ahalsnad 's review for:

The Boy Between Worlds by Annejet van der Zijl

5.0

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Official, academic history has, as I said, nothing to tell us about the differences in intensity of historical occurrences. To learn about that, you must read biographies, not those of statesmen but the all-too-rare ones of unknown individuals.
- Sebastian Haffner, Defying Hitler: A Memoir

It was a very moving account. I loved the presentation of the story. Unlike the other WWII-related stories I read that start before the war and enumerate the trials, this story sheds light on how life unfolded for Waldemar and Riek. I learned quite a lot about the geography and history of both Suriname and the Netherlands.

Reading the biography of the civilians provided a glimpse of how the socioeconomic structure, social status, and society were between WWI and WWII, in the story mostly takes place. How Waldemar had to overcompensate and was still falling short of being accepted, the strong-headed and enterprising Riek's hardships, the motherly love for all her children were riveting to read. The effect of the occupation of the Netherlands on the economy, day-to-day life, and the plight of Jew helpers was illuminating.

Spoiler

The ending was heartbreaking when they fought through all the hardships almost until the end of the war, esp. the death of Waldemar was devastating.

The only issue I had with the presentation was that sometimes, the story did not follow a chronological order, and I had to reorient myself with the timeline. Otherwise, the photos and the snippets from letters and diary entries of various characters helped better connect with the storyline and characters.