THE BLIND SIDE OF THE HEART
Julia Franck
Random House, $36.99, pbk
German author Julia Franck won the Deutscher Buchpreis for her novel The Blind Side of the Heart (original title Die Mittagsfrau) about a young woman struggling to stay emotionally connected in a world full of unbearable pain and suffering.
The story centres on Helena, who has the misfortune (and I suppose the good fortune), of living through two world wars.
Raised in a small German town, Helena must deal with her mother's social isolation - not just because of her Jewish origins but also for her mental fragility which has worsened over the years, due to the loss of her sons in childbirth.
In contrast, Helena's father is popular and well-respected, but when he's called away to war the family situation deteriorates.
With no-one else to rely on, Helena develops an unnaturally close bond with her older sister Martha and they eventually escape their mother for a new life in Berlin.
Here they face a new set of obstacles and disappointments as Germany builds towards war again.
Helena is intelligent and determined but her life seems characterised by lost opportunities, wasted potential and sacrifice, until she has been thoroughly drained of emotion.
It sounds depressing, but Franck tells the story in a fairly matter-of-fact way as if to highlight that Helena is not alone in her suffering and that survival is often all you can hope for in times like these.
Anyone with any knowledge of World War 2 will be able to guess at some of the challenges she must face, but if you like to discover a story for yourself, try to avoid reading the back blurb - it reveals way too much.
- Laura Hewson is online deputy for the Otago Daily Times website.
