Last Updated on April 27, 2025 by Home in the World
Recommended read #1 (my first book review on this blog) for your next plane or train journey – or even if you’re simply looking to curl up with a good book at home.
I’m partial to a bit of historical fiction, particularly set in WWII Europe. But I know that genre is positively OVERFLOWING with books, some of which are certainly pretty ordinary.
I had come across Kelly Rimmer for the first time on Twitter, when she was advertising her new book The Warsaw Orphan. The title appealed to me so I checked it out on Goodreads and promptly added it to my ‘To Read’ list. I also saw some of her other books had been very highly rated too, including The Things We Cannot Say. When it was time for me to start a new read, I browsed my library’s catalogue and, while The Warsaw Orphan wasn’t there, The Things We Cannot Say was. So that was the path that led me to this book.
What is The Things We Cannot Say about?
Don’t worry; I won’t be putting spoilers in any of my book posts. All I will say is that this The Things We Cannot Say is one of those with a dual storyline, alternating between Alice, in the present-day, and Alina, in WWII Poland. If you don’t like that sort of constant timeline switch, you may find this a bit annoying, especially as the modern-day story focuses a lot on Alice’s somewhat difficult homelife relationships, primarily that with her husband and the fact they have very different approaches to raising their autistic son.
But as her beloved Polish grandmother, Hanna, lies on her deathbed, Alice finds herself heading to Poland to try and uncover a missing link in her grandmother’s life that will allow her to finally rest easy.
Alina’s story is that of a young girl living in the Polish town of Trzebinia. As the Nazis tear her country and family apart, she and her beloved fiancé Tomasz, who himself was briefly forced to work in the Wehrmacht, plan an escape out of Poland.
My impressions of The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer, and why I recommend it
There are elements to this book that are both utterly heartbreaking and also somehow uplifting and inspiring. The decisions and sacrifices people had to make in those desperate days of war, and the resilience they showed in the face of absolute devastation, are often just beyond comprehension. I also liked the way both stories gradually became more interwoven, and the ending seemed satisfying and cohesive enough for me. In my view, Kelly Rimmer’s The Things We Cannot Say deserves the high ratings it has been getting, and I would certainly recommend it as a decent historical-fiction read.
If you’re a historical-fiction fan, you might also want to check out my no-spoiler review of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See or my list of recommended reads from recent years. For additional recommended reads, feel free to check out the Books section of this website.
Are you a fan of both travel and reading? Then check out my post on The Wordy Traveler’s beautiful subscription boxes. There’s even a special discount offer inside!
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