Our Narrow Hiding Places

Jansma (Why We Came to the City) seamlessly interweaves past and present in this immersive dual narrative of a girl in German-occupied Holland during WWII and her American grandson. Mieke Geborn is eight when the Nazis invade her hometown in 1940. After the Jews are deported, and as the German war effort lags, the Nazis enlist local men to work for them. With Mieke’s help, her father conceals himself along with several others in the attic of their apartment building. Conditions worsen for Mieke and the cloistered men during the so-called Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, when harsh restrictions leave the townspeople desperate for food. In a parallel story line set in 2014, Mieke is an 80-year-old widow in New Jersey, where she’s lived for the past 50 years. After a fall in her house, her grandson Will takes leave from his internist job and his troubled marriage to care for her. Jansma rewards readers’ patience as Mieke discloses the extent of the Hunger Winter’s impact on their family and Will comes clean about his marital problems. It’s a satisfying blend of wartime and family drama. Agent: Doug Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Aug.)