Aftermath of Tragedy

The main theme of this novel is the aftermath of tragedy and how that tragedy affects all it touches. Anton Steenwijk lost his parents and older brother when a Nazi collaborator was killed in his neighborhood and his body moved to in front of Anton's family's house. Anton is adopted by his aunt and uncle and lives a fairly successful life. However, Anton continuously runs into people who give him small pieces of information about that night until he finally has a full picture of what happened. The tragedy is not something Anton dwells on; in fact, he goes out of his way to avoid thinking about it. Despite this, learning the entire truth is something that helps Anton overcome emotional blocks related to that night that he is not even aware he has.

Anton is not the only person affected by the events of that...