As children in Central Illinois, Kate and Martin were never told much about their mother's childhood in East Germany. And they rarely asked questions. They were too busy grappling with the heartache left behind by an absent father and the tough love of a mother forced to raise them alone in a country not her own. Decades later, when the Berlin Wall falls, Kate and Martin are faced with a difficult decision: Should they try to reclaim the house in East Germany from which their grandparents fled in the 1950s? They travel to ...
Read More
As children in Central Illinois, Kate and Martin were never told much about their mother's childhood in East Germany. And they rarely asked questions. They were too busy grappling with the heartache left behind by an absent father and the tough love of a mother forced to raise them alone in a country not her own. Decades later, when the Berlin Wall falls, Kate and Martin are faced with a difficult decision: Should they try to reclaim the house in East Germany from which their grandparents fled in the 1950s? They travel to their grandparents' hometown and meet the couple now living in the house. But a house is never just a house, and the family secrets they discover reopen old wounds, driving the siblings apart just as divided Germany is coming together. Against the backdrop of German reunification, Restitution asks urgent questions that resonate today. What remains when people leave entire lives behind? What happens when personal histories are erased? And what-- if anything-- can heal these wounds?
Read Less
Add this copy of Restitution to cart. $10.33, good condition, Sold by Goodwill BookWorks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austin, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Book shows general signs of use and handling. May have light wear on the cover or edges and minimal writing or highlighting. Binding remains tight and pages are clean and readable.
Add this copy of Restitution to cart. $13.63, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
Add this copy of Restitution Format: Trade Paperback to cart. $14.61, new condition, Sold by indoo rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Avenel, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
Add this copy of Restitution to cart. $22.12, new condition, Sold by Paperbackshop rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bensenville, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
Add this copy of Restitution to cart. $22.95, new condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
Add this copy of Restitution to cart. $32.78, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2025 by Regal House Publishing.
When I picked up Restitution by Tamar Shapiro, I wasn�t sure what I was expecting. I quickly realized, though, that this would be one of the most well-rounded historical literary fiction novels I�ve read in quite some time. Literary fiction can teeter into the frustratingly ambiguous if it isn�t careful, but Restitution leaves the reader feeling like they understand the world they stepped into on a visceral level. By the end, we truly feel like we know the characters, the history, and the complexities in how those two elements converge.
More than anything, Restitution is a novel about family and memory. The main character, Kate, and her brother, Martin, search for answers to questions they didn�t even know they had. Her and Martin�s strained relationship colors every aspect of Kate�s connection to her family�s history, starting all the way back to their childhood when their father left to recover from his alcohol addiction. Martin blamed their mother, a strict German-born woman named Lena, and Kate tried to forget it had happened at all. The root of their disagreements certainly stemmed from their father�s departure and their reactions to it.
The book takes place just after the Berlin Wall came down and covers the years leading up to its creation and its downfall. The family was directly impacted by the political shifts in Germany, so much so that secrets festered between every generation. When the wall finally came down, Kate and Martin made it their mission to seek out the truth.
What I enjoyed most about Restitution was its clear love for Germany, its history, and the people who lived there. Germany�s past is nothing if not complicated, and this book does not shy away from those complications. Every character felt like a real person who lived through extremely difficult circumstances, making them not only interesting but also incredibly sympathetic. I found Lena especially intriguing; who she was in America and who she was in Germany were at odds the whole time, and both aided in her deep attachment to her family�s past. Though she did not want to dig into the past the same way her children did, I could tell she cared about it more than anything.
Tamar Shapiro did a wonderful job with this novel, and I hope to read more work from her in the future. I�m sure Restitution is the first of many successes. For those who are interested in German history, family narratives, and solid writing, Shapiro�s Restitution will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf.
