“Ah, but the artist in me cannot help but admire their sense of aesthetics. They truly excel at making ugly things look and sound pretty, don’t they? Have you heard what they’re calling last night’s rampage?” Franz said nothing, but Ernst, who was accustomed to carrying on one-sided conversations, continued. “Kristallnacht. Isn’t that lovely? — ‘the night of crystal.'” He grunted again. “Only the Nazis could make a night of national disgrace and hateful violence sound like an opera that Mozart might have penned!”
(from The Far Side of the Sky)
Daniel Kalla’s latest novel, The Far Side of the Sky, is historical fiction at its best. I can’t resist World War II novels that teach me something new, and Kalla did just that, focusing on the German Jews who fled Europe to escape the escalating Nazi violence and settled in Shanghai, which was pretty much the only place that would accept them at that point. Shanghai is a city of excitement and a city of fear, a city rampant with crime, prostitution, and opium addiction. The city is home to people of various nationalities, a melting pot of sorts, and the Japanese presence casts a shadow over everything.
After Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, Franz Adler, a secular Jewish surgeon in Vienna, realizes he and his family are no longer welcome in the city he has called home all of his life. On that night of chaos and violence, Franz sees his brother’s body hanging from a lamppost, and he understands that he must get his family out — and fast, since the sinister Adolf Eichmann, in charge of stamping Jewish exit visas, gives him just a matter of days to leave the country or he will be sent to a prison camp. He manages to secure a spot on a luxury liner from Italy to Shanghai, and Franz, his eight-year-old disabled daughter, Hannah, his grieving sister-in-law, Esther, and their friend, Ernst, a gay artist whose work and lifestyle were deemed degenerate by the Nazis, prepare to start new lives in a land they know nothing about, merely hoping that they will finally be safe.
Meanwhile, Sunny Mah, the daughter of a Chinese doctor and an American missionary, struggles to get by in Shanghai, where people of mixed race are not received favorably. Sunny has to bow lower and longer to the Japanese before crossing into their section of the city, and she has the intelligence to be a doctor, but the head surgeon at the hospital where she works refuses to acknowledge her potential. She learns that a hospital for the Jewish refugees is being built, and she volunteers her time and expertise, soon becoming an important member of the staff.
It is at the refugee hospital that she meets Franz, and even though they have passionate feelings for one another, obligation and the war conspire to keep them apart. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and seize all of Shanghai, things get worse for everyone living in the city — especially the refugees, as the organizations in England and the United States that provide food and shelter can no longer funnel money into the city.
The Far Side of the Sky is an exciting and beautifully written story about a city and people in turmoil. There is a lot going on in this novel, and Kalla does a wonderful job balancing and connecting all of the plot threads, including the plight of the Jews in Vienna and the Chinese under Japanese rule, the ethical dilemmas that threaten Franz’s career and the fate of his family, the convergence of numerous cultures in one city, the starvation and disease that ran rampant, and the sadness of the people who escaped the Nazis realizing that they probably would never see the relatives they left behind ever again. Kalla’s descriptions of Shanghai made the city come alive, and I could see the chaos, smell the stifling odors and the exotic aromas, and feel deeply for each of the characters, all of whom felt so real to me.
The Far Side of the Sky is a novel about so many things, and while it boils down to a story about survival and love in the midst of war, such a simple statement doesn’t do this book justice. It’s also about sacrifice, obligation, and making the most of the worst circumstances. It’s about people forced to leave behind everything and everyone they know and love and start anew in a land with new dangers waiting for them just around the corner. Moreover, it’s another book likely to make my list of best books read this year.
Disclosure: I received The Far Side of the Sky from the Saima Agency and Forge Books for review.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
This is one I’ll have to borrow from you. I interviewed him not too long ago for his visit to DC…so I was already intrigued.
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Of course. Just let me know when you’re ready for it.
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I love, love, love WWII historical fiction. This sounds a lot different than anything I’ve read before, which is definitely a good thing!
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Me, too, so it’s amazing that I can still find books that are unique. This one totally fit the bill.
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You’ve made me want to get my hands on a copy of this one just so that I know I own it and will get to the story some day!!
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That’s a wonderful idea! 😉
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Anna, what a beautiful review! This book sounds awesome in so many ways. I like that it adds a different perspective of where the Jews fled and how this affected their lives in an Asian country. Will add to my must-reads list.
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Thanks! Hope you get a chance to read it. It certainly made me want to know more about Shanghai during that time.
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I absolutely loved this book too…my review posted today as well.
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So glad to see so many favorable reviews of this one!
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I don’t read a lot of historical fiction but I do love to read about that time period. I’ll have to look for this book.
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This is definitely one you should check out!
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Oh, I need to read this one! I will be adding it to my wishlist.
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I hope you get a chance to read it. I think you’d like it.
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It does sound as if there is a lot going on in this one, but that it’s handled well. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of German Jews fleeing to Shanghai.
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I’ve read another book about Shanghai during that time, but it mentioned nothing about the German Jews.
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I’ve been looking for some great historical fiction that takes place somewhere other than the U.S. or Europe so this sounds excellent. I’ve read about WWII Hong Kong, but never China. Will be adding to my already massive TBR list.
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I know what you mean; I’m always looking for books about an aspect of the war I haven’t heard about before.
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Sounds good! On to the wish list it goes!
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I think this one is right up your alley!
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I’ll have to look for this book. This period of history in China is really interesting.
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I think you’d really enjoy it. Hope you get a chance to read it.
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you’ve sold me on this one … I’ll look for it. thanks
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Yay! You’ll have to let me know what you think if you get a chance to read it.
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[…] Comments « Review: The Far Side of the Sky by Daniel Kalla […]
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This one sounds interesting, it deals with so much that I have not come across before
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There is so much going on, it’s impossible to be bored!
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Well you know I love historical fiction and this one most definitely sounds like one to add to my wishlist. It sounds like an awesome novel.
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Yes, it is, and I think you’d love it!
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Fabulous review, Anna! You’re my go to expert for WWII fiction. : )
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Aw shucks! Now I’m (mostly) patiently waiting for your review!
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This books sounds very interesting and, as you mentioned, focuses on a facet of this historical period which is not written about much
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And with all the WWII novels out there, I’m surprised there’s still things that haven’t been written about before.
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I’m always excited by books that take the Holocaust/WW II and show something different about it. I had no idea some Jewish people escaped to Shanghai, a place they were welcomed. It sounds like a vastly different city than Vienna and was probably a bit of a shocking experience for Franz Adler and his family for many reasons. This book sounds so compelling and well-written, I was completely captivated just reading your review.
You post about some many books that sound like real gems. Thank you, Anna :o)
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Thanks, Amy! Can’t wait to hear what you think of this one.
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[…] who has won a copy of The Far Side of the Sky by Daniel […]
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Anither excellent review! This book sounds truly wonderful.
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Sorry about my typo! That’s what I get for trying to type a comment on my phone!
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I have trouble typing on my phone, too, so no worries. Glad you enjoyed the review!
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With as many books about WWII there are, you would think there were no new stories to tell. Clearly there was another one; glad to hear it’s so good!
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I’m always amazed when I come across a unique take on WWII. I think you’d like this one.
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[…] newest novel, Rising Sun, Falling Shadow, is the second book in a trilogy that began with The Far Side of the Sky, a book I loved so much it made my Best of 2012 list. Rising Sun, Falling Shadow — destined […]
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