I have wished so many times that I had acted differently.
I wish that I had been more worthy of you...
Eventually the war will end, and then we will find each other.
Until then, remember me.
Hungary, 1938. In a city park, beneath one of its bleakly looming statues, five Jewish mathematicians gather to trade proofs and whisper sedition. Expelled from the university since the state's new laws came into force, they speak uneasily of duty, of family and the slim possibility of escape.
Melbourne, 2007. Illy has just buried her father, a violent, unpredictable man whose embittered nature she never understood. And now, the day after his funeral, Illy's unusually silent mother has gifted her a curious notebook. Its faded pages are a mix of mathematical figures and diary entries, all penned by a young woman seemingly blind to Europe's coming storm. A woman who sounds nothing like her mother...
Based on a true story, Miriam Sved's beautifully crafted novel is a vivid recreation of Hungary before German occupation, a decades-old mystery locked in the histories of five students. A story about the selfless power of the human heart, even after years and worlds apart.
