The Sound of a Fallen Leaf by Shari Linn; Holocaust Drama Marred By Formatting Issues
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: I really wanted to like The Sound of a Fallen Leaf by Shari Linn. It is a Historical Fiction about the Holocaust. It has traces of a Magical Realism about a woman with unique inherited magical abilities. But unfortunately, there are difficulties in formatting that mar the book and distracts the reader from the overall storyline.
In 1940’s Jada Avrus had a power called bracha. It's an empathetic power which removes despair, anxiety, and panic but absorbs pain into herself. When the Nazi conquer her country, Jada uses that ability to survive and hopefully escape the dictatorship.
The novel is mostly great as a Historical Fantasy by presenting the struggles in 1940’s Europe alongside the story of a woman discovering hidden powers even if the presentation could use work.
Jada goes through the trauma that other Holocaust survivors do. The dehumanizing laws, soldiers enforcing laws and regulations, abuse, torture, mass arrests, detainment, mass murder, and the desperate attempts to either hide, sneak out across the border, or stay and take their chances.
Many who have lived in or currently live in a dictatorship can recognize themselves in that situation. Those who read Holocaust-Era Historical Fiction will experience vicarious anxiety and terror especially when they can see similar situations in real life.
Jada experiences the trauma around her but also within, because of her bracha abilities. She shares other's feelings. In such dark times, that power can easily become overwhelming, exhausting, and painful. There are moments when she is driven to illness and insanity by her powers and desire to help others.
Walking down a street or talking to someone will cause the bracha to overpower her. A normal day could affect her so we can imagine what it must be like during the Holocaust in which trauma, fear, and despair surrounds her. Jada is a lightning rod for pain and suffering in these times.
She has ways to circumvent that internal pain. She charges people for consultation and limits her time and the amount of people that she talks to. More importantly she has friends and family especially siblings that keep her grounded and sane in such trying times. She also has goals to survive and outlive her enemies even if she has to go elsewhere to do it.
This book would be gripping and carry a lot of depth but the formatting gets in the way. It's hard to become invested in the protagonist and her journey when paragraphs are broken mid sentence and typesetting is off in several places. It gets in the way of the story that we are reading.
It seems like such a petty issue and it might just only be in my copy. But this is such a powerful story with a brilliant character who has amazing power and is going through such trauma. But it needs to flow better for the reader to experience and appreciate it.
In some ways, it's similar to watching a movie where you enjoy the script or the characters but can't get past the constant shaky cam, grainy lighting, or side angles. It might be a stylistic choice but it also ruins the immersive experience and keeps the audience remote from the film.
That is what happens with The Sound of a Fallen Leaf. Instead of appreciating Jada’s story and empathizing with this tragic situation and her struggles with the bracha, they jump from one broken paragraph to the next, sometimes forgetting what the plot points even are. It keeps the reader out of the book where we don't fall into the story. Instead we stare at blank spaces where words should be.
Linn has a good sense of history and character but the format stands in the way. It is well written but could be better presented.
