From Publishers Weekly
In this sequel to Krutein's memoir of WW II, the author and her famly flee postwar Germany for Chile, a promised land with a large, welcoming German community and disconcerting earthquakes. The family's personal events are intertwined with Chile's social and political history from 1950 to 1989. Krutein witnesses the suffering of children with no future and women under the thumb of machismo , which only fuels her commitment to fight such injustices. After the family moves to California, Krutein chronicles the effects of Salvador Allende's socialist revolution and its bloody aftermath on the friends they left behind. "Under every strong regime sadists come to power. This is not the first time . . . " is the resigned attitude of many Chileans under military dictatorship. Awkward expositional dialogue (" 'Wernher von Braun is doing his best to get astronauts to the moon. He's now director of NASA's Space Flight Center in the U.S.' ") and overwrought style ("The infamous January heat that stifled the city with its hellish glare . . . ") mar a narrative that draws on rich material.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
