The Light In The Window

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Jan Karon says there are Mitfords all over the country. Do you live in one? If so, why do you think your community is like Mitford? Is Mitford necessarily a small town? Discuss whether it might also be a close neighborhood in a large city.

His plan seems impossible, and Margarete is terrified they might be found out, not to mention worried about what Wilhelm might want in return. But as the Nazis start rounding up Jews in Paris and the Résistance steps up its activities, putting everyone who opposes the regime in peril, she realizes staying hidden in plain sight may be her only chance of survival… But strangely he doesn’t reveal her true identity right away. Instead he insists she comes and lives with him in Paris, and seems determined to keep her hidden. His only proviso: she must continue to pretend to be his sister. Because whoever would suspect a Nazi girl of secretly being a Jew? Držala som palce Margarete, aby sa jej podarilo zachrániť sa. Bolo mi jej ľúto, ale fakt som celý čas myslela len na to, aby ju nikto neodhalil. Doslova tancovala po tenkom ľade. Margarete bola Židovka. Slúžila v jednej rodine, ktorej členovia po zbombardovaní zahynuli. Napokon prevzala totožnosť dievčiny, ktorej telo ostalo pod troskami domu. Tak sa z Margarete Rosenbaumovej stala Annegrete Huberová.

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This was an Ireland in which such abuses involved the collusion of society itself. The most striking message from June Goulding's volume is one of absolutely no questions asked, ever.

A potom sa všetko začalo pekne komplikovať. Margarete mala čo robiť, aby sa neodhalila. Až nakoniec Annegrete (Margarete) nevystopoval jej brat Wilhelm Huber… a nebezpečenstvo sa len stupňovalo. nebudem prezrádzať, ale viem s istotou napísať, že som nič podobné nečítala. Príbeh sa čítal sám a celý čas som bola v napätí, či sa Margarete zachráni, čo sa s ňou stane. Bude jej dopriata sloboda? Láska? Prežije niečo z toho? Pocíti úľavu? Veľa otázok mi vírilo v hlave počas čítania a postupne som dostala na všetko odpoveď. Záver ma prekvapil, nečakala som to… prekvapil, ale zároveň aj upokojil… Many people shelve this series as "Christian literature" and for some reason or another I have never placed it in that category. To be sure, Father Tim quotes plenty of scripture - especially to his big floppy dog, Barnabus (the only way to keep Barnabus from jumping on you is to quote a verse from the Bible; amazingly, Barnabus immediately sits or lies down upon hearing scripture. Barnabus is also fond of Wordsworth!) Even though scripture is quoted, it is not proselytizing. This series is about how the life of a sixty year old stressed out, worn out priest, was infused with new spirit and energy when a dog, a boy and a new neighbor entered his life. It is also about kindness, love and caring neighbors who look after each other. Who wouldn't want to live in Mitford! Then one night in my mind’s eye I saw an Episcopal priest walking down the street. I decided to follow him and see where he went. Well, he went to a dog named Barnabas, they went to a boy named Dooley, and the story unfolded before me. Instead of me driving the story, the story began to drive me! I got interested, wrote a couple of chapters, and there you have it. In the first book, At Home in Mitford, he lived a very quiet life. In the subsequent books we are able to see far more of Father Tim’s humanity because he is surrounded by people. That means that his heart is going to be broken and his patience is going to be stretched — all of the things that happen when we get involved with other people. This has made him a much more human figure.

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After the women had given birth, the babies were kept a while, but then were sent by the nuns themselves over to America to be adopted, giving the birth mother no indication of what may have happened to their baby, again, this was done as a form of punishment.

They were so vulnerable and alone and without hope. This was the worst aspect of this place. It was all tears and toil and no help or hope and then the final amputation between mother and child, and the mothers never ever knowing where their beloved children went.” Was one person's life worth more than another one's? And who got to decide which person was allowed to live?" Nanešťastie v Paríži stretne syna rodiny, Wilhelma, ktorý ju nakoniec drží vo svojej izbe a snaží sa prísť na to, čo s ňou urobí. Postupom času si začnú dôverovať a stanú sa z nich priatelia. Aj keď stoja na dvoch rôznych stranách, ona je židovka a on je vojak SS, ktorému je odmala vštepovaná propaganda vtedajšej doby, vtedajšieho režimu, svojim spôsobom našli k sebe cestu.

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I would like to thank #MarionKummerow, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #ALightInTheWindow in exchange for an honest review.

In Paris, Margerete awaits the connecting train that will take her to her destination when she comes face to face with Wilhelm once again. Instead of revealing her true identity, he introduces her to his friends as his sister Annegret citing that she has come to join him for Christmas. Margerete has no idea if Wilhelm will report her to the Gestapo and yet she knows that if he does he faces charges of treason himself for maintaining the deception. Instead, he has a proposition for her. She is to continue to live as his sister so that he can marry her off and gain control of her inheritance. All they have to do is to continue to hide her from his brother Reiner who will spare neither of them should he learn the truth.

Over the years I have returned several times to the Mitford series because of the comfort it offers me. Mitford is an idyllic small country town with wonderful characters and devoid of the stress of big city living. However, this is not to say that Father Tim does not have stress in his life. As these books continue, one stress is replaced with another. The life of a small village vicar is not stress free, nor is it easy. The author tells the story as a memoir without naming the establishment or real names of the nuns and patients, except for a couple of the latter. While the author is brave for doing so, I struggled to understand how she could have limited her involvement to being the merciful one and not gone to greater lengths to fight for these defenseless women. This was especially disconcerting as she had medical connections and could have tried to expose what was going on as soon as she left the place. Of course there is a different social climate towards helping others now than at that time when authoritative figures yielded immense power. I wouldn’t say that the ending particularly leaves you on a cliffhanger, but it does make you want to find out what happens next. I am glad to have noticed there will be a sequel to this book! While Jan Karon has a huge following, no doubt composed in part of little old ladies, these stories are anything but what they appear to be on the outside. While the excitement is of a far more subtle sort, it is extremely human... as well as Christian. Without preaching, it successfully delivers the method of the utmost simplicity, something of which I think our Father would approve. It takes a while to become used to reading these, especially when you are expecting something exciting and dangerous, but what you end up with is that people are real and they solve their issues in very real ways. June recounts all of this faithfully but most interestingly for me, she adds in her perspective as a nurse and midwife. The goal here was clearly to punish vulnerable women and girls; how else could you possibly explain a nun refusing to allow a teenage mother to be sutured following a traumatic delivery? No pain relief or medical interventions allowed either. No kindness, no dignity, no care.