Overview

The Hollow Bones implores us to pay careful attention to the crucial lessons we might learn from our not-too-distant history. 'I remember you once told me about mockingbirds and their special talents for mimicry. They steal the songs from others, you said. I want to ask you this- how were our own songs stolen from us, the notes dispersed, while our faces were turned away?' Berlin, 1936. Ernst Sch fer, a young, ambitious zoologist and keen hunter and collector, has come to the attention of Heinrich Himmler, who invites him to lead a group of SS scientists to the frozen mountains of Tibet. Their secret mission- to search for the origins of the Aryan race. Ernst has doubts initially, but soon seizes the opportunity to rise through the ranks of the Third Reich. While Ernst prepares for the trip, he marries Herta, his childhood sweetheart. But Herta, a flautist who refuses to play from the songbook of womanhood and marriage under the Reich, grows increasingly suspicious of Ernst and his expedition. When Ernst and his colleagues finally leave Germany in 1938, they realise the world has its eyes fixed on the horror they have left behind in their homeland. A lyrical and poignant cautionary tale, The Hollow Bones brings to life one of the Nazi regime's little-known villains through the eyes of the animals he destroyed and the wife he undermined in the name of science and cold ambition.

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9781760899868

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Reviews

It is wonderful to see Kaminsky return with such a startlingly interesting novel. The Hollow Bones confounds expectations in the most delightful way. . . . Leah writes exquisitely, with a poetry that never slows the captivating narrative. There is an authentic and lively feel to events, and the book grabs the reader immediately. Characters are vivid and the reader will quickly fall in love with the compassionate Herta, with her love of beauty, music and nature. Thankfully she remains a light in the very dark times. . . . This is a significant and enjoyable read, telling of love and nature, power and evil. It is a call to pay attention, to be truly 'sentient'. Leah Kaminsky has achieved a work of stunning originality and heart, reimagining a forgotten slice of bizarre history into a gripping tale of love and evil. It will leave you incredibly moved, breathless with heartache and pondering the fragility of human and beast. --Booktopia

"""It is wonderful to see Kaminsky return with such a startlingly interesting novel. The Hollow Bones confounds expectations in the most delightful way. . . . Leah writes exquisitely, with a poetry that never slows the captivating narrative. There is an authentic and lively feel to events, and the book grabs the reader immediately. Characters are vivid and the reader will quickly fall in love with the compassionate Herta, with her love of beauty, music and nature. Thankfully she remains a light in the very dark times. . . . This is a significant and enjoyable read, telling of love and nature, power and evil. It is a call to pay attention, to be truly 'sentient'. Leah Kaminsky has achieved a work of stunning originality and heart, reimagining a forgotten slice of bizarre history into a gripping tale of love and evil. It will leave you incredibly moved, breathless with heartache and pondering the fragility of human and beast."" --Booktopia"

Author Information

Leah Kaminsky is a physician and award-winning writer. Her debut novel, The Waiting Room, won the Voss Literary Prize. The Hollow Bones won both the Literary Fiction and Historical Fiction categories of the 2019 International Book Awards, and the 2019 American Book Fest's Best Book Award for Literary Fiction. She is the author of ten books and holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. www.leahkaminsky.com

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