Review: The Takeaway Men by Meryl Ain

With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin

sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp.

In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War.

Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows.

As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers. But it soon becomes clear that those memories will be more difficult and painful to uncover than they could have anticipated.

Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.

Paperback, 244 pages

Expected publication: August 4th 2020

by Sparkpress

3/5 stars

For the Lubinski's arriving in the USA was a fresh and new start.  A time to put the past behind them, as well as try to forget. I haven't read a book like this one in a while.  For Aron and Dyta (Judy) along with twin daughters crossing the ocean is the perfect opportunity.  As the girls get older they learn about the Holocaust, witness things and begin to question their parents. I love the cover and feel it reflects twins with different personalities and looks.

The author definitely researched a lot for this book. There is a wide cast of characters in these 244 pages with lives linked by friendship, the past and their faith.  Touching on a lot of different subjects aside from WW2 made it hard to feel a connection to the players here.  Very much a telling book verses a show.

Like I said the author painted a picture of life in the '50s and '60s in terms of mental illness and women's roles. A new perspective of healing after a horrible time in history.

My thanks to iRead Book Tours for an advanced print copy in exchange for an honest review.