A world at war, a family kept apart and a young boy in the midst of it all. As WW II breaks out, a father finds himself in the U.S. while his wife and children are home in occupied Norway. Based on the son’s true-life journals from1935-1945, this is the story of a family separated by war and uncertainty.
Occupied
By kurtblorstad
An incredible detailed family saga that had me reading just one more page until I had finished this true story. Father has left for the USA to prepare a place for the rest of the family, who are staying with her mother in a small town along the coast. There the older boys spend time learning all about living in a small town, helping out where they can. Unfortunately before the family can immigrate, the Germans have invaded Poland and appear to be settling in neutral Norway! What follows is a detailed description of the months and years giving us a window into what it was like to live in an occupied country. With age and awareness came extra responsibilities such as helping with the Norwegian Resistance. Upon their eventual arrival in the USA, Mother was finally able to let her guard down and heave a sigh of gratefulness.
I received this Egalley for my perusal with no expectation of a positive review. All impressions and opinions are my own.
I am a WWII era fan. I love the history of the war, the people of the time, and cannot ever get enough of it. Occupied is an interesting twist to what I have already read. This book is told by a child as he grows up during WWII. His father goes to America to make a better life and before the rest of the family can join him the war starts forcing them to stay in Norway.
The area that this family stays in is rural, there isn’t all the bombing that you’d get in a big city, there is occupation by the Germanys, and there is Nazi’s invading their town. I enjoyed learning how it affects a family without a father there to make decisions for them. The sons are forced to keep secrets, work against the Nazi’s without being found out, and keep the family fed, safe, and healthy.
Occupied was easy to read, easy to follow, and hard to put down. I enjoyed seeing how the family grew up, how their dynamics changed, and how the war would change their lives. For this family I feel it made them stronger and a tighter family unit.
I first heard about this book through Facebook and literally begged the publisher to let me have an egalley to read. I am so very, very glad that I had this opportunity!
The book starts out with the author taking his father to Norway on his 70th birthday in order to visit relatives and see places from his childhood. The author states that he wanted to visit all the places he had heard about and see if his father “remembered things as they were, or if he-like most parents-had exaggerated what it was like when he grew up.”
When his father arrives at his grandmother’s old home, he instantly breaks into speaking Norwegian in his excitement. He then proceeds to tell his son an incredible story.
Trygve (the narrator/father) and his older brother, Thoralf, were born in the United States to Norwegian parents who had immigrated for a better life. However, when the Great Depression hit, Trygve’s father sends his young family back to Norway with the intention of earning enough money to bring them back. Unfortunately, World War II breaks out before they can make it back to the US.
Trygve is given a journal by his paternal Grandmother and begins to write stories in it when the family moves to live with his maternal Grandmother. This book is basically told in the style of journal entries throughout Trygve’s years in Norway.
The first part of the book is a joy to read, as it is told from the perspective of a typical young boy learning about his past, doing chores, playing with his siblings, and finding his way in the world. He recounts episodes of fishing, learning to cut peat blocks with his Uncle, finding out that his Mother is going to have another baby, and getting into adventures with Thoralf. When he learns that his Mother is pregnant, he writes: “Can this one be a girl? I have enough brothers and it would be nice to have a sister to help with all the cleaning I have to do.”
I enjoyed this part of the book and shared some of the funnier parts with my husband, who is half Norwegian. In fact, I had to thaw out some frozen lefse to enjoy as I was reading! Soon, Trygve’s idyllic childhood is shattered by German soldiers coming to their small town. He first learns about Hitler when a group of Polish prisoners is brought to a camp nearby in order to build an airport.
Trygve tries to find work wherever he can in order to help his family. He goes to work at a nursery, saying “I never knew there was so much to learn about manure.” He soon becomes friends with Tore, another boy who works at the nursery. When Tore is arrested as a spy, Trygve is asked to become a part of the Unknown Underground.
I have read several books about WWII but never any that involved the Occupation of Norway. The author does a great job in describing the feelings in the area as they are overrun by Nazi soldiers. Their privacy is invaded, possessions and rations stolen, and fear is pervasive throughout the area. But, through all of this, there is always hope and the people never give up.
The book is full of humor, love, pathos, and hope. I often laughed out loud at some of the tales, but also felt like crying at times for the hardships that were described. The author’s descriptions were wonderful and really made me feel like I was experiencing things right along with Trygve.
At the end of the book, Trygve tells his son, “Most people do things because it is the right thing to do at the time. In my case, I was angry with what the Germans had done to my friend Tore and made a decision to help, without thinking about what it might mean for the rest of the family if I were caught.”
This is the type of book that will stay in my mind for a long time. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of WWII as well as people who enjoy reading memoirs. As I said before, the book is written from the perspective of a young boy who grows into a young man, but I think that readers of all ages would enjoy it and also learn from it.