The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina is an
intriguing, complex novel about war between Polish resistance fighters and Ukrainian fighters in circa 1944 Poland. Maria, a
young Polish girl, is desperately trying to return to her homeland to be what’s left of her family. She believes her brother has been killed by the Ukrainian fighters.
Through serendipity, the paths of Maria and Kostya, a young Ukrainian courier and fighter, will be inexorably intertwined throughout the story.
Maria, valiantly saves Kostya’s life as she shoots and kills five NKVD fighters and a lieutenant who are all about to shoot him. Previous to Maria’s heroism, the Lieutenant had shot Kostya in the knee in an attempt to get information from him.
Maria does her best to tend to his wounds and they begin their journey to Maria’s home, which has been largely destroyed unbeknownst to Maria.
There is a palpable enmity between them along with a continuous stream of lies. At times the story became less credible as one lie supercedes the preceding lie. A fondness develops between Maria and Kostya during a dangerous smuggling adventure orchestrated by a noble character.
With the dramatic introduction of Tomek, Maria’s brother, the pace of the story picks up once again. He is the “Silent Unseen” which refers to his role as an agent collaborating with England to resist the presence of the Russians.
There are plot twists here and there as Tomek appears to have been murdered only to find he has survived thanks to the unlikely assistance of a female officer who for some unknown reason proved to be Tomek’s Guardian Angel. Subsequently, Tomek and Kostya become allies as they battle the Russians. Kostya is severely wounded, but survives.
I had a difficult time following the ending. Brothers and sisters emerged which could have been a who’s who. The denouement was flat. Referring to an old song, I thought, “Is that all there is?”
What began as an interesting, fast paced novel descended into a complex corundum of who’s who. Not to be picayune , but why was the word “Stupid” used so often. Everything was stupid. I rated it a two.
intriguing, complex novel about war between Polish resistance fighters and Ukrainian fighters in circa 1944 Poland. Maria, a
young Polish girl, is desperately trying to return to her homeland to be what’s left of her family. She believes her brother has been killed by the Ukrainian fighters.
Through serendipity, the paths of Maria and Kostya, a young Ukrainian courier and fighter, will be inexorably intertwined throughout the story.
Maria, valiantly saves Kostya’s life as she shoots and kills five NKVD fighters and a lieutenant who are all about to shoot him. Previous to Maria’s heroism, the Lieutenant had shot Kostya in the knee in an attempt to get information from him.
Maria does her best to tend to his wounds and they begin their journey to Maria’s home, which has been largely destroyed unbeknownst to Maria.
There is a palpable enmity between them along with a continuous stream of lies. At times the story became less credible as one lie supercedes the preceding lie. A fondness develops between Maria and Kostya during a dangerous smuggling adventure orchestrated by a noble character.
With the dramatic introduction of Tomek, Maria’s brother, the pace of the story picks up once again. He is the “Silent Unseen” which refers to his role as an agent collaborating with England to resist the presence of the Russians.
There are plot twists here and there as Tomek appears to have been murdered only to find he has survived thanks to the unlikely assistance of a female officer who for some unknown reason proved to be Tomek’s Guardian Angel. Subsequently, Tomek and Kostya become allies as they battle the Russians. Kostya is severely wounded, but survives.
I had a difficult time following the ending. Brothers and sisters emerged which could have been a who’s who. The denouement was flat. Referring to an old song, I thought, “Is that all there is?”
What began as an interesting, fast paced novel descended into a complex corundum of who’s who. Not to be picayune , but why was the word “Stupid” used so often. Everything was stupid. I rated it a two.