The Orphan's Tale

by Pam Jenoff

Sixteen-year-old Noa, forced to give up her baby fathered by a Nazi soldier, snatches a child from a boxcar containing Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp and takes refuge with a traveling circus, where Astrid, a Jewish aerialist, becomes her mentor.

• ISBN10: 0778319814
• ISBN13: 9780778319818
• Publish Date: 21 February 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenhoff

I’m still searching for the next great WWII historical fiction novel. Over the years, I’ve read a lot and each year another two or three books are released that dig up some unknown story from that era. In The Orphan’s Tale, Jenhoff mines the history of European circuses to tell the story of friendship based on the true stories of circuses hiding those fleeing from the Nazi regime.

Astrid and Noa’s story sucked me in. With a bit of mystery and secrets and the tension of learning to be a trapeze artist, I followed along rapidly turning the pages. I am always amazed when authors find some bit of history and turn it into a compelling story (read my review of Sal to the Sea). While it didn’t take me long to read The Orphan’s Tale and I was drawn into Astrid and Noa’s friendship, the ending fell a bit flat. It seemed rushed and the decisions made by the characters at the end seemed rash and out of character. The story just ended. And while there was a resolution, I didn’t find it satisfying.

Overall, The Orphan’s Tale is a solid story. I’ll admit there were tears and it only took me a day to read this book from cover to cover. When I finished, I craved more circus stories and wanted to re-read Water for Elephants or The Night Circus. But I will admit that the emotional pull of this story was not found in the characters, but in the history of how the circuses moving across Europe strived to bring normalcy to the public and provide a refuge for those running for their lives at the peril of the cirucus itself.

[Kait ✨]

Loved this — it’s a unique perspective on WWII involving a circus and is a moving take on how small acts of bravery and rebellion can actually have long-lasting and compelling effects (an especially important message, perhaps, in this day and age). I loved the circus setting and I’ve harboured an interest in trying the trapeze for quite a long time so Noa’s story about learning to fly on the trapeze in order to save herself and the child in her charge was of particular fascination for me. My one nitpick is I felt I could sometimes be pulled out of the story a bit by some awkward phrasing when Jenoff was expressing the main characters’ thoughts, but this is really a tiny nitpick and this was a 4.5 star read for me. Would 100% recommend to fans of historical fiction and, in particular, those who enjoy WWII narratives.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff could easily have been yet another novel about surviving WWII. At first, I was nervous as it seemed to mirror Water for Elephants and while that in itself is a good story I found the ending to be disappointing. Therefore, I hoped for a different result. Fortunately, I was rewarded and then some.

The author has brought to life a variation that could only be contained under the big top she has expertly created. The Orphan's Tale has bold, brave characters that were as mesmerizing as those of an aerialist.

While all the actors in this big top undergo hardship it is Astrid and Noa who take center stage. Astrid, a trained aerialist has lost everything, her family has been taken from her and has been disowned by her husband, a german SS officer. After these atrocious blows she returns to what she has always known and takes refuge with a rival circus who is willing to hide a jew in plain sight. Noa, the novel's other protagonist has also been cast off by her family after an unwanted pregnancy. In her own despair of losing a child takes another aboard a train to certain doom. By chance, these women meet and form a bond that can only be compared to that of a childhood Best Friends Forever bracelet. It was endearing and I was touched by the lengths they went to for one another which somehow softened the darkness of the plot.

However, women were not the only stars of the show, Peter, a clown with hatred for the new regime brushes off the inevitable consequences his performance would bring. His scenes were some of the more heartbreaking because of the aftershocks it caused. Lastly, was Herr Neuhoff, the Ring Leader of the circus and the Oskar Schindler of the story. While his fate was clear to me from the start his need to help others no matter the cost became difficult to read as I knew it would eventually end in tragedy.

The ending was like this year's Best Picture winner. It was expected that La La Land would win but instead a turn of events occurred that literally had persons saying "What!" From the start, I had a feeling how the story would end but it was the path that led there that is worth the journey.

Pam Jenoff's The Orphan's Tale is a enthralling historical fiction novel, it rips your heart and is a remarkable, courageous feat.This review was originally posted on First Impressions Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

The story told from two female perspectives is a powerful one. The first is Noa, a sixteen-year-old girl, who is kicked out of her home when her father discovers she has is expecting. We travel with Noa, weep when she is forced to give her baby away and work cleaning the railroad station. When a boxcar containing hundreds of Jewish infants stops on its way to the concentration camp, she spies a young baby who reminds her of the child she lost. Panicked, she snatches the baby and hides from the Nazi's before flees into the woods. The weather is brutal, and both are poorly dressed.

Astrid is a Jewish trapeze artist who spent her life on the circus train, traveling from city to city to perform. When she married, she thought she had escaped that life, but the war soon has her separating from the man she loves and seeking safety in the only place she truly knows.

When Noa and the tiny baby are given refuge from the circus, she must work to earn their keep. Astrid is assigned to teach Noa the trapeze. Slowly though trust and confessions they build a powerful bond that readers will connect with. I soon found myself swept up in circus life, the dangers surrounding them and the risks they take.

THE ORPHAN'S TALE was well researched historically, and while Jenoff certainly took liberties, the circus train and its role during WWII is very real. This lent an authenticity to the story, shedding light on their role during the war. Her characters, the circus, the towns, checkpoints and more all carefully depicted the period. She shed light on the risks people took to help others, and the desperation Jews faced. Readers cannot help but become emotionally invested in these characters, to have their hearts race during inspections and to fear the worst. I held my breath, wiped tears and questioned again the why's and how's of this dark period.

The ending was both heartbreaking and rewarding. Jenoff'choice of setting for the ending and the way in which she tied up loose ends worked brilliantly.

THE ORPHAN's TALE was a compelling story whose characters will stay with you long after the story has ended, I recommend this to everyone, young and old.

Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer