On Bended Knees

The Second World War is over, but young Tomas learns that Europe’s wounds have not yet healed.

‘You come to see [Tomas] is conserving himself deliberately against the old suffering, the tired old guilt of the adults… Simplicity is a great virtue, in novels as elsewhere. After all, it can only be produced from sincerity.’ – Penelope Fitzgerald

It’s 1966. Young Tomas is taught by English war veterans, the adults around him haunted by memories of war. He walks the ruins of Coventry with his Gran, the city still rebuilding from the blitz. But his mother is German, and Tomas is torn between two worldviews.

As he nears adulthood Tomas heads to 1970s Berlin. He’s taken in by his enigmatic uncle, a blind, disgraced Nazi soldier. Arm in arm, they explore a drastically changing Berlin. Out in Dresden, a city decimated by Allied firebombs, Tomas finds more family with their hidden stories. This soaring, poignant novel invites readers to explore what we inherit from the wars of our elders, and how we might move on.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 230
Imprint: UK Small Publisher
Publication date: 05/03/2024