The Cut Out Girl

Review

Luminous, elegant, haunting - I read it straight through (Philippe Sands, Author of East West Street)

Superb. This is a necessary book - painful, harrowing, tragic, but also uplifting (The Times Book of the Week)

Deeply moving. Writes with an almost Sebaldian simplicity and understatement (Guardian)

Astonishing. Van Es has created a masterpiece of history and memoir, concluding on a note of reconciliation, hope and great love (Evening Standard)

An awe-inspiring account of the tragedies and triumphs within the world of the Holocaust's "hide-away" children, and of the families who sheltered them (Georgia Hunter, author of We Were the Lucky Ones)

Brought to life with family photographs and diary entries that add further impact to Lien's harrowing memories and testimony - this deeply affecting and fascinating story is guaranteed to haunt you (Sunday Mirror)

Compassionate and thoughtfully rendered, the book is both a memorable portrait of a remarkable woman and a testament to the healing power of understanding. A complex and uplifting tale (Kirkus)

Remarkable - the story of one traumatic childhood, deeply moving, and told with great dexterity, allowing the wisdoms of today to run parallel with the absorbing narrative of wartime events (Penelope Lively)

A nuanced, moving, and unusual "hidden child" account (Publishers Weekly)

Fascinating, beautifully written. Van Es carefully salvages Lien's story and creates a deeply moving and complex book about war, atrocity and human suffering (The Oldie)

About the Author

Bart van Es was born in the Netherlands and is bilingual in English and Dutch. He now lives with his family in England. He is a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine's College.