Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray(137)
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Snow falls in New Jersey, too.
It coats the cars in the parking lot. Soon, they will look like blocky little hills, Hanna thinks as she watches from her bed. What a gift to have seen the exhibit. To have seen the photograph of her with Sophie again. To remember the day in the forest one more time. The skin on the back of her hand is as cracked and liver-spotted as a map. How did she get to be so old? Luck. And the kindness of others. The light from the parking lot bleeds through the window of Hanna’s room, painting shadowy branches upon the wall. Her mind drifts toward sleep.
It begins with the chirrup of birdsong followed by the earthy scent of forest pine warmed by late-afternoon sun. Hanna’s pulse beats with anticipation for something she can’t yet name. The Bridegroom’s Oak is there. Its bark has grayed with time but it is still majestic. It is also not alone. New trees have sprung up. So many trees, they stretch beyond what Hanna can see, an entire forest, strong and tall. A rustling comes from behind the oak. Hanna’s pulse quickens as a beautiful doe steps into sunlight. She raises her nose, sniffing the air. Then she stops. Stares straight ahead.
Something bursts inside Hanna. “Forgive me,” she says softly in the darkness of her room, into the bright, living dream. She does not know that she is crying.
The doe strides forward without fear. Without remorse or regret. Without the weight of pain. She has been waiting for this visit for some time. She presses her wet nose to Hanna’s forehead in a kiss.
A gentle wind rises. It lifts the heaviness from the air. It caresses the bright green leaves of the Bridegroom’s Oak, setting the new growth into a symphony of whispering. The whispers grow louder, clearer, coalescing into a sound that holds the whole of the universe within it and then at last into a voice both familiar and missed. It speaks from across the miles and years, from some destination not yet known, a place of sun and cool shade, waiting.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Under the Same Stars is a work of fiction. As such, I have taken some liberties to create this particular “fairy tale” of love and resistance. There is no Kleinwald, Germany; that is a fabrication built from imagination. There is, however, a Bridegroom’s Oak! It is a matchmaking tree that has made many a romantic match over the years (including for the postmaster who delivers its letters). While there was no Die Eichel, there were resistance groups working within Germany, including Sophie and Hans Scholl of the White Rose Movement and the Edelweiss Pirates, as well as many others whose efforts we may never fully know but whose selfless acts of love, hope, and defiance I choose to believe are written in the book of life.
Several texts and films were instrumental in the writing of this book. I am indebted to the following: Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall by Tim Mohr, B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West Berlin 1979–1989 (story by Mark Reeder), Adolfo Kaminksy: A Forger’s Life by Sarah Kaminsky, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934–1941, by William L. Shirer, Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany by Mark Roseman, How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future by Maria Ressa, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, among others.
Much of this book was written during Covid lockdown, which curtailed travel to Germany (or anywhere), and I am grateful to friends who were able to provide information that aided this book along its journey: Jennifer Hubert-Swan, Justin Weinberger, Brenda Cowan, Gayle Forman, Emily Jenkins, Kim Liggett, Simon Joseph, the Sunday afternoon edition of the New York Writers’ Coalition (Aaron Zimmerman, Nova Ren Suma, Mia Tramz, Susanna Schrobsdorff), Richard Sacks, Eleanor Boschert, and Dr. Rose Brock. (I’m sure there are other lovely people I’m forgetting. Vergib mir.)
This book would not exist without the incredible insights, diligence, and talents of editor extraordinaire Grace Kendall, assistant editor Asia Harden, and the lovely Elizabeth Lee. A huge thank-you to Abby Granata for the great interior design, Aurora Parlagreco for art direction, and Mallory Grigg for the beautiful jacket design. Thanks, also, to lifesaving copyeditor Linda Minton and proofreaders Nicole Brugger-Dethmers and Justine Gardner, production editor Ilana Worrell, managing editor Allyson Floridia, production manager Celeste Cass, publicists Chantal Gersch and Samantha Sacks, marketers Gabriella Salpeter and Melissa Zar, editorial director Joy Peskin, publisher Allison Verost, and everyone at FSG/Macmillan. Finally, my heartfelt thanks to my tireless super-agent and champion, Jo Volpe, and all of the wonderful folks at New Leaf Media: Lindsay Howard, Jordan Hill, Jenniea Carter, Emily Berge, Pouya Shabazian, Katherine Curtis, Tracy Williams, Sarah Gerton, and Keifer Ludwig.
Like Miles, I have long had a conflicted relationship with the word hope. My own personal definition of hope, the one I’ve come to over the years, means refusing to give in to cynicism and nihilism, to believe in a kinder, fairer world and to invest in that vision through acts both large and small. I see committed resistance to our flawed world’s inhumanