Anyone who loved The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas will fall for this novel
Czechoslovakia, 1942. Jan's father has been summarily
executed by the Nazis. His mother and his older sister Maria have disappeared, and his younger sister Lena has been removed to a remote farm in the German countryside. With Europe in the throes of war, the ten-year-old boy embarks on a personal journey to reunite the family he has been violently torn from. The experiences he goes through and
the horror he faces during this desperate quest will
change his life for ever.
While examining the devastating effects of war on ordinary families, The Search provides an exploration of fear and loss, and of the bond between parents and children. Riveting, moving, at times disturbing, Maureen Myant's debut novel will haunt its readers for a long time after they have put it down.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
June 1942, a sleepy day in the village, the summer sky clear, save for a charcoal funnel of smoke rising from the steelworks in the nearby town. Above the fields of growing corn the hot air shimmers, languorous and heavy with pollen. Jan feels the sun burning his neck and forearms as he crawls through the prickly stalks. He is careful to keep his head down. Although the crop is abundant this year, it has not yet grown tall enough to hide him, and he knows he could be spotted at any moment. The ground is rough, and he bites his lip to stop a cry when his knee grinds into something sharp. He rolls onto his back to rest for a moment, feeling the warm blood run down his leg. The pain nags at him, and he risks raising his head enough to examine his knee. A small piece of glass is protruding from his leg. Gritting his teeth, he pulls it out and presses hard to try to stop the flow of blood. He glances at it briefly, just enough to assure himself it isn't a deep cut, but he doesn't examine it. Blood makes him feel dizzy - it always has, since he was a small child and saw his father slice off the tip of his thumb when he was gutting a rabbit he'd caught in a trap. After a few minutes he decides to go on. He has nothing to bind the cut, and no option but to continue: they are too close behind, and could catch him at any moment.
Ahead of him there is a copse of trees, near to Horak's farm. They will provide some cover. He crawls on, trying to keep his wounded knee off the ground. It makes for slow progress, and he thanks God he had such a good start. At last he reaches the edge of the field, with the trees only a few yards away. He risks raising his head. They are at the other end of the field, maybe a hundred and fifty metres away. He ducks down, but it's too late: they've spotted him. There's nothing for it but to run as fast as he can. He springs to his feet, wincing at the pain, and darts towards the trees, twisting round them, stumbling as his foot catches on a root. Two minutes and he'll be out of here.
Jan's chest tightens as he runs, squeezes his heart, forcing his breath out in short, painful gasps as he dashes into the yard at Horak's farm. There must be somewhere he can hide. He looks round. Blinded by the sun, Jan doesn't see the elderly mongrel slumbering near the barn. It staggers to its feet, barking, but when it recognizes him as a friend it sinks to the ground, its tail making swirls in the dust. Jan leans over to pat it, taking the chance to catch his breath. There's a pain in his side, and he pushes into it with his fist, to make it go away. The dog lies panting, its eyes begging, but Jan has nothing for it. He scratches behind its ear, whispers sorry and straightens up. His heart still pounding, he scans the farmyard. The barn? No, too obvious. The old cherry tree? No, the leaves aren't thick enough, and he's wearing a red shirt: they'd spot him at once. Of course - the rain barrel. Jan rushes over to it, his legs weak from all that running. Not much time. He glances around. No sign of them - there should be time to get into it.
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