It's 2006 and Katrine is at the New Jersey home of her 86-year-old mother Allina, a German immigrant who has kept her life before coming to America a secret. In her mother's room, Katrine finds a hidden box that contains shocking information about Allina's life in Germany. Allina decides it's time to reveal her story. The narrative shifts back to 1938 when tragedy forces Allina to hide out and work in Hochland House, the first of Heinrich Himmler’s Lebensborn "baby factories" where young women did their part to give birth to perfect Aryian children to grow the German master race. Undesirable children, however, met a tragic fate. Allina meets SS officer Karl von Strassberg, a man harboring secrets of his own.
Author Adriana Allegri began writing The Sunflower House more than twenty years ago. We're fortunate that she persisted. This is a well-done work of fiction centered around one of the many horrors of the Nazi regime, places where children were the primary victims. The author noted the challenge of piecing together information on the Lebensborn program as records were destroyed and people who participated had selective memories as the years went on. This well-researched book sheds light on valuable history. Allina is a remarkable and resilient character and Karl is a compassionate man fulfilling his duties in a uniform he despises. You will be moved.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this impressive debut novel before its release.
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Historical Fiction.
Publication Date: November 12, 2024.
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Very good review.
I'm starting it Tuesday.