Review: In Another Time by Jillian Cantor

In the years leading up to World War 2, tension is high and hate is becoming rampant, but in a little town in Germany, two people are falling in love. It’s a tumultuous time, and an equally tumultuous relationship at times, but Hanna – a violinist, and Max – a bookshop owner, seem destined to be together. Spanning countries, against laws, and even defying time.

When these two meet, a German and a Jew, their love grows at the same steady rate as Hitler’s power. Their relationship is tested over and over as Hanna struggles to let Max in when her focus has always been simply playing the violin and taking care of her mother. They struggle to make Hanna’s mother understand that their love is true and real, despite their backgrounds or what religion they are. And then there is Max’s secret. So inconceivable – he struggles to tell her. When it could save them from the fuhrer’s dictatorship, but could also potentially tear them apart forever.

 

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“Love is always beautiful. It just doesn’t always have a happy ending.”

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I adored this story. The unrequited love of Max and Hanna is so frustrating though at times, I just wish Max would spill his secret and make everything better. But the secret is haunting and heavy, and if he told her- well, it’d be a much different story! There’s a bit of a mystery to it also… We follow Max before the war, learn how these two meet and watch the relationship bloom as the country unravels. But then we follow Hanna – almost 15 years later, when she wakes up in field with no memory of the past 10 years, and has no idea where Max is. The war is over, she’s missed it all. What could have possibly happened, and will she ever remember?

The story is stunning, the settings and timelines so real and cleverly written. It’s an epic journey of love and loss in a time of horrible conflict, with a healthy dose of human spirit and a touch of magic. And I may have cried. A lot.

Thank you to Jillian Cantor, Get Red PR and Harper Perennial for the advanced copy of this beautiful story!

I hope you will check this one out! It’s available today!

You can get it here!

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper (March 5, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062886231
• ISBN-13: 978-0062886231

 

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From Amazon:

A sweeping historical novel that spans Germany, England, and the United States and follows a young couple torn apart by circumstance leading up to World War II—and the family secret that may prove to be the means for survival.

Love brought them together. But only time can save them…

1931, Germany. Bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist, and immediately he feels a powerful chemistry between them. It isn’t long before they fall in love and begin making plans for the future. As their love affair unfolds over the next five years, the climate drastically changes in Germany as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the new landscape and the realities of war, not the least of which is that Hanna is Jewish and Max is not. But unbeknownst to Hanna is the fact that Max has a secret, which causes him to leave for months at a time—a secret that Max is convinced will help him save Hanna if Germany becomes too dangerous for her because of her religion.

In 1946, Hanna Ginsberg awakens in a field outside of Berlin. Disoriented and afraid, she has no memory of the past ten years and no idea what has happened to Max. With no information as to Max’s whereabouts—or if he is even still alive—she decides to move to London to live with her sister while she gets her bearings. Even without an orchestra to play in, she throws herself completely into her music to keep alive her lifelong dream of becoming a concert violinist. But the music also serves as a balm to heal her deeply wounded heart and she eventually gets the opening she long hoped for. Even so, as the days, months, and years pass, taking her from London to Paris to Vienna to America, she continues to be haunted by her forgotten past, and the fate of the only man she has ever loved and cannot forget.

Told in alternating viewpoints—Max in the years leading up to WWII, and Hanna in the ten years after—In Another Time is a beautiful novel about love and survival, passion and music, across time and continents.

 

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About Jillian:

Jillian Cantor has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. She is the author of award-winning novels for teens and adults, including, most recently, the critically acclaimed The Lost Letter, The Hours Count, and Margot. Born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Cantor currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

 

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