Photo credit: Marion Voysey
In a style worthy of beloved Canadian treasures, Genevieve Graham and Roberta Rich, debut novelist Kath Jonathan, author of The Resistance Painter, details the courageous and ingenious journey of the resistance fighters who battled for freedom as they shepherded Jewish families through the sewers of occupied Poland during the Second World War.
Inspired by the true story of her mother-in-law, Janina, who following WWII was awarded the Virtuti Militari, one of Poland’s highest honours of bravery, Jonathan’s historical fiction toggles between 1939-1941 Warsaw and 2010 Toronto, as she develops each of the magnificently crafted characters in ways that profoundly affect the reader.
The main protagonist, Irena, uses her artistic talents, unbridled courage, resilience, and unflagging sense of hope and good cheer, to first join and then lead Warsaw’s resistance movement.
Oft times a breathless thriller packed with emotional wallop, Jonathan’s masterful depictions of her characters, including that of Irena’s best friend Leah, who is Jewish, her sister Lotka, with whom Irena has a confusing relationship, Irena’s mother, who unequivocally favours Lotka, the resistance fighter Zofia, whose allegiance Irena is suspicious of, the delightful boyfriend, Mati, and the hard-drinking neighbour Mr. Godlewski, are so true-to-life relatable that The Resistance Painter attains page-turner status.
Dramatic tension, along with an intimacy that is riveting and provocative, forms the framework for the shared voice narratives of Irena and her granddaughter, Toronto-based Josephine Blum, who creates commissioned sculptures for grave sites based on clients’ lives. It is Blum’s love for Irena and her curiosity to understand what her grandmother has endured that piques Blum’s interest as she records interviews with her new Polish client, Stefan. Indeed, it is these discussions that ultimately lead to the discovery of the hidden paintings that depict Irena’s horrific yet enduring concentration camp experiences.
What sets The Resistance Painter apart is Jonathan’s attention to detail, her storytelling an intricate puzzle with thousands of pieces, which she snaps masterfully into place, sometimes one or two at a time, others in a flurry of activity.
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JOIN Kath in conversation with Cece Scott as she reads from The Resistance Painter, April 24, 2 p.m.
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE ZOOM LINK:
Register here to receive your FREE ZOOM link: Meeting Registration – Zoom
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Resistance members chew mint leaves and wild gingerroot to help keep nausea at bay as they stumble and crawl through the stink of the tunnels, “where human excrement and discarded skulls keep them company.”
It is in these tunnels that people hide from the German dragon patrols, who are “ghastly in their perfect uniforms, menacing in their oily black boots that boast of polished cruelty.” Resistance fighters
Indeed, under Jonathan’s pen ordinary scenes transform into portraits of the ravages that war inflicts on the humblest of homes with, “everything upended in a heap of shattered glass, twisted wood, charred sofa cushions…all clownishly topped by a kettle.”
An intriguing and inspiring story, Jonathan creates a conclave of emotions — fear, betrayal, disgust, and despair painted over by hope and resilience and love for humankind— all of which hang perilously on the delicate branches of the resistance movement.
A reminder that it is important to stand up for what we believe in, what is honourable and right, The Resistance Painter instills in readers both a sense of wonder and a searing question: How far are we willing to go to help our fellow man, our friends, our neighbours, and of course those we hold dear, if we were to find ourselves in similar circumstances.
That in itself is a stellar testament to the story Jonathan celebrates in her thought-provoking narrative, The Resistance Painter.
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
Kath Jonathan joins Creative Aging Books & Ideas Thursday, April 24 at 2 p.m. at which time she will be in conversation with Cece as she reads excerpts from The Resistance Painter.
Register here to receive your FREE ZOOM link: Meeting Registration – Zoom
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