“ At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf is a thrilling novel, not just as a splendid read but as a deeply resonant work of art driven by the central yearning in the greatest literary narratives: the yearning for a self, for an identity, for a place in the world. Tara Ison has always been a writer I’ve ardently admired. Here she is at the height of her estimable powers.” —Robert Olen Butler
“A suspenseful and disturbing psychological story of an adolescent Jewish girl, relocated from Paris to a small village in Vichy during WWII and hiding with a Catholic family, who becomes increasingly and dangerously aligned with her invented identity. Written in exquisite prose, Tara Ison’s novel of persona, identity and survival in collaborationist France is chilling and profoundly moving.” —Janet Fitch
“Told from the perspective of a young Jewish girl grappling with identity, Ison’s timely book considers that moment between dusk and night, the almost imperceptible shift into darkness, both political and personal, as it exposes the high cost of accommodation of evil and bigotry. Provocative, vivid, and affecting, this novel will inspire important conversations that we all need to be having now. ”—EJ Levy , author, The Cape Doctor
When Danielle Marton’s father is killed during the early days of the German occupation of France, her mother sends her to live in a quiet farming town. Now called Marie-Jean Chantier, Danielle struggles to balance the truth of what’s happened to her family and her country with the lies she must tell to keep herself safe. At first, she’s bitter about being left behind by her mother, and horrified at having to milk the cows and memorize Catholic prayers for church. But as the years pass, Danielle finds it easier to suppress her former life entirely, and Marie-Jean becomes less and less of an act. By the time she’s fifteen and there is talk amongst the now divided town of an Allied invasion, Danielle has transformed into a strict Catholic, a fervent disciple of fascism, as well as a German collaborator.
Description:
“ At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf is a thrilling novel, not just as a splendid read but as a deeply resonant work of art driven by the central yearning in the greatest literary narratives: the yearning for a self, for an identity, for a place in the world. Tara Ison has always been a writer I’ve ardently admired. Here she is at the height of her estimable powers.” —Robert Olen Butler
“A suspenseful and disturbing psychological story of an adolescent Jewish girl, relocated from Paris to a small village in Vichy during WWII and hiding with a Catholic family, who becomes increasingly and dangerously aligned with her invented identity. Written in exquisite prose, Tara Ison’s novel of persona, identity and survival in collaborationist France is chilling and profoundly moving.” —Janet Fitch
“Told from the perspective of a young Jewish girl grappling with identity, Ison’s timely book considers that moment between dusk and night, the almost imperceptible shift into darkness, both political and personal, as it exposes the high cost of accommodation of evil and bigotry. Provocative, vivid, and affecting, this novel will inspire important conversations that we all need to be having now. ”—EJ Levy , author, The Cape Doctor
When Danielle Marton’s father is killed during the early days of the German occupation of France, her mother sends her to live in a quiet farming town. Now called Marie-Jean Chantier, Danielle struggles to balance the truth of what’s happened to her family and her country with the lies she must tell to keep herself safe. At first, she’s bitter about being left behind by her mother, and horrified at having to milk the cows and memorize Catholic prayers for church. But as the years pass, Danielle finds it easier to suppress her former life entirely, and Marie-Jean becomes less and less of an act. By the time she’s fifteen and there is talk amongst the now divided town of an Allied invasion, Danielle has transformed into a strict Catholic, a fervent disciple of fascism, as well as a German collaborator.