I lived briefly in Hungary and I never had heard of this historical fact. I feel that I have unearthed a deep Hungarian secret. The secret is awful but the book is wonderful. I love a historical based fiction based in in Europe so that made it even better. The capture part was not my favorite section but I truly enjoyed the rest, even though there is guilt in enjoying a read on such a horrific event. PS when I went to read a BBC story, on the tue story, the elderly lady interviewed did say that the men did start behaving much better after it all happened. Great premise. Sari Arany is 14, living in a small village in Hungary, when her father, a local healer, dies. Promised to the son of the town's greatest family, she finds herself alone when WW1 breaks out. She turns to Judit, the town's midwife and angel maker. Two years into the war finds her fiancé family's home offered up as prisoner camp. The women and Sari soon find themselves in contact with wholly different men. Sari, herself, finds herself impressed with Marco, an Italian history professor from Milan.The war ends and the men return including Sari's fiancée Ferenc. All seems well as the camp is set to be broken down until Marco attempts to have Sari escape with him before the formal release. Ferenc is in the house at the time and a downward spiral sets in.The rest of the story is presented in a rather journalistic mien, contrary to the earlier writing. The ending, and climax, I find lacking. It makes me curious to find out about the real life story that inspired this book.
