When her grandfather Joseph Silk dies, Eva is forced to confront the hidden fractures between her father and his father. Silk was an important painter, famed for the intense blue tones he used, but he was also a Hungarian Jew who suffered through the war. Eva is contacted by the Jewish Museum in Berlin, they have Silk's 'testament' - the statement he made after liberation - so Eva goes to see it and it opens up the secrets long buried.
Flitting between the present and the past, this novel tells the story of a family destroyed by the Nazis and the breaking up of Eastern Europe. The scenes set in the labour camps and amongst the prisoners are heartrendingly written. The choices made by the protagonists are contextualised beautifully. However Eva's story is no less complex and the ending is suitably not complete. This is very mature writing from a debut novelist and it is fantastic to see that this book is being noticed for awards because it combines the very higher literary form with a story that resonates. ( )