This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke. Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. 9780593381243

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3.5

Format: Hardcover

Genre: Historical fiction, magical realism

What did you like about the book?  Set during the first few days of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, this novel follows Csilla, who along with her aunt Ilona, are the sole survivors of their extended Jewish family. Life in postwar Budapest is gray (literally) as Locke paints the buildings, the inhabitants, their flags, and their clothing as monotone, as if all the color has been leached from the city. Csilla’s parents survived the deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, but her father’s collaboration with the country’s secret police (the ÁVH) has led to their execution. Now Csilla toils away as a newspaper typist, planning her and Ilona’s escape to Israel. As she’s followed one day by an ÁVH tail, she is rescued by the unearthly and beautiful Azriel, who turns out to be the angel of death. Later that evening, she meets another soulful young man named Tamás, who wants her to discover the fate of his arrested lover, Márk.  Csilla is torn between her dream of escape and her newly found strength of will. Using a newspaper contact (who turns out to be her father’s former lover) she discovers that Márk has been murdered and through this action and her soulful connection to the city and its mighty river, the Duna, Csilla joins and ultimately leads the student uprising that challenges Soviet control of Hungary. 

This was certainly the first young adult book I had read set in 20th century Hungary and its look at Jews in postwar Europe was unique. Locke weaves Jewish mysticism and ritual into the story: Azriel as the angel of death, the Friday shabbat still kept by Ilona, the golem that Csilla creates out of river mud to confront the Soviet tanks.  In addition, the inclusion of queer characters (Csilla’s father and the polyamorous relationship that develops between Csilla, Tamás, and Azriel) as main actors, rather than side plots, gave the story depth and novelty. 

Anything you didn’t like about it? Locke either assumes greater knowledge of European history than most teens will have or felt the story could stand without context, but I think readers will need more support: a map, a timeline, or historic notes (none are provided). Other than the creation of the golem, I found the other magical realism elements of the story either confusing (the changing state of the river from water to a hardened surface) or threadbare (the portrayal of Communist life as colorless). The pacing felt ponderous. Csilla’s story unfolds in the third person, each chapter preceded by pages from her father’s journal, and is filled with considerable exposition as she “thinks” or “feels” or describes the world around her. 

To whom would you recommend this book?  Teens who are drawn to historical fiction, especially about WWII or the Holcaust, may find this book’s unusual subject matter rewarding. It would be a good read-alike for fans of The Book Thief  (Markus Zusak) or Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys).

Who should buy this book? High schools and public libraries

Where would you shelve it? YA fiction, historical if you genre-fy

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No

Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA

Date of review: June 5, 2022