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Sunday 16 April 2023

The Collaborator's Daughter by Eva Glyn


Description from Goodreads:

"In 1944 in war-torn Dubrobvnik Branko Milisic holds his newborn daughter Safranka and wishes her a better future. But while the Nazis are finally retreating, the arrival of the partisans brings new dangers for Branko, his wife Dragica and their new baby… 

As older sister to two half-siblings, Fran has always known she has to fit in. But now, for the first time in her life Fran is facing questions about who she is and where she comes from. 

All Fran knows about her real father is that he was a hero, and her mother had to flee Dubrovnik after the war. But when she travels to the city of her birth to uncover the truth, she is devastated to discover her father was executed by the partisans in 1944, accused of being a collaborator. But the past isn’t always what it seems…"

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This is something a little bit different to what a normally read but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Set in two timeliness - 2010 and 1944 - the story is written from the point of view of Fran (Safranka) in Sussex in 2010 and her father, Branko in Dubrovnik in 1944.  Fran was born in Dubrovnik but left with her mother when she was just a baby and never knew her father but was always told he was a hero.  

Fran is now in her 60's; her stepfather has recently passed away having lost her mother a number of years earlier.  With her son having grown up with his own family and having found out that her father's remains have been found in a mass grave containing fascists and collaborators from World War II; Fran decides to return to her country of birth to learn more about her father and to find out what she wants to do with the rest of her life now she has no one left to care for.

I loved the characters and particularly the fact that they were of an older generation which was a refreshing change proving that it's never too late to change your life although it remains a scary concept.  I loved the setting and the descriptions of Dubrovnik which really made me want to visit.  I found the sections set in 1944 were my favourite parts, I wish they had been longer and more in depth however, the author has explained why this was very difficult due to the lack of information available.

Overall, an enjoyable read and whilst I don't usually like a book that has quite such a focus on romance, it did work well with this particular story and it made for a gentle and easy read.

My thanks go to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Collaborator's Daughter.

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