Another Ocean to Cross

Griffin’s solid debut finds the personal within a historical crisis and is highlighted by atmospheric detail. At the outset, Renata, a wealthy and talented 18-year-old German Jewish artist, is forced to flee Munich with her parents in 1938. Their plans to escape to Palestine are quickly derailed and they become separated, then reunite in an Egyptian refugee camp. With her father’s heart problems and her mother’s inability to cope with their dire situation, Renata must find a way to provide for her family, and to simply survive. After the family settles in Alexandria, Renata returns to her art career, then takes her plans to provide for her family to an extreme—yet understandable—level when she meets Ray, a Canadian who is in the Royal Navy. Though stilted dialogue and frequent flash forward segments interrupt the narrative flow, the story provides insight into a difficult and tempestuous time in history. This is a decent novel about overcoming tragedy. [em](BookLife) [/em]