âElon powerfully evokes the obscurity of the past and its hold on the present as we stumble through revelation after revelation with Yoel. As we accompany him on his journeyâŚwe share in his loss, surprise, and grief, right up to the novelâs shocking conclusion.â âThe New York Times Book Review
In the tradition of The Invisible Bridge and The Weight of Ink, âa vibrant, page-turning family mysteryâ (Jennifer Cody Epstein, author of Wunderland) about a writer who discovers the truth about his motherâs wartime years in Amsterdam, unearthing a shocking secret that becomes the subject of his magnum opus.
Renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to promote his books, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Historical Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon footage portraying prewar Dutch Jewry and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with his father, his older sisterâŚand an infant he doesnât recognize.
This unsettling discovery launches him into a fervent search for the truth, shining a light on Amsterdamâs dark wartime historyâthe underground networks that hid Jewish children away from danger and those who betrayed their own for the sake of survival. The deeper into the past Yoel digs up, the better he understands his motherâs silence, and the more urgent the question that has unconsciously haunted him for a lifetimeâWho am I?âbecomes.
Part family mystery, part wartime drama, House on Endless Waters is âa rewarding meditation on survivalâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) and a âdeeply immersive achievement that brings to life stories that must never be forgottenâ (USA TODAY).