By Kate Johnson
22 Britannia Road offers an eye-opening look at not only the perils of wartime, but the arguably worse aftereffects on families and individuals alike.
Silvana and Janusz, newlyweds, are ripped apart in their native Poland as World War II wreaks havoc on their country. Many years later, Silvana gets a letter postmarked in England. It is from Janusz, whom she believed to be dead.
The letter calls her to England to again become part of a family--with the addition of their 7-year-old ‘wood boy,’ wild child Aurek, whom Janusz was not aware of.
As Silvana and Aurek begin to get used to new customs in England and new authority in Janusz, dark secrets from the time of the war begin to surface in both adults.
The novel stretches a shattered family’s binding to its very limits--showing exactly how much one will do for the people one loves.
