The Walls Came Down

I was immediately attracted by the cover of this book and the summary. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This book tells the story of a boy who disappeared during a workers' strike in the 80s, a journalist looking for his brother for quite some time, a financier in London suffers from anxiety attacks and during that time in Chicago a man in a retirement home is about to die. Why are these people related?

A captivating, moving and engaging story, I loved the writing style, the fluidity of the chapters. I recommend it.

The writer did an amazing job of connecting three very different characters from different parts of the world via their struggles as they deal with the emotions of something or someone missing from their lives. The writing was engrossing and kept me invested in all 3 characters' journeys.

This was meant to be a relaxing vacation from a dense science book and absolutely did the trick. Women’s fiction in the description almost scared me off, but this was perfectly estrogen balanced, actually. In fact, only one out of three narrative threads is female. And the sum of these threads tells a story of a family, torn apart by tragic circumstances and selfish choices. Set across three locations on two continents, the story starts with a young boy being kidnapped during the Solidarity strikes in 1988 just as Communism is about to finally surrender to Democracy in Eastern Europe. Needless to say that location makes for the most interesting part of the book and technically nearly qualifies for international reading. Fast forward 22 years to a young man trying to find his identity. Enter all sorts of dramatic ramifications. Not quite a mystery, since the reader pretty much knows what’s going on most of the time or even the entire time, more of a family drama. The overall gentleness of tone and the lachrymose ending kinda make me think of Lifetime movie, but a really well done one. There is no real evil at play here, no sinister plots (in fact likeability all around pretty much) just individual mistakes, sad realities of life. But then it sort of all works out, just to denote that difference between fiction and reality, although not so ludicrously happy as to severely annoy a worldweary reader. Never heard of the author, but she did a good job, aside from a few minor slips into Britishisms when outside of the zone. Also it really should have been titled All That Remains. Pleasant sort of a book, nice, almost cozy in a way…without the usual detractors such fiction tends to possess, mainly inanity. And such a quick read too. Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Aurora Metro Books for the eARC.
This book had me in tears, which is highly unusual. It's the best one I've read this year so far...beautiful.
We move seamlessly from Warsaw to London and Chicago, where Joanne, Marty and Tom are all driven by fear, guilt and regret. Their lives are missing someone, something. It takes them through some dark times as they try to find their way to fill the gaping holes in their being, but the journey is crafted so poignantly, so beautifully that you cannot put the book down. As you read, you know where the stories are going to end, but the getting there is what makes the experience so moving and heartfelt. Outstanding, loved it and can't recommend it highly enough. 5+ stars!