Reviews

I am stingy with stars. A good book is 3 starts, a book I tell a friend about is 4, and 5 star books are ones that stay with my heart. Exile music was an onion...a story with many layers like life. The story is about a Jewish family of musicians who are able to escape Austria during WWII. They end up in La Paz, Bolivia. I cried, I laughed and held out hope for this family. I also ended up in a worm hole exploring other stories of refugees during the war in Bolivia.

katieosha's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

mipa_jt's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

birdmanseven's review against another edition

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5.0

I picked this up on a whim and ended up really loving it. It explores a lesser chronicled portion of the WWII fiction, following a family who takes refuge in Bolivia. I never knew where the story was going and I was thoroughly entertained each step of the way.

We discussed this further on Howe's Things: https://youtu.be/kCkGJh4Pp8I

unsophisticatedreader's review against another edition

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3.0

I had higher hopes for this one. There were parts that were incredibly good but there were also some things I didn't love. I did really enjoy learning about a part of the war I never knew of...many Austrian Jews were exiled to Bolivia where they lived out the war in relative safety. It was difficult and expensive to get there and life was hard for them there, but they were free from the oppression of the Nazis. That was very interesting to me. Most of the story was really great but without giving anything away, I can say I just wouldn't be able to recommend it for everyone.

pennyriley's review against another edition

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4.0

I like WWII fiction a lot, and particularly liked this because most of it had an unusual setting for this genre of literature - Bolivia. It tells how Orly's family, with the exception of her brother who has already fled, is eventually able to leave Austria after being betrayed by the parents of Orly's best friend, Ana. Orly quickly adapts to their new life, learning Spanish, making friends, wanting to learn about her new country and its culture, and learning how to play an indigenous instrument. Her father adapts more gradually, finding solace is in his music and slowly learning enough Spanish to cope. her mother though, never really adapts, only finding some comfort in learning how to use the local herbs to make medicines. In Austria a famous opera singer she never finds her voice again. There's a good twist at the end, and one part involving the mother which just struck me as sensational and unnecessary but I guess the author wanted to give her her moment as well. I will look for other work by this author.

emilybakes's review

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4.0

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, and I'm so glad that I did, because otherwise I might have missed it. I'm surprised this book isn't getting more attention, because it's one of the best books I've read this year. With so much WW2 fiction being published right now it takes something really special to stand out, and this book was a truly unique perspective from that time period.

Orly and her family are Austrian Jews who lose everything when the Nazis invade their country. Orly's mother is an opera singer and her father plays the viola in the Philharmonic. Orly and her best friend Anneliese are inseparable and they spend their days crafting detailed stories of their imaginary world. As Vienna falls under Hitler's spell, Orly's parents lose their jobs and Anneliese's parents refuse to let the girls play together anymore. Their lives are turned upside down they realize they need to get out, but only one country will allow them to come: Bolivia.

Austria and Bolivia could not be more different from each other and the family struggles to adapt. Willi, Orly's brother, was separated from them because when the Nazis started rounding up the young men he had to flee before they could get their Bolivian visas. Waiting to hear from him on top of mourning their culture and the lives they left behind makes navigating their new world a struggle. Orly adapts better than her parents and I learned so much about Bolivia seeing it through her eyes.

As Orly grows up (she's only 10 when they leave Austria) she starts to realize she's attracted to girls and boys. I noticed some of the reviews said they thought this took away from the main plot but I think it goes with the recurring theme of duality, as Orly is constantly trying to make sense of her place between Austria and Bolivia, her life before and her life after, etc.

Like all stories about this time in history parts of this book are devastating to read about, but there are hopeful parts too. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

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