Secretly Inside: A Novel [Hardcover]

In the Dutch countryside the war seems far away. For most people, at least. But not for Ed, a Jew in Nazi-occupied Holland trying to find some safe sanctuary. Compelled to go into hiding in the rural province of Zeeland, he is taken in by a seemingly benevolent family of farmers. But, as Ed comes to realize, the Van 't Westeindes are not what they seem. Camiel, the son of the house, is still in mourning for his best friend, a German soldier who committed suicide the year before. And Camiel's fiery, unstable sister Mariete begins to nurse a growing unrequited passion for their young guest, just as Ed realizes his own attraction to Camiel. As time goes by, Ed is drawn into the domestic intrigues around him, and the farmhouse that had begun as his refuge slowly becomes his prison. Hans Warren places his narrative squarely within the tradition of Dutch hiding narratives, [however,] . . . where traditional hiding narratives often emphasize the danger of the neighbors' prying eyes, as well as those of business associates and passersby, in this novel, the danger seems to reside as much within the household as beyond it. Warren's brief novel is a compelling contribution to a well