The Certainties is a beautiful, melancholic story told in a dual perspective narrative. You follow the professor, who is a middle aged Jewish German man, and attempting to flee from the Gestapo with two others. They are captured in Spain and awaiting their fate over a period of 48 hours when the professor fleetingly meets a young girl named Pia, which provides him with a sense of being "seen". The story flashes 40 years in the future and follows Pia, who is living and working as a chef on a beautiful island in the Atlantic. She finds herself living a nomadic existence and does not have any family due to tragedy. A storm off the coast of her island leaves many dead and she makes it her mission to document the fallen in order to provide closure to their families.

I loved how the author described absolutely every situation in a very poetic way. I found this book nearly impossible to put down, and ended up reading it over the span of a couple days. It is truly a stunning novel, and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

I saw this book at my local bookstore and the paperback cover is so beautiful that I had to bring it home for my collection. I'll definitely revisit this one in the future.

Thank you to net galley for providing an advanced copy of this book for review.

As Aislinn Hunter’s The Certainties begins, we meet our main character in the precariousness of having fled occupied France with forged papers and making his way to Spain during the Second World War. In a moment of nervous respite, he sits in a cafe and meets a young girl named Pia who approaches him with the openness of a young child and he is captivated by her. The narrative fast forwards many years and we find adult Pia working in an island restaurant when a storm hits, the island is cut off, and a wreck appears on shore.

Both characters are thoughtful about their present and their past. They question how they’ve come to be where they are and they reflect on the nature of their relationships. In different ways they are both independent, and somewhat alone, but their paths force them to connect and collaborate with other people.

I grew up the child of parents who lived through the Second World War and it cast a long shadow through their entire lives and my childhood as well. Hunter brings readers into an intimate story from these times where people feared for their lives even when they might have hope they’d made it to safety. And then she shows how that era echoed far into the future. A poignant story, I found I wanted to read this in small bits as I had such a sense of foreboding throughout.

The Certainties is a sad story and is made sadder still when you read the Acknowledgements where Hunter talks about having written this novel while her husband was dying. I cannot even imagine how one would do such a thing. And yet, despite such harrowing circumstances, Hunter has written two intimate intertwined stories that leave readers wondering what happens after the book ends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read memoirs about the Holocaust and stories about spies but nothing like The Certainties. This book have two protagonists - a fifty year old man who is referred to as the professor, narrating in first person; the second a woman named Pia. The story goes back and forth between the professor and Pia. In the 1940s, the professor is trying to escape to America with his two companions. Having spent some time in the camps, the professor's possessions have been confiscated by the Germans and he might be on the list of people that the Germans are looking for. While his fate hangs by a thin thread, the professor meets five year old Pia and he starts to talk to her as he comes to terms with his precarious situation. Forty years apart, we learn about Pia and her nomadic life, the people around her recovering from the war and the conditions in which she lives.

There is something about this book that kept me reading. Maybe it was the atmospheric prose, maybe the unique connection between the two characters or maybe it was simply learning about the plight of an immigrant and refugee before the Second World War. There are a lot of intellectual people in the professor's side of the story - artists, painters, elites and researchers - who are affected by war. I found the storytelling quite visual and the scenes depicting the city and the sea transported me to these places. There is commentary about death and meaning which I really liked and found a bunch of quotes that struck me. Example: "When we are dead, we will not know our nations".

Many thanks to the publisher for a complimentary review copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Detailed reading experience and thoughts coming soon on Armed with A Book.

Good book with nice writing, but not what I was looking for to include in my subscription box, unfortunately.

I wasn't a fan of this one unfortunately! I didn't find the plot, pace, or characters interesting enough to want to pick up the book to keep on reading. This was a pass for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.⁠⠀
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🌟🌟🌟💫 (3.5 - I quite liked it!)⁠⠀
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I requested The Certainties by Aislinn Hunter because of the synopsis that promised a reflective and character driven story, deep and thoughtful. This is exactly what it is - do not read this novel looking for something cheerful.⁠⠀
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The Certainties is sad. In a hopeless kind of way, where you think a lot about the echoes of tragedy and how people are ultimately shaped by these kinds of experiences. Any novel about the 40's has this kind of tone, that makes me sit with my thoughts about it for quite awhile before writing any kind of review.⁠⠀
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This novel is also written beautifully. Hunter's skill with language brings her characters to life so that small comments about the state of someone's hair or clothing evokes empathy. This is a masterful work in showing instead of telling.⁠
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I want to give The Certainties four stars. The reason I can't is because if felt unfinished. I wanted two more chapters to sit with the main characters and find out what happens to them. It's a pet peeve of mine when the conclusion to a novel is left open-ended, even if it's intentional and is supposed to communicate something.⁠⠀
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This novel is for readers who enjoy character-driven stories, with a healthy dose of sadness.⁠⠀