All This by Chance

In 1947 Stephen, a shy young New Zealander who has travelled to England to work as a pharmacist, meets Eva at a dance held by a London church. Eva grew up English and remembers nothing of the Jewish family who sent her away as a child to keep her safe. The couple settle in New Zealand, but the peace they hope for there cannot hold back what they left behind. Moving through three generations of women, Eva, then Lisa, then Esther, and across Europe, Africa and New Zealand, the novel follows how the Holocaust and secrets never shared keep shaping a family long after the war.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Family, Historical, War (assigned by AI)

Set in

United Kingdom, New Zealand

First published

2018

Author's age

81 when first published

ISBN

9781776561797 (Victoria University Press, New Zealand)