published 1995; paperback 1995

Child of the Light is a powerful fantasy set in Berlin, Germany, just before the beginning of World War II. Against a backdrop of real-life incidents, the story focuses on the unusual friendships among three children.

Solomon Freund and Erich Weisser are close though sometimes uneasy friends, and the uneasiness grows as they grow older. Not quite a member of Sol's family and an outcast in his own, Erich's longing to belong to something leads him to join the Freicorps, the precursor to the Hitler Youth. Sol immerses himself in Jewish studies, including Kabbalistic mysticism. He begins to be haunted by visions of a terrible future; voices cry out to him in his dreams and in the sewer hideout underneath his father's shop, where he and Erich used to play.

Falling in love with the same girl, Miriam Rathenau, also strains Erich and Sol's relationship. As they grow up the three are inseparable, but Erich is determined to have Miriam for his wife, or failing that, for his lover. Sol, who is shyer, keeps his desires more to himself and hopes that Miriam will turn to him of her own accord.

The tensions in pre-WWII Germany are neatly encapsulated in the interactions between the Freunds, Weissers, and Rathenaus. Jacob Freund, Sol's father, employs Erich's father Friedrich Weisser in his cigar shop. In spite of his long association with Jacob, Friedrich still harbors a hatred of Jews that grows as the Nazis inflame public opinion against the Jewish "foreigners." Erich shares his father's views in a general sense, but realizes that his anti-Semitism is contrary to how he feels about Sol and Miriam. This makes him uncomfortable. The political power and wealth of the Rathenau family inspires respect and pride in the Freunds, but envy and hate in the Weissers and other non-Jewish Germans.

Erich's conflict between his career in the Freicorps and his friendships with Sol and Miriam is one of the most interesting aspects of Child of the Light. Erich justifies his involvement with the Nazis by saying that his position will enable him to protect Sol and Miriam should that time ever come, but is this really true, or is it an excuse?

The gripping story begun in Child of the Light is continued in two more books, which together make up the Madagascar Manifesto trilogy. If the next two are as good as this first one, they will be well worth reading.

Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed April 2, 1997

ISBN 1-56504-931-4

See other reviews of Child of the Light at Amazon.com