering the baby proves devastating for Noa, and afterwards she lives in quiet desperation as she ekes out a living as a cleaner at a railway station. One day, in a railcar, she discovers dozens of Jewish infants who have been rent from their mothers, bound for certain death. On impulse, she steals one of the babies and flees.
After spending a near-fatal night in the freezing forest, Noa and the baby are discovered by the denizens of a circus and given sanctuary. In order to stay with the troupe without rousing the suspicion of the local Nazi authorities, Noa must be given a part to play in the show, and it is decided she will fill a vacant aerialist’s place. She is put in the charge of Astrid, the star trapeze artist, who at first has nothing but disdain for this amateur. Still, she is surprised by Noa’s determination and innate talent, and Astrid has sympathy for the girl’s plight because of her own circumstances. The daughter of a rival circus family, Astrid is Jewish and alone in the world. Once married to a German officer, she has been disowned by her husband and, like Noa, has found welcome refuge in the sheltered, nonjudgmental world of the circus.
As the circus moves across Europe, out of Germany and into occupied France, Noa hopes that she can find the means of escape to save the baby, whom she has named Theo. Yet, in this turbulent time of mistrust and betrayal, no one can be assured of safety, and the secret pasts both women shield return to haunt them and threaten their safety. Loyalty and friendship may not prove enough to save them.
“A gripping story about the power of friendship to save and redeem even in the darkest of circumstances,” says Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator's Wife. “Jenoff expertly performs a pirouetting tale worthy of a standing ovation,” adds Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author of The Mapmaker's Children.
ABOUT PAM
Pam Jenoff is the author of The Kommandant's Girl, which was an international bestseller and nominated for a Quill award, as well as seven other novels. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a master’s degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. Jenoff’s novels are based on her experiences working at the Pentagon and also as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and three children where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school.
THE ORPHAN’S TALE
By Pam Jenoff
Imprint: MIRA Books
Price: $15.99
Publication date: February 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7783-1981-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-460-39642-1
Pages: 368
MORE PRAISE FOR THE ORPHAN’S TALE
"A beautiful and heart wrenching novel that weaves the story of two women's fight for survival against incredible odds, The Orphan’s Tale gripped me from the first page. Jenoff mesmerizes with her ability to weave in historical detail with a story that explores love, friendship, and the endurance of the human spirit. A marvelous and satisfying read!"
–Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Lost Wife
"Jenoff expertly performs a pirouetting tale worthy of standing ovation. A circus of hidden Jews, a powerful friendship, The Orphan's Tale proves that the human spirit defies hate, fear, and gravity with a triumphant Ta-da!"
—Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author of The Mapmaker's Children
“The Orphan's Tale begins with the most riveting first chapter I've ever read. With deftness and emotion, Jenoff sets in motion a compelling story of friendship and courage during the Second World War.”
—Charles Belfoure, author of The Paris Architect and House of Thieves
“The Orphan’s Tale is a wonderfully compelling story set in Europe under the Nazis, and with a beautiful, complicated friendship between two women at its heart. The story grips from the very first page, and the characters are utterly believable – flawed, yet capable of great generosity and courage, so the darkness of the setting is pierced by shafts of light. And the atmosphere of the circus is entrancing - so vividly evoked that you can smell the animals and feel all the terror and thrill of the flying trapeze.”
—Margaret Leroy, author of The Soldier’s Wife
A CONVERSATION WITH PAM JENOFF
What is your new novel, The Orphan’s Tale, about?
Noa, a young Dutch girl, has been kicked out by her parents after becoming pregnant by a German soldier. She lives above a rail station, which she cleans to earn her keep. One day she finds the unthinkable: a boxcar full of infants, ripped from their parents arms too young to know their own names. In a moment of fateful impulse, she snatches one of the infants and flees into the snowy night. She finds shelter with a German circus, where she must learn the trapeze act to earn her keep. The woman who teaches her to be an aerialist is herself a Jew in hiding and the two women must see if they can save each other – or if their secrets will destroy them both.
Is the novel based on a true story?
The novel, though fictitious, was inspired by two real events: first, the little-known account of the rescuer’s circus, an actual German circus that hid Jews, including rival performers from another circus. Second, the train of unknown infants was drawn from an actual, horrific event during the war. There are also elements of the book that were drawn from real life. For example, the instance of a German military officer being ordered to divorce his Jewish wife was true. Also, a real-life romance between a Jewish woman in hiding and a circus clown provided the idea for Astrid and Peter’s relationship in the book. Finally, while researching I was amazed to find a rich history of Jewish circus dynasties in Europe, which also helped me develop the story.
