Displaced

Jerusalem 1946: Lilya Wasserfall, involved in the resistance against the British mandatory power in Palestine, is entrusted with a very special assignment: the search for the missing Jewish scientist Raphael Lind in the ruins of post-war Germany.It is 1946, and the full horrors of the previous six years are slowly coming to light.But in Jerusalem, Elias Lind can't accept that his brother Raphael really did die in a concentration camp. He has evidence that the scientist is still alive but, unable to search for him himself, he persuades a young member of the Jewish resistance to help.Lilya's search for Raphael takes her from the dusty streets of Jerusalem to the heart of political London, from US-controlled Munich to an overcrowded and underfunded displaced persons camp, before leading her to the devastated shell of Berlin itself. But before long Lilya realises that she isn't the only one searching for the missing scientist; a mysterious pursuer is hot on her heels, and it soon becomes clear that Raphael's life isn't the only one in question . . .Displaced is a deeply intelligent thriller about how the actions of a few can change the course of history. It is about the making of a new world from the ashes of the old, and decisions taken whose consequences are still with us today.Exciting and worldly-wise, a tale about people in Palestine and a post-war Germany razed to the ground looking for their roots and identity. I devoured Displaced Jan-Philipp Sendker, author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats