Circumference of Silence

This book is captivating as it explores the relationships between mothers and daughters and how time and history have an impact them both as a family and as individuals.

Shortly after her mother’s death, Mali begins to pack up her apartment. When she stumbles upon an envelope with her name on it, old memories start to flash before her eyes. As her mother shares memories of her childhood as a Jewish girl in WWII Berlin, Mali discovers how well she did and did not know her mother. The letters raise lots of questions for Mali and her own parenting. More than anything, these letters give her a better understanding of her mother, the horrors she experienced, the challenges she had to overcome and her own fears about motherhood.

This book grabs a hold of you instantly. It’s written with so much compassion that you can’t help but get sucked up into the memories and emotions. While I felt it ended rather abruptly, I still give it 5 stars. It’s a great weekend read that will tug at your heartstrings and make you want to go give your own mother a hug!

Thanks to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and Jacquie Hertz for allowing me to read this lovely story ahead of its publication date! I hope my review helps folks looking for that good weekend read

From the brilliant title to the poignant cover to the aching stories written inside, this beautiful multi-timeline book is gripping, moving, evocative and incredibly insightful. The author's writing is introspective, keen, bright and thoughtful. Simply said, this is an unputdownable book.

Mali makes a discovery which changes her life and causes her to question everything, including her relationship with her fascinating and unconventional mother. But the discovery also leads her to answers which clarify lifelong haziness. Mali's mother's diary is an important account of the past, her past. The author injects real portions of history such as Kristallnacht and effects of war into the story. "How would I have turned out if there had been no Hitler?" I've wondered what the world would have been had there been no Hitler and no Holocaust. Yet the story is not overwhelmed by that side alone but to me is also a study in relationships and choices. Readers are taken through different perspectives which are flawlessly written in parts which make a seamless whole. Mali reflects and pieces her memories together and begins to understand the whys and whats as she learns about her background spanning the past few generations.

I am usually not a literary fiction fan but this...this is incredible! Am I ever glad I read it. It would have been a shame to miss. Literary fiction, Women's Fiction, General Fiction and Historical Fiction fans alike ought to read this book.

My sincere thank you to Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this crushing, lovely and wondrously-crafted book.

I enjoyed the unique perspective of this storyline. Written in letter format to her daughter, the reader is immersed into her mothers live during WW II, and hw being Jewish affected man decisions through their lives. This is not your typical storyline form the time, but instead focuses more on life events and the decisions they caused.

Mali was such an amazing person in this book! I was drawn to her and the book from the description and I was no way disappointed. This is one of those books where Kleenex is always close. I cannot tell you how many Holocaust and WW2 books I have read over the last couple years, but each one resonates, each one is a family that shouldn’t have had to go through what they did. Always remember the past.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley