Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons

Jack and Sadie are German Jews who have traveled to England to escape the persecution growing in Berlin of World War II. They set off to London with their daughter Elizabeth to start a new life far from home and family and arrive at the docks to be greeted by an official who hands them a pamphlet on how to assimilate into the English lifestyle and amidst the uncertainties that face them Jack sees this as the anchor in creating himself into the perfect English gentleman. He drives a Jaquar, wears Saville Row suits, and even refuses to speak German, reminding Sadie that they have to blend into their new home. Immigrants at this time are still considered possible spies or worse and can be taken into custody under suspicion at anytime.

But while Jack has created his own company and the family lives in comfort with other Jewish immigrants in London, Sadie is still dealing with having left her family back home. As the war continues, her family become victims of the Nazi regime and Sadie is left with the unbearable grief of their loss. As Jack seems to drift away further and further from their roots, Sadie finds herself drowning in the sorrow of her loss and the believe that Jack has forgotten their loved ones and therefore her.

When he sells their London home to move them to Dorset so he can build a golf course and finally feel he has truly become an Englishman, the rift between him and Sadie gapes even wider and their lives begin to diverge in ways they never could have anticipated. Sadie begins a perilous decline to which she can neither speak nor can Jack witness and only a tragedy may save them.

Although this is a story of loss and survival it is also a humorous and touching glimpse at the ways people deal with grief and hope; at the vagaries of the human condition which are what make each of us so unique in the way we deal with life's daily obstacles and the depths to which we can reach when faced with the loss of the most important things to us.

In the end it is a homage to the things we love, the people, the places, and ourselves. A definite recommend.