A Sister's Promise

Katerina and her sister grew up in Bohemia during the interwar years, nearly two decades between the First and Second World Wars. In 1918, the provinces of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia were joined together, along with areas shared with Poland and Hungary, to form the country of Czechoslovakia. Prague, located in central Bohemia, became the capital. During that time, their new country was the most industrially advanced of eastern Europe. In Bohemia, its citizens were educated and music and the arts flourished. Theirs is a story that encompasses tragedy, love and their coming of age, from a place isolated by innocence. It is set against the backdrop of a world in transition and the beginning of the modern age. Even though it takes place in a different era, their story in many ways could be ours.

Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things.  The Author uses her characters to illustrate a story of everyday life during a peaceful interlude in twentieth century Czechoslovakia.  For Millie and Katerina (Kacenka), bound together by birth and tragedy, life is not always ordinary.  Choices are made for better or worse and at times, the consequences aren't always recognized until too late.

This story is about keeping promises and it is a thread that connects the characters throughout the narrative.  Katerina's promise takes her on an adventure to America.  Her journey is a courageous one, but it is also criminal.  It is a story about human character and how it can serve one's failings or triumphs.  The character that's developed within will ultimately reveal itself.

And finally, like most ordinary people everywhere, life's focus is on what affects one's immediate world.  At the same time, other forces are brewing outside of that limited view.  In the end, we are all ordinary people.

This is the second book by the Author. Born to Czech immigrants, she wrote this story in her mid-eighties. As in her first book, she draws on her own experiences for some of the events and locations in this fictional story. An avid reader, she was famous for her words of wisdom among family and friends. "Life is what one makes it," was a saying that we heard often. She certainly made quite a life for herself and touched many others with her generosity and spirit.