By v. z. byram
Song of Latvia
A Novel
World War II comes to Latvia when Russian soldiers attack Latvian border guards, killing three guards and two civilians. The ensuing invasion and occupation rip apart the world of Mija, a history teacher, and her husband Aleks, a colonel in the Latvian Army. After a one-year reign of terror, the Russians are ousted by the Germans and Aleks enlists in the German Army with the hope of gaining some control over what happens in his country. The Germans massacre twenty-four thousand Jews. This spurs Mija to become a resistance fighter. When one of the resistance fighters is arrested and jailed, Mija forms a bold plan to rescue him. Aleks is pulled deeper and deeper into the Nazi killing machine. His coup de grace comes when he is ordered to kill all the Jews in a concentration camp in his hometown. Their struggle and their tragedy ultimately bear hope for a new beginning.
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“An authentic and tense portrait of everyday people dealing with war.” – Kirkus Reviews
Author V. Z. Byram
I was born in a displaced persons camp in post World War II Germany of Latvian parents. We immigrated to the USA when I was three. I received my MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, have won numerous writing awards, taught literature and writing as an adjunct professor and am a past president of the Philadelphia Writers Conference. Song of Latvia is my first published novel.
