Roads: A Novel [Paperback]

When Nazi forces occupy the beautiful coastal city of Yalta, Crimea, everything changes. Eighteen-year-old Filip has few options; he is a prime candidate for forced labor in Germany. His hurried marriage to his childhood friend Galina might grant him reprieve, but the rules keep shifting. Galina’s parents, branded as traitors for innocently doing business with the enemy, decide to volunteer in hopes of better placement. The work turns out to be horrific, but at least the family stays together. By winter 1945, Allied air raids destroy strategic sites; Dresden, a city of no military consequence, seems safe. The world knows Dresden’s fate. Roads is the story of one family lucky enough to escape with their lives as the city burns behind them. But as the war ends, they are separated and their trials continue. Looking for safety in an alien land, they move toward one another with the help of refugee networks and pure chance. Along the way, they find new ways to live in a changed world—new meanings for fidelity, grief, and love.

“LikeThe Madonnas of Leningrad, Marina Antropow Cramer’s sweeping novel brings to life the suffering of ordinary Russians during World War II. With richly evoked compassion,Roadsshows us the power of family and love to survive in the face of devastation.” —Laurie Lico Albanese, author ofStolen Beauty

“Riveting, heartbreaking, and beautifully written,Roadstakes us deep into the black heart of Nazi Germany, finding not only horror and despair but a stubborn and tenacious hope and a kind of clarity about what it means to be human.” —Christina Baker Kline, number oneNew York Timesbestselling author ofOrphan TrainandA Piece of the World

“The characters are strongly drawn and fascinating… Cramer’s writing is lush and poetic with a refreshing edge.&rdlƒ!