← Back to discovery

Second generation

Howard Fast

1978407 pagesabout 6–9 hours
1978
first published
  • 1978Houghton Mifflin · 441 pages · ENGISBN 9780395264836
  • 1978Hodder and Stoughton · 441 pages · ENGISBN 9780340233344
  • 1979Dell · 445 pagesISBN 9780440178927
  • 1979G. K. Hall · 940 pages · ENGISBN 9780816167159
  • 1985Coronet · 441 pages · ENGISBN 9780340244005
  • 2001I Books · 544 pages · ENGISBN 9780743423724
  • 2005I Books · 448 pages · ENGISBN 9781416508199
  • 1978Houghton Mifflin Harcourt · 407 pagesISBN 9780395266830

Born to enormous wealth and social standing, Barbara Lavette leaves her sumptuous home on San Francisco's Nob Hill to lead a life of adventure that takes her from the depression to the darkest days of World War II.Troubled by the conflicts of her dual inheritance and scornful of her mother's social world, Barbara sets out to build her own life in her own way, leading her to a Europe on the brink of Nazi terror. Along the way she falls deeply in love with a man of ardent passions and loyalties who risks his life to preserve the memories of the Jews who died in the concentration camps. How they survive a heartless tragedy set on destroying them is the surprise conclusion of this relentless, page turning novel.

How it feels

AtmosphereBleak

How it reads

Plot intensityCharacter driven
Character focusSmall ensemble

Worth knowing

ViolenceFrequent

When and where

ThemesWarFamily

Content notes

  • Warmoderateunreviewed
How do you feel?