Winner of the National Book Award: In the shadow of the Holocaust, a young girl discovers the power of magic
In the schoolroom of a simple European village, Kicsi spends her days dreaming of the lands beyond the mountains: Paris and New York, Arabia and Shanghai. When the local rabbi curses Kicsiβs school for teaching lessons in Hebrew, the holy tongue, the possibility of adventure seems further away than ever. But when a mysterious stranger appears telling stories of far-off lands, Kicsi feels the world within her grasp.
His name is VΓΆrΓΆs, and he is a magicianβs assistant who seems to have powers all his own. There is darkness growing at the edge of the villageβa darkness far blacker than any rabbiβs curse. VΓΆrΓΆs warns of the Nazi threat, but only Kicsi hears what he says. As evil consumes a continent, VΓΆrΓΆs will teach Kicsi that sometimes the magicianβs greatest trick is survival.