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The emotionally stirring story of desperation and intrigue in the wake of World War II.
Anja Wienewska, frail and anxious, has narrowly survived World War II in German-occupied Krakow-and how she did it is her ugly secret. She meets Walter Fass-a soldier from the defeated side, with secrets of his own-at the gate of a displaced persons camp. They form a marriage of convenience, each desperately hoping to become someone new, to leave behind the haunting memories of who he was-and what he did-in wartime. They flee to Walter's family farm at the foot of the Italian Alps and there become more to each other than refugees with a common enemy. But when an old war comrade of Walter's shows up on their doorstep, their fragile peace begins to unravel. Anja the Liar is the story of three people who cannot leave the war behind, who carry it inside of them, informing their every thought, every action-and the devastating consequences of their uneasy alliance.
Anonymous
Posted October 8, 2003
Anyone who has read Moran¿s previous work knows that he has the uncanny ability to place the reader not only in the time and place of his characters, but also in their hearts and minds. You are where they are, feeling what they feel, suffering what they suffer. You feel all the joy and pain, along with the shame and guilt. It is this willingness to risk the reader¿s sympathy that sets Moran¿s writing apart. In Anja The Liar we are transported to a post-World War II Europe that is filled with uncertainty. Anja finds herself in a camp for displaced persons with no real desire to be released. She seems devoid of hope, and racked with guilt over her betrayals during the War. She meets Walter, and dares to think that there may be a way back to life. Like Anja, and most others, Walter also harbors his own guilt over actions he was ¿forced¿ to take during the war. From Poland, to Austria, to the Tyrol, or wherever the reader is taken, Moran describes the landscape, and the people, with absolute clarity. The detail he uses shows that this is an author who has done his research, and cares that the reader is given a real feel for the world in which these characters live. Anja The Liar is a beautiful, daring, and sometimes heartbreaking book. It is a journey you will want to take.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In 1945 Anja Wienewska stands inside the fence that contains those refuges from the war with no papers. Former Wehrmact Captain Walter Fass sees her and begins talking to her in Polish, as he believes she is from Poland. Anja ignores him until he speaks in German; she insists she is German and not Polish. Anja is from Krakow, Poland where she betrayed her people to the German occupiers. Under Nazi control, she learned how to lie.<P> Walter has dark secrets too from his time in Yugoslavia. Needing to atone and appease his conscience and help Anna, he marries her. They travel to his farm where she gives birth to their child as they share a camaraderie. However, as their past surfaces with the appearance of Walter's war comrade, their fragile relationship seems to go kaput as the war taught both to distrust everyone.<P> ANJA THE LAIR is a deep look at the cost of a war on individuals trying to survive during the fighting and its aftermath. The story line is incredibly insightful as Thomas Moran paints a gloomy Europe still reeling from the devastation of WW II. Walter and Anja answer the Edwin Starr question of 'War, what is good for?' as both have paid with their souls to endure the fight and remain compensating the piper as neither can trust anyone nor give their love to anybody including their spouse. This is a strong late 1940s drama that rips asunder the other psychological costs of war.<P> Harriet Klausner
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Overview
The emotionally stirring story of desperation and intrigue in the wake of World War II.
Anja Wienewska, frail and anxious, has narrowly survived World War II in German-occupied Krakow-and how she did it is her ugly secret. She meets Walter Fass-a soldier from the defeated side, with secrets of his own-at the gate of a displaced persons camp. They form a marriage of convenience, each desperately hoping to become someone new, to leave behind the haunting memories of who he was-and...