The Seamstress by Sara Tuvel Bernstein

There are so many books written by or about the survivors of the Holocaust and all share similar elements. But each one is also unique, describing how an individual manages to survive the unimaginable. In this book, Seren (Sara) Tuvel is a young Roumanian Jewish girl, working as a seamstress in Budapest, who is arrested and taken from her home. She is transported with her sister and niece and the young daughter of a family friend and they ultimately end up in Ravensbruck, a concentration camp near Berlin. The four of them band together, led by Seren, and gain strength from each other. The reader can't help but wonder at what traits are needed for survival, not just youth and good health, but being observant and taking advantage of luck. This is a wonderful book , very moving and thought-provoking.

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley

I finished this novel several days ago and have been thinking about it ever since. It is a multi-layered book with characters that stay with you. The first part of the book is related in the first person by Freya Morris, a young woman living in New York who is remembering her childhood in Connecticut with her widowed mother and the summers spent in Gimli, Canada with her Icelandic immigrant extended family. It is a family seeped in Icelandic tradition and most of their communication with the child Freya is an attempt to impart this knowledge to her. She is lectured continually about ancient family connections back to the 8th century. But there is no real communication about recent family events and relationships. Her grandmother and especially her mother's sister Birdie, fill her with legend and history. She is especially drawn to Birdie, who struggles with manic and depressive moods and has been in and out of institutions. A key element in the plot is Freya's being "tricked" into a trip to Iceland with Birdie, which creates a crucial turning point in the story. The second part of the book takes the form of a journal that Freya addresses to a cousin she believes exists and her search for her. As she attempts to unravel her mother's relationship to Birdie, she finds more and more events that were kept from her. This culminates in a second trip to Iceland where she must come to terms with her life.
Sunley spends a lot of time describing Icelandic language, culture, history, religion, and geography. At times I thought I was reading a Tour Guide to Iceland and it was a little disconcerting. But in fairness, I would have to say that this information is central to understanding the characters and their stories. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Wow! I hardly know where to begin. The Eyre Affair is funny, intelligent, and above all, clever. The time is modern day England, but Fforde has created an alternative universe where the Crimean War is still being fought, international travel is through a "gravatube" through the center of the earth, and government special forces rule with an iron hand. The protagonist, Thursday Next, is a Special Ops literary detective, solving crimes such as book forgery, theft, and entering a book to change the plot. (Not only is time travel possible here, but people can enter books and alter the story). Through a series of events, Thursday is hunting the most evil man in her world, Hades Archeron. Her chase takes her into Jane Eyre with results that have a very strong impact on the ending. The book is full of so many puns and literary references that it can keep your head spinning. This is the first of a series of Thursday Next novels and a great introduction into Fforde's amazing creativity.