Echoes

Danielle Steel is a master story teller; blending facts and fiction modestly. As the story unfolds the incidences seem happening right in front of your eyes. Echoes gives a vivid description of society under the Nazi regime.

The story plot is well stretched from pre to post World War II era. It is really unnerving to read about holocaust and the Hitler’s atrocities on Jews. The author seems to do a thorough research, crucial fact findings before weaving the story line.

It is love at first sight for Beatrice, a Jewish beauty from affluent German family. She falls in love with a French Christian gentleman while vacationing in Switzerland. Their union is not accepted by either family but they start life together in Switzerland, in penury amidst all hardship.

It is really heart rending to read Beata’s futile attempts to unite with family, once back in Germany, a widow with two daughters. Her parents had performed Shiva, proclaiming her dead; the day she leaves to marry a Christian.

Reading the word Shiva in Jewish-German context rings a bell. Researching further I found the ancient Aryans spread in Iran, North India and Germany. Maybe because of race factor some similarity, like Swastika symbol. Reading contemporary fiction involves a lot of default cross culture learning.

When the war horrors start engulfing the Jews in Germany; Beata’s parents and siblings are not spared. Jews are hand picked and sent to Nazi death camps.

Beata had a peaceful life for a while, under the mask of Christianity. Soon her past echoes, her Jewish roots come to light and she is also chucked out of her house. Amadea, her daughter, unaware of half Jewish parentage, was in the making of Carmelita nun. The convent did not come for her rescue either, as her roots echo. Soon she was out of the convent, in hiding, struggling for survival.

The story has few broken links, once the story catches up with Amadea as the main character; nothing is mentioned about mother Beata, the lead character, on which the story builds up. Maybe the author tried to make the long story short and left for the readers to presume that death was inevitable in Nazi camps.

Amadea’s story takes a u-turn on her escape from one of the Nazi camp. She reaches countryside France, after facing near death situation, on several occasions. Here she becomes part of French resistance squad and meets the British secret agent, Colonel Montgomery, doing daring missions together. In the end she settles with him in Britain along with a brood of Jewish orphans whom the colonel had rescued and eventually adopted.

I read quite a lot Danielle Steel. I personally like her way of story crafting. Her novels are good casual read, most of them best sellers. Her official website and blog reveal more about her. She publishes three books in a year, writing several simultaneously. It takes her about two to three years to complete one novel. A lot of hard work, indeed!!