The Silver Music Box
This novel spans multiple generations, numerous geographic locations, and two world wars, all tied together by an exquisite silver music box. The early protagonist is Johann Blumenthal, a German Jewish silversmith, who fashions the box for his small son. When Johann decides to fight for Germany during the Great War, he leaves the box with his son, with the promise that they will be reunited after the war.
However, Johann does not return, and his son Paul grows up cherishing the box as the last reminder of his father. The story takes a new turn when Paul has grown up and runs his father’s jewelry store. But then Paul and the other German Jews find themselves the targets of new laws, which restrict their lives and deprive them of their jobs. Paul and his wife convert to Catholicism in the hopes of escaping the escalating violence. Finally, they must leave their home, and they take their children and the music box as they flee.
The book takes its final turn in the 1960s, when a girl finds out that her recently deceased parents were actually her adoptive parents. She is given the silver music box that has been in storage for many years and launches a quest to find out who her real parents were. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, with a well-paced plot and believable characters. It is infused with innumerable historic details; I had no idea that German Jews fought alongside their Christian countrymen during the Great War. Highly recommended.
