The Servants' Quarters by Lynn Freed

Touching and delicate story....very different kind of story that has the Holocaust as a focus. That theme is there, but not front and center like so many other books dealing with the aftermath and after effects of the war. It's behind the scenes, under the surface, but very much there all the same.

The fact that the protagonist is Jewish is rarely mentioned and there is no religion being practiced in the house at all. Only once, in reference to her friend, Ruth, do holidays and traditions get mentioned at all.

But Cressida's nightmares and the scars on the face and body of Mr. Harding are the vestiges of the war and the death and destruction even if the war is not described at all. Even those who did not fight or experience the war are affected.

The story takes place in South Africa, but the setting plays little role in the story. Only the servant Phineas reminds the reader that the setting is in Africa.

I highly recommend this book. It is quite short, but the author packs a lot into those 220 pages.