The Rainbow by Carly Schabowski – Book Review

*AD-gifted: I received a copy of The Rainbow in exchange for this post. Affiliate links are marked with a *

I love Carly Schabowski’s books! You can read here my review of The Watchmaker of Dachau. But today it’s my turn to be on the blog tour for *The Rainbow by Carly Schabowski, an heartbreaking novel of love, betrayal with a secret passed down through a family. It is inspired by an incredible true story. Read on for my review.

Book Description

There, on the dusty floorboards, was a piece of paper, folded neatly. A newspaper article from 1941, written in German, alongside a faded picture of two men in Nazi uniforms staring at the camera. I was about to place it back in the box of forgotten things when something in the text jumped out at me. My breath caught in my chest. I know that name.

London, present day. Isla has grown up hearing her beloved grandad’s stories about his life as a child in pre-war Poland and as a young soldier bravely fighting the Germans to protect his people. So she is shocked and heartbroken to find, while collecting photos for his 95th birthday celebration, a picture of her dear grandfather wearing a Nazi uniform. Is everything she thought she knew about him a lie?

Unable to question him due to his advanced dementia, Isla wraps herself in her rainbow-coloured scarf, a memento of his from the war, and begins to hunt for the truth behind the photograph. What she uncovers is more shocking than she could have ever anticipated – a tale of childhood sweethearts torn apart by family duty, and how one young man risked his life, his love and the respect of his own people, to secretly fight for justice from inside the heart of the enemy itself…

What I Thought

I’m really into reading novels based around World War II at the moment and The Rainbow does not disappoint. It doesn’t have the horrors of World War II like The Watchmaker of Dachau, but it has grit and strong family relationships.

The Rainbow is also told in a dual timeline format. Isla is in the present day and her grandad is back in the 1930s and the 1940s. Although he is suffering from advanced dementia in the present and unable to share his side of the story, Isla reads through a diary and asks elderly relatives about what happened. Her journey takes her to Poland – the childhood home of her grandfather.

As I was reading through it kept giving me more and more questions and very few answers until the very end. It’s brilliant!

A very involving story that crosses many decades of family and friends relationships. Cleverly written, well-developed characters, and sensitive in parts. I won’t spoil why the book is called The Rainbow but it’s truly magical. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the read.

Author Bio

Books On Tour

Here is a list of the other bloggers on The Rainbow Books on Tour. Why not head over and check out their reviews!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you’ve enjoyed this review. You can check out my bookcase of past reviews here.