WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018
WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE 2018
A SUNDAY TIMES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 2019

'A masterpiece of history and memoir' Evening Standard

'Superb. This is a necessary book - painful, harrowing, tragic, but also uplifting' The Times

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Little Lien wasn't taken from her Jewish parents in the Hague - she was given away in the hope that she might be saved. Hidden and raised by a foster family in the provinces during the Nazi occupation, she survived the war only to find that her real parents had not. Much later, she fell out with her foster family, and Bart van Es - the grandson of Lien's foster parents - knew he needed to find out why.

His account of tracing Lien and telling her story is a searing exploration of two lives and two families. It is a story about love and misunderstanding and about the ways that our most painful experiences - so crucial in defining us - can also be redefined.

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'Luminous, elegant, haunting - I read it straight through' Philippe Sands, author of East West Street

'Deeply moving. Writes with an almost Sebaldian simplicity and understatement' Guardian

'Sensational and gripping . . . shedding light on some of the most urgent issues of our time' Judges of the Costa Book of the Year 2018

A harrowing true story about a young girl's struggle to survive Nazi persecution, and a man's attempt to unveil his family's secrets.

About the Author
Bart van Es was born in the Netherlands and is bilingual in English and Dutch. He now lives with his family in England. He is a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine's College.

Reviews
Astonishing. Van Es has created a masterpiece of history and memoir, concluding on a note of reconciliation, hope and great love * Evening Standard *
An extraordinary, harrowing story of loss, survival and love * Guardian *
Deeply moving, this is a remarkable memoir * Sunday Times *
Powerful . . . extraordinary * Irish Times *
Brought to life with family photographs and diary entries that add further impact to Lien's harrowing memories and testimony - this deeply affecting and fascinating story is guaranteed to haunt you * Sunday Mirror *
Remarkable - the story of one traumatic childhood, deeply moving, and told with great dexterity, allowing the wisdoms of today to run parallel with the absorbing narrative of wartime events * Penelope Lively *
Compassionate and thoughtfully rendered, the book is both a memorable portrait of a remarkable woman and a testament to the healing power of understanding. A complex and uplifting tale * Kirkus *
A nuanced, moving, and unusual "hidden child" account * Publishers Weekly *
Superb. This is a necessary book - painful, harrowing, tragic, but also uplifting * The Times Book of the Week *
Fascinating, beautifully written. Van Es carefully salvages Lien's story and creates a deeply moving and complex book about war, atrocity and human suffering * The Oldie *
Sensational and gripping . . . shedding light on some of the most urgent issues of our time * Judges of the Costa Book of the Year Prize 2018 *
Luminous, elegant, haunting - I read it straight through * Philippe Sands, Author of East West Street *
Deeply moving. Writes with an almost Sebaldian simplicity and understatement * Guardian *
Harrowing and beautiful * Bookseller *
An awe-inspiring account of the tragedies and triumphs within the world of the Holocaust's "hide-away" children, and of the families who sheltered them * Georgia Hunter, author of We Were the Lucky Ones *
The Cut Out Girl is a reminder of the extraordinary richness of archives and the treasures released by scholarly research * TLS *
An extraordinary story, harrowing, deeply affecting. This fascinating story is guaranteed to haunt you * People *
A moving story of personal and family history, with a scholar's objective eye for the bigger picture. * Irish Times *
Harrowing . . . profoundly moving * Daily Express *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241978726
Author Bart van Es
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 233g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm