Last Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was originally attracted to this book because Istanbul is the number one spot in the world I want to visit. I don’t think I knew that it was about World War II. I do love reading stories set in WWII and this book is EXCELLENT!
The story tells of two sisters and a family in Turkey. The older sister marries a diplomat who is extremely involved in trying to keep Turkey out of WWII. The younger sister falls in love and marries a Jewish man. They then leave their families to live in France where they don’t feel the negative reaction of their families.
As Hitler’s SS starts pervading their lives in France, Selva’s husband is taken by them and put on a train full of other Jews that are saved and returned. But they are then caught up in the resistance to eventually brings a trainful of Jewish people to safety in Istanbul.
I loved this story. The family relationships, the friendships that were formed, the way the tale wove through the era. I highly recommend this book. I could not put it down and was even reading it in the check out at the grocery! 🙂