With the men away at war, women in a small village are intoxicated by their new freedom, in this “story that will hold readers from beginning to end” (Booklist). When the men of a remote Hungarian village go off to war in 1916, the women left behind realize their lives are much better without them. Suddenly, they are not being beaten; they have time for friendships; they even find romance with the injured Italian soldiers staying just outside of town. For Sari, an intelligent girl who’s always been an outcast—her fellow villagers suspect her of being a witch because of her medical knowledge—it’s the first time in her life she’s had friends. When the men return at war’s end, the freedom Sari and the others have enjoyed is suddenly snatched from them, and they realize they need to do whatever it takes to get it back. Sari puts her medical knowledge to use to make that happen—but as events spiral out of control, her attempt to take matters into her own hands may mean her problems are only beginning, in this remarkable novel inspired by real events.
advertisement