How did you first discover the seeds for the novel—the real-life stories of circus performers during the war and story of the train car full of infants?
I found these remarkable stories in the Yad Vashem virtual archives which document the Righteous – people, often not Jewish, who saved Jews during the war.
What sort of research did you do before writing the novel?
Some of my research is done before I write the book, other bit contemporaneously with the writing. In any event, armed with the stories from Yad Vashem, I began to dig deeper. I found a book on Jews in popular German entertainment and that book provided more detail about the rescuer’s circus and introduced me to Jewish circus dynasties in Europe. From there, I needed all kinds of research, about Jewish life and life in general during the war, in both Germany and France, where the circus travels. I needed to understand how they were able (and permitted) to keep performing, if at all during such grim times. I used a variety of sources: books, internet, periodical and photos from the time period, correspondence and other first-hand accounts.
Then there was the research about the circus in general. European and American circuses are different and I tried hard to get the details right. Interestingly, there are many websites devoted to historic circus arts. Finally, I had to learn about aerialist arts, such as trapeze. I began with books and videos and then consulted an aerialist, who taught me what was and was not possible. But first I had to understand enough to even know the right questions to ask.
There have probably been more books written about the Second World War—both fiction and nonfiction—than any other subject. How did you keep your story fresh?
There are times when I look around at all of the books I and others have written during World War II and think, “that’s it, I’m done.” But then the stories keep coming, each so original and irresistible, that they demand to be written. In particular, I think the end of Communism and the opening of communications and archives not previously available have provided a lot of additional material. There are as many stories from this period as there are people who lived it, and as long as we treat them with the thoughtfulness and respect they deserve, I’m not sure we will ever be done.
Why do you think readers are still so drawn to stories from this period in history, fast fading from memory?
Stories from the war are more popular than ever. In part, I think it is a drive to capture and tell the stories of the survivors in whatever form now before they are gone. I also think that the war is just such fertile ground for storytelling. The dire circumstances and stark choices are ideal for placing the reader in the shoes of the protagonist and having her ask, “What would I have done?”
Which characters in the novel are based on real people and which did you fabricate?
All of my characters are fictitious. But I was inspired by real life accounts I read of courageous circus owners, Jewish performers in hiding, and others.
The novel has two central characters—Noa and Astrid. Which one would you say is the main protagonist?
I couldn’t choose between Noa and Astrid – the story is equally theirs and I worked hard to give each a distinct voice.
There is a lot of detail about circus life and circus acts. Did you spend any time with a real circus?
One question I struggled with in writing this book was whether I had to go see the circus as part of my research. I dislike the circus and think it is cruel to animals and didn’t want to go. Ultimately, I concluded that since the modern American circus is very different from the historic European version, going would be more misleading than helpful. But I did consult extensively with an aerialist on the trapeze.
The “orphan” who lends his name to the title is only an infant as the story unfolds. Why did you choose to give the book this title?
I’m not sure that the infant is the orphan. First, it is unclear whether his parents are deceased or out there somewhere. Second, Astrid may be an orphan in that her parents have been taken by the Germans. Finally, Noa is metaphorically an orphan since her parents kicked her out. As for titles in general, developing them is a very interesting process creatively and editorially and I think that is all I will say about that!
You spent time in Europe during your career with the State Department. What did that knowledge of place bring to the writing of the book?
I spent several years in Europe, most of which as a diplomat in Krakow, Poland. The State Department gave me responsibility for handling all of the issues related to the Holocaust that had never been resolved during the Communist era, questions of anti-Semitism, property restitution, and preservation of the concentration camps. I also became very close to many of the Holocaust survivors, who were like grandparents to me. I was profoundly moved and changed by those experiences. My books are tributes to those people and times. I think they reflect an understanding of the era and events that can come only from having spent so much time on the ground in the region grappling with the past.
Why have you called The Orphan’s Tale “the book that broke me”?
I call The Orphan’s Tale “the book that broke me” to write because of the train of unknown infants, taken from their parents. It is the opening scene and the lynchpin of the book, but as a mother of three children myself, it was also the hardest to write. I avoided it for a long time before doing so.
Are you working on another novel? If so, can you give us a sneak peek into what it is about?
My next book, still untitled, is about twelve young British women who went missing in Europe during World War II while working as spies, and the woman who goes searching for them – and who might or might not have betrayed them.
No comments:
Post a Comment