The Purpose (The Au Pair, the Rabbi and the Grenade)

It is 1941. Davie, a downed American pilot on a secret mission and Leah, the leader of a band of partisans who saves him in the Panerai forest on the outskirts of Vilnius. Hunting them is the ruthless Algimantas Lutikis, leader of the SS sanctioned Ypatingas Burys death-squad.

Worlds apart, and evading capture in a brutal conflict, there is only one thing the wild American and the beautiful leader cannot escape.

Their only hope - the lost secrets of a great sage - to unlock a hidden providence which unfolds into a thrilling adventure.


Praise:

The poetic narrative is written in a style remnant of some of the best authors of the last century, namely Michael Ondaatje; additionally, a feminine quality to Abraham’s diction and syntax, similar to Barbara Kingsolver’s writing, only adds to the beauty of the narrative and the love story at the core of the novel. This is a love story that should not be over-sentimentalised, nor should its sentiment be trivialised. I feel that Abraham handles this balance adeptly, and this is one of the major strengths of the narrative. Finally, there are a few action scenes and moments of conspiracy and mystery that create heightened tension within both narrative and reader, and the ability of Abraham to weave a story of both fact and fiction into a highly plausible plot can be compared to the similar ability of the late Stieg Larsson.

- Claire Strombeck