The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker Published by Annick Press on September 11, 2018
Pages: 354
Goodreads
Who can Lena trust to help her find out the truth? Life in East Germany in the early 1980s is not easy for most people, but for Lena, it’s particularly hard. After the death of her parents in a factory explosion and time spent in a psychiatric hospital recovering from the trauma, she is sent to live with her stern aunt, a devoted member of the ruling Communist Party. Visits with her beloved Uncle Erich, a best-selling author, are her only respite. But one night, her uncle disappears without a trace. Gone also are all his belongings, his books, and even his birth records. Lena is desperate to know what happened to him, but it’s as if he never existed. The worst thing, however, is that she cannot discuss her uncle or her attempts to find him with anyone, not even her best friends. There are government spies everywhere. But Lena is unafraid and refuses to give up her search, regardless of the consequences. This searing novel about defiance, courage, and determination takes readers into the chilling world of a society ruled by autocratic despots, where nothing is what it seems.
Good Morning and welcome to my tour stop today for The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker that was organized by Annick Press. I was honored to be asked to be a part of this tour. Thanks to Annick Press for organizing this tour and for sending me a copy of the book to read and review for my stop today.
The House of One Thousand Eyes was definitely a change from what I have been reading lately and its not one of those books you want to sit and reading in one sitting. When I set out to start reading this I knew I was going to have to pace myself and for each day I set out a page limit and many times while I was reading I actually had to put the book down and take in what I had just read. This book is filled with so many twist and turns that you didn’t know what was going to happen. Quite a few times I was on the edge of my seat.
If your a reader of my blog you will know that I don’t tend to read a lot of historical fiction books and that is purely my choice but I am happy that I read this. The book was well written and things were moving along at a perfect pace. You can instantly tell a lot of research went into the book.
Our main character is Lena who is 17 years old and lives in a divided Germany in the 1980’s. Lena has been through more things then a normal 17 year old girl should. She lost both of her parents in a industrial accident and then was sent to a mental institution. Thankfully her aunt managed to get her out and she has been living with her aunt. I think through all this tragedy Lena was a strong kick ass girl who would stop at nothing to find out the truth about her parents and what happened to her uncle. She was willing to risk it all to get to the truth.
From reading this you can tell that life was not easy for anyone living there because you were constantly monitored and reported. People in power could control you with one signature on a piece of paper, either making your entire live disappear like you were never there to committing you a mental institution.
Even days after reading this I am still thinking about the book. I highly recommend this.