The Things We Cannot Say: A WWII Historical Fiction Novel

Kelly Rimmer

Mar 2019 · Sold by Harlequin

About this ebook

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

The New York Times bestseller—for fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz!

From the bestselling author of Truths I Never Told You, Before I Let You Go, and the The Warsaw Orphan, Kelly Rimmer’s powerful WWII novel follows a woman’s urgent search for answers to a family mystery that uncovers truths about herself that she never expected.

“Fans of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls will adore The Things We Cannot Say.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.

Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for

• Before I Let You Go
• Truths I Never Told You
• The Warsaw Orphan
• The German Wife
• The Paris Agent
• The Midnight Estate

Ratings and reviews

The things we cannot say has far far too many chapters devoted to the child with autism. Also far too many chapters has women crying interminably; not a good way to portray women.

I have not read a full book in YEARS. This book was amazing! Kept my attention and kept me wanting to read on. I read for 5 straight hours at one point. Because of this book, I plan to read more. Well done Kelly, and THANK YOU.

As a person interested in Jewish roots and the Holocust, I found this book to be quite a page turner. The book is so detailed that one could imagine the story of Alina and her family in one's mind. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Holocust in Poland.

About the author

Kelly Rimmer is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, including The Secret Daughter and The Things We Cannot Say. Her books have sold more than one million copies, and have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. Kelly lives in rural Australia with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil.