Between fact and fiction, archival research and genealogy, Nick Barlay re-enacts the torments of Hungarian Jewish history from the Holocaust to 1956 and to exile in London, where he was born to refugee parents. He takes us to the margins and the cracks, the streets, the houses and the cellars. His tale is an astonishing tour de force, it is a memorial to the unsung heroes through the prism of his family: compelling and informative, deeply moving and scrupulously understated.

Irène Heidelberger-Leonard, author of 'The Philosopher of Auschwitz'

An intriguing and moving narrative. Barlay writes calmly, but with feeling. The fortunes of a Jewish family during the Holocaust and the Communist rule in Hungary come across powerfully and ultimately with a dash of optimism.

Ladislaus Löb, Emeritus Professor of German, University of Sussex, and author of 'Dealing with Satan: Rezso Kasztner's Daring Rescue Mission'

Is it family history? It is. Is it poetry? It is that, too – charming poetry. But clouds soon darken the scene. There's the smell of blood and the tumult of Arrow Cross pogroms. What binds these family fates together is fine writing – and Hungarian cherry strudel.

Peter Fraenkel, translator, broadcaster and author of 'No Fixed Abode: A Jewish Odyssey to Africa'