In Another Time by Jillian Cantor– 336 pages
ARC courtesy of Harper Perennial and the author in exchange for an honest review.
Book Blurb:
1931, Germany. Bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist, and immediately he feels a powerful chemistry between them. It isn’t long before they fall in love and begin making plans for the future. As their love affair unfolds over the next five years, the climate drastically changes in Germany as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the new landscape and the realities of war, not the least of which is that Hanna is Jewish and Max is not. But unbeknownst to Hanna is the fact that Max has a secret, which causes him to leave for months at a time—a secret that Max is convinced will help him save Hanna if Germany becomes too dangerous for her because of her religion.
In 1946, Hanna Ginsberg awakens in a field outside of Berlin. Disoriented and afraid, she has no memory of the past ten years and no idea what has happened to Max. Even so, as the days, months, and years pass, taking her from London to Paris to Vienna to America, she continues to be haunted by her forgotten past, and the fate of the only man she has ever loved and cannot forget.
My Review: 4.5 stars
In Another Time is another notch in Jillian Cantor’s belt of great books. Ever since I read Margot in 2013, I’ve been a huge fan of her work and anxiously wait for each new release. This book was a bit different for Cantor as she took on fantasy and the suspension of reality with time-travel. As a lover of the time-travel genre, this was an added bonus for me. For those that just got squeamish with the time-travel idea, don’t worry, it works amazingly well.
This story takes place in Germany in dual time periods, yet it’s the same characters in both times. The female characters were wonderfully developed, Hannah and her sister, their mother so frightful and strict. Hannah’s unadulterated relationship with her nephews said so much about her innate warmth. Her dedication to her music, passion for perfection and call to melodies spoke volumes about her as well. I even found myself listening to some of the music she played and spoke about. I loved Max. His love for books, devotion to Hannah and aid to other Jews were fine qualities, but I wanted to know more about him and the “closet”. There’s more to be fleshed out from him.
The historical details of the time, promises not kept, memory loss, along with the back drop of WW2, kept all the subplots engaging. This book allowed my imagination to stretch to many what if this could happen scenarios. How many generations could’ve been saved? Could this really be invented? Could this have stopped Hitler sooner?
The book explored the importance of hope and how different relationships play important roles in our lives. We see a romance filled with remarkable loyalty and longevity, and another with quiet companionship, similar interests and basic needs met. Both fulfilling yet so very different. I highly enjoyed this book and I’m certain that fans of historical fiction, especially during WW2 that offers some twists, should read this book.
Quotes I liked:
Love is always beautiful, it just doesn’t always have a happy ending.”
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