The Waiting Room, by Leah Kaminsky (2016)
Dr. Dina Ronen is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. As a young girl, she over heard a conversation and learned that her father had been married before and lost his wife and daughter in the Holocaust ~ that she and her mother were the replacement family.
After the War, her parents moved to Australia, where Dina grew up. As an adult, Dina while traveling she met and married Eitan, and Israeli, and settled down in Haifa. She believed that Haifa was a safe city in Israel and would be spared terrorist attacks.
When the novel opens it is 2001 and Dina has a six-year old son, is eight months pregnant and is beginning to question her marriage. She is unsettled by the terror attacks that are occurring throughout the country. She wants to return to her home in Australia.
Dina’s mother, who died when Dina was 18, is always in her mind. She “sees” her mother through a ghost whenever her mind is especially troubled. Her mother appears to her throughout the day conversing arguing and nagging her.
Possibly due to her pregnancy, the terrors of Israel are haunting her and causing her to wonder how she can protect her family. Her medical practice is an array of varied people of all religions and ages. Her office manager, Yael, is a young woman who tries to keep Dina on schedule with her patients.
News reports that there may be an attack in Haifa. This sets Dina on edge and she can barely keep herself together while tending to her patients. While dealing with a possible terror attack, she must also face her parent’s history and decide whether she should try to keep her marriage in tact or return to a perceived safety net of Australia.
I enjoyed the first part of this book, but the last quarter got a bit tiresome.
Read: April 18, 2018
3 Stars
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