It is hard to say wow what a terrific book when the story is as disturbing as this as a book is. But with that disclaimer I must say...I really liked it. It is an incredibly well written story. Author Lucia Puenzo writes this story based on the true events of Josef Mengele's escape to South America and his time spent hiding in Bariloche, Argentina.
In this story he is the guest of a family who runs a local inn. He is on the run trying to stay one step ahead of the Nazi hunters. He knows he should listen to his collaborators and keep moving. He meets this family and becomes obsessed with the daughter who has a growth deformity and the mother who is pregnant with twins. He becomes a guest in their inn. He starts giving injections to the daughter telling her that he will help her grow. The relationship takes on a eerie, frightening dimension as the daughter, Lilith gets more and more caught up in a relationship with Jose, as he refers to himself. Then just as we learn that Adolf Eichmann has been caught and kidnapped to Israel, the supporters of Jose try to spirit him away to safety. He stays just a little longer to help with the delivery of the twins for Eva, Lilith's mother.
The reader feels the tension building from the beginning because as a reader you are aware of who Josef Mengele is and was, but the other characters in the story do not know who this man is . He is referred to as the stranger for much of the book. So you feel the tension building as he worms his way into the lives of this family. You want to shout...don't let him in! the author gives you, the reader, an incredible look into the mind of this monster.
So well written!!!
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