Klara’s Truth

A Maine archaeologist connects with her Polish Jewish extended family in Friedman’s touching if clunky debut. Klara Lieberman is 49 when her mother reveals the true identity of her father, whom Klara was led to believe had abandoned the family when she was five. In fact, her mother says now, in 2014, Klara’s father died in a train accident many years earlier in the U.S. Furthermore, because his Polish forebears were impacted by the Holocaust, the family is eligible for reparations from the Polish government. Klara, thrown by this news and eager to learn more about her father, jets off to Warsaw. There, she meets her aunt Rachel, whom she bonds with despite resistance from Rachel’s daughter Hannah, who suspects Klara has only come to Poland for the money. Exploring the city one day, Klara meets Filip Jablonski, a gentle cemetery caretaker who discovered his own Jewish past as an adult. Their budding attraction and a cache of letters from her father open new possibilities and old wounds for Klara. Unfortunately, Friedman’s exposition-heavy style shortchanges character development in favor of jamming in her historical research, which often feels cursory. This doesn’t stand out from the crowded field of Holocaust fiction. Agent: Jennifer Utner, Utner Agency. (Apr.)