When I caught wind that our book club’s chosen book for this month was The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri, my interest was immediately piqued. I had not heard of this book, but upon reading the synopsis and learning that it tells a story of two heroes working in secret throughout the duration of the Second World War, I knew it would be promising.
It is worth noting that this text is Allegri’s debut novel, and if you read it, you will arguably agree with me in saying that this is an incredible start for this talented writer and storyteller.
The Sunflower House tells the story of a woman named Allina living in Germany during World War Two. Allina recently discovered that her heritage, and much of her life, has been a lie, and when she is told that she has Jewish ancestry that has been scrubbed from all of her records, she experiences unfathomable fear.
Allina finds herself in an extremely dangerous situation in which she must remain vigilant with hiding her true identity, but upon meeting an SS officer with whom she falls in love, she is forced to make a choice regarding how honest she wishes to be with this man.
This story is positively beautiful. Gut-wrenching? Yes. Emotionally devastating? Yes. But, given the subject this text addresses, it is one I think everyone should read if possible. I learned a lot about World War Two in the context of the Lebensborn program, which I had never heard of prior to reading this book, and it shines a light on a significant component of history that I believe is not commonly known.
The Sunflower House is hands down a read and not a rid. I loved it, and while it ruined me, as I suspected it would, it is absolutely worth knowing Allina’s story.
ontheedgeofeverything 