E S Kraay

The Faith of Job E S Kraay

Light emerges from the heart of darkness in this WWII historical novel set in Holland. Raised by a widowed fortune-teller, 5-year-old Jessica knows nothing about Jews until Mrs. Houthakker and her daughter Nava rent the house next door in the summer of 1939. Jessica and Nava befriend a young Dutch boy whom they meet ice skating on the frozen canals. The three friends discover a deaf Jewish child, separated from his older brother in the aftermath of Kristallnacht. Mrs. Houthakker and her husband welcome the lost child into their home the first night of Hanukkah. When the Nazis invade Holland, a fighter squadron is assigned to the airfield near the school that Mrs. Houthakker organizes when Hitler excludes Jewish children from public schools. Messerschmitt pilot Anthony Küster meets the four young people who remind him of the sons he has not seen since the war began. He chooses to spend his free time on the ice with Jessica and her friends. Collateral damage from an allied bombing raid changes everything, and when Hitler orders the Jews to special camps, the pilot knows what he must do to save Jessica and live the remainder of his life at peace with himself.