Even in Darkness: A Novel

by Barbara Stark-Nemon

Overview

Winner of two INDIEFAB prizes: Gold for Literary Fiction and Bronze for Historical Fiction
Readers’ Favorite Gold medal for Literary fiction
Spanning a century and three continents, Even in Darkness tells the story of Kläre Kohler, whose early years as a beloved daughter of a prosperous German-Jewish family hardly anticipate the harrowing life she faces as an adult- a saga of family, lovers, two world wars, a concentration camp, and sacrifice. Based on a true story, Even in Darkness highlights Klare’s reinvention as she faces the destruction of life as she knew it, and traces her path to survival, wisdom, and unexpected love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631529566
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Barbara Stark-Nemon is the award-winning author of short stories, essays, the historical novel Even in Darkness, and the contemporary novel Hard Cider. Her historical novel Isabela’s Way will be published in September 2025. Barbara lives, writes, swims, cycles, and does fiber art in Ann Arbor and Northport, MI.

Editorial Reviews

IPPY (Independent Publishers Book Awards): Gold Medal for European Fiction
International Book Awards: Historical Fiction Finalist
Winner of the Sarton Women's Literary Award for Historical Fiction
2017 Reader's Favorite Gold Book Award in Literary Fiction
Book Riot's 2016 100 Must-Reads in Jewish Fiction
Shelf Unbound's Top 100 Notable Indies
Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award finalist in Historical Fiction and Literary Fiction
“Barbara Stark-Nemon’s writing is so compelling that she makes decades of the mid-20th century feel like today. I can hardly wait to share this exciting novel with my bookstore customers.”
—Pamela Grath, owner of Dog Ear Books, Northport, MI

“You will be enriched and inspired by Barbara Stark-Nemon’s Even in Darkness, a beautifully crafted, compelling novel based on events in the life of the author’s own family, in which love triumphs over unspeakable horror. The author paints a vivid picture of her upper-middle-class German-Jewish characters and weaves their inner thoughts and feelings into the shocking reality of the historical events of the day. I recommend this book to readers of history and to all those moved by the strength and courage of the human spirit.”
—Margaret Fuchs Singer, author of Legacy of a False Promise: A Daughter’s Reckoning

“Even in darkness there can be renewal, trust, love. This is the message of Barbara Stark-Nemon's unforgettable book, Even in Darkness. She brings the past century alive through recreating the story of her German-Jewish family, with all of its hopes and fears, losses and survivals—and, above all, the continuity of connections and of values, transcending religion, language, and country. The story is a remarkable and honest portrayal of unexpected paths, told with moving depth and literary skill.”
—Dan Isaac Slobin, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley

“Barbara Stark-Nemon's Even In Darkness makes personal the German Jewish experience of the twentieth century. Stark-Nemon offers an important corrective to more standard Jewish narratives, painting a picture of complex German Jews who navigated their way through prejudice and privilege and struggled to find a place for themselves in the various Germanys of the last century. Crossing religious and geographic boundaries, this is a story about family, commitment, loss and love, sacrifice and survival. Ultimately, we learn how humanity triumphs even in darkness.”
—David J Fine, PhD, author of Jewish Integration in the German Army in the First World War

“This is a Holocaust story certain to move readers not only because of the quiet heroism of its characters, but because it rings with truth. Even in Darkness is a stunning historical endeavor.”
—Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews

“This beautifully written story gives the reader insight into a woman who followed an unusual path, and a different angle on post-World War II life.”
—Miriam Bradman Abrahams, Jewish Book Council

“. . . smoothly professional and very involving reading. Strongly recommended.”
—Historical Novel Society

“Throughout the book [Stark-Nemon] demonstrates the beauty and the treasure inherent in good storytelling, both by the stories told by characters in the book and by her own skill at weaving events into a coherent storyline that honors love in all its forms . . . and respects courage in the many manifestations called forth by the Holocaust.”
—Barbara Payne, Chicago Examiner

From the Publisher