Finally Home
The Baker’s Secret by Lelita Baldock is a powerful dual timeline novel that I read in just one sitting.
The action takes place in Riga, Latvia during World War II and also in 2018 in Australia as we follow two sisters and their wartime experiences. The chapters alternate between the pair.
Latvia was a turbulent and dangerous place to be during World War II. Having gained independence after World War; during World War II, first the Soviets marched in, and then the Nazis, and then the Soviets returned to oppress the people until 1990. Latvians were trapped within their own country, always being persecuted by whoever had control.
June 14th 1941 is called The Night Of The Disappeared as 15,000 Latvians were torn from their homes – men, women and children – never to be seen again.
We witness the bravery of the people. One sister is active within the resistance, the other reluctantly helps. Both are proud Latvians.
Love is a powerful bond. We see much sacrificial love in action. It is a love that lets go in order to protect.
War alters people. “As her body recovered in a survivor’s hospital, her mind stayed trapped in torment.” Today we would diagnose PTSD but it was unheard of then. Many minds remained trapped in the war years as it was such an awful and traumatic time.
Secrets have been kept. When they are finally revealed, lives are turned upside down again. Love is questioned. A character lives a nomadic life, fearing staying anywhere in case bonds formed are torn away again.
The novel has the theme of coming home. Sometimes home is not a place but a person. For others, home is the soil of Latvia which calls to them.
All the characters were well drawn, likable and realistic. They were admirable too. So much bravery at a time of much evil.
The Baker’s Secret will educate you as you read. I have read extensively about World War II but knew nothing of the experiences of the Latvian people. Now I do.
The Baker’s Secret was a powerful novel that consumed me from the start.
JULIA WILSON
