The Sound of Light

January 2, 2023
Sundin (Until Leaves Fall in Paris) delivers a WWII romance about ordinary people who summon extraordinary courage in times of crisis. In 1940 Copenhagen, former Olympic rower Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt is at loose ends: nearly 30 and still a bachelor, he’s a disappointment to his aristocrat father and dissatisfied with himself. When the Nazis invade, Henrik, eager to “help someone other than himself for a change,” volunteers to row vital intel across the Sound to Allied forces in Sweden. The narrative flips ahead to a 1943 Copenhagen boardinghouse, where Henrik, under an alias, rooms with ambitious physicist Elsebeth and Jewish mathematician Laila. Else and Laila help publish a resistance paper, while Henrik works in the shipyard, and neither woman know his true identity. Henrik and Else become close, and after the Nazis institute martial law, the three friends attempt to help Danish Jews flee—but it’s unclear whether Else and Henrik will escape before the Gestapo find them. Sundin grounds this suspenseful tale in rich historical detail, weaving throughout probing questions of faith as characters struggle to behave in moral, godly ways, especially when it entails risking one’s life for a stranger. The author’s fans will find all the intrigue and depth they expect.

Starred review from December 1, 2022
During the Nazi occupation of Denmark, Olympic rower Henrik Ahlefeldt sees his chance to be a different man, a better man. Secretly rowing messages to neutral Sweden allows him to atone for past failures and disappear behind the persona of the legendary merman, Havmand. American physicist Dr. Else Jensen tempers her brilliance to avoid conflict, and the path of least resistance has always been safest, until now. When dangerous news for the Danish Jewish community is exposed, Else and Henrik must confront their principles and fear and decide whether to risk the shelter of silence for the greater good. Sundin (Until Leaves Fall in Paris, 2022) shines in her newest novel about peaceful people rising up in the face of adversity and a tiny nation uniting to defend its own. The Sound of Light is an awe-inspiring story set within the beauty, language, and culture of Denmark and revealing a remarkable though lesser-known slice of WWII history. Sundin's craft is inimitable, and her literary finesse radiates from every page. Confidently occupying the liminal space between action and inaction, her characters endeavor to be braver versions of themselves while confronting unthinkable odds as Sundin illuminates both the burden and the responsibility of extraordinary courage.

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