I have read a lot of books from authors I had not previously heard of and recently I read Blue Eyed Son by Melissa Romo. I don't usually write reviews but this was so well written and gripping that I thought it deserved the effort. On occasions when I don't finish a book it is almost always because the dialogue seems stilted or unnatural. The conversations in this book were very believable and read like someone might actually say those things in those words. It added to the credibility and realism of an already fascinating story.
There are several story lines in the book, all of which are authentic and well told. One is the very real current day issue of accepting what our ancestors did. As Americans it may be accepting that are forefathers may have been slave owners. For Germans it is the reality of the Holocaust. It reminded me of a tour guide that we had on a trip from Prague to Budapest a couple of years ago. She was a German in the mid-thirties who shared the problems her generation has dealing with the fact that their grandparents may have had some role in WW II. The shame is felt despite the generational difference and it is difficult for anyone to fully accept what people may have had to do or at least tolerate to get by at that time. The book was very true to these emotions.
The book is also very well researched and describes some of the horrific policies the Nazis used to forcibly indoctrinate children from occupied countries, in this case Poland. It is almost unimaginable what barbaric things that happened in my lifetime in Europe although I am not so naive that I don't know it didn't also happened to some degree elsewhere. In a much less brutal way it has similarities to Australia taking Aboriginal children away from their families and trying to change their culture and identities, past Canadian policies concerning First Nation tribes, and sadly probably cases in the USA involving American Indian children. The dark side of cultural assimilation. I am sure it is happening in parts of the world today which makes this story even more compelling.
On a lighter note, the story also confirmed a long-held belief of mine that big formal weddings are always a risky proposition.
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![Blue-Eyed Son by [Melissa Tomlinson Romo]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-9hJJd95L._SY346_.jpg)
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Top reviews from other countries
Janice B
WOW I learnt so much about post war relations between Poland and Germany I could not put down the compelling story.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 9, 2016Amazon Customer
Wonderful read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 5, 2016Amazon Customer
Wonderful moving and gripping novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 11, 2016
