Dear Child

I kept waiting for this English-language debut by German author Romy Hausmann to engage me and it never did. There was a reasonably satisfying ending after a significant plot twist that I never saw coming. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Jasmin, a young woman who was kidnapped by a man and held captive in a remote cabin, where she must follow strict rules, never sees daylight, serve as the mother to his two children, and--most disturbing of all--take on the identity of Lena, who, we learn, is the biological mother of the two children. The story all revolves around the original disappearance of college student Lena 13 years ago. So alternating chapters are narrated by her father, Matthias, who has never given up looking for her. A third narrator is Hannah, the daughter held captive in the cabin with Jasmin/Lena. Jasmin has managed to escape the cabin by hitting her captor on the head with a snow globe. But in her mad flight through the woods, she runs onto a highway and is hit by a car. She wakes up briefly in an ambulance to find Hannah is with her. Hannah tells the investigating police that Jasmin's name is Lena. And because Jasmin has been forced to look like Lena by her captor, Lena's parents are brought to the hospital to identify their missing daughter. Except that it's not really Lena. When Lena's parents catch sight of Hannah, however, they are shocked at her resemblance to the younger version of their daughter. It's a very tricky plot, well executed. Characters are fully developed. So I struggled to figure out why I disliked this book so much. I simply did not like any of the characters or feel any empathy with or sympathy for them. None of the characters are honest with themselves or others so you can't trust anyone's narrative, or if you do, you'll be disappointed. Admittedly, they have all been subjected to terrible emotional and physical trauma as well as psychological manipulation, yet none exhibit any admirable qualities to latch onto.

The New York Times calls it "disturbing" and "thought provoking" in their overall favorable review. While Publishers Weekly says, "the book’s real power lies in the author’s insightful and sensitive portrayal of the characters involved in the tragedy."