A Master Plan for Rescue
At the instant his family hears that Japanese bombs have hit Pearl Harbor, 12-year-old Jack’s perfect, secure life shatters – and not because of the war. A sudden loss of eyesight and then, soon after, his father in a freak accident send him on a quest that leads him, eventually, to Jakob, a German Jew hiding in New York City. The bond between the pair and the treacherous “master plan for rescue” on which they embark form the nucleus of this beautiful, engaging coming-of-age tale replete with mystery, love, magic – and magical thinking.
Although nearly blind, Jack can “see” the scenarios depicted in radio shows as though he were watching television (which hasn’t been invented yet), and can discern from the sound of people’s voices the true meaning of what they’re saying – including whether they’re lying. Jakob can repair anything, effortlessly, except the enfeebled heart of the doomed Jewish woman he loves. Although their gifts do nothing to help them recover the loved ones they’ve lost, their belief in magic enables them to pull off a courageous, spectacular act of derring-do, and to come to peace with what they cannot change.
The skillful characterization and superbly-paced plotting would be enough on their own to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in World War II-era literature. But Newman’s descriptive and insightful writing punctuates the pleasure with “aha” moments of recognition and delight. “For neither of us were strangers to all the leaps of logic and imagination in which grief can make you believe,” Jack says. It’s a power which, as Newman’s new book demonstrates, fiction holds, too.
