...written by Jillian Cantor, published by Penguin Random in 2017. One of those just randomly picked up off the shelf of recent arrivals at the library. Usually I will be in and out of the library in short order, now that I am convinced that I don't have to finish books I am not enjoying. Historically there have been tomes that were only completed under duress, back in the era when I mistakenly believed I had to finish every tale I started. Recently realizing if it is dull, something that does not capture my interest - I can return it unread. There will be no test, no one expecting me to complete an assignment.
The "Letter" referred to in the title was written by a man who lived in Austria during the German occupation. His correspondence was hidden away for over fifty years, tucked away inconspicuously as part of his stamp collection. Before the war started, he was training under a Jewish man who was an expert engraver, learning how to handle the tools and developing the skills to be craftsman who would make the plates used to print stamps. Then the Nazis came: sacking, burning, killing, raping, sending Jews off to hard labor and death camps. Most of the family escaped, going to allied countries and America.
The daughter of the owner (now with dementia in nursing care) of the collection, thought her dad's stamps might have some value, and went to see a specialist. As the dealer looked through the stamps, he noticed a very unusual one, on a letter that had never been sent or opened. They began an effort to determine origin of the correspondence. With the assistance of the professional philatelic (stamp) dealer, she began to understand the image on the stamp/unsent letter was unique: one of a kind. The stamp itself was carefully rendered, printed and meant to send a message to the recipient during a time when letters could be opened and censored by occupation forces, though it was never mailed.
No spoilers here, but a recommendation for reading the story. It was quite believable, well researched and full of historical information: towns no longer on the map after the Nazi occupation, details about the engraving process when it was all hand crafted by artisans, facts about stamp production. And a happy ending - always a plus to my way of thinking.
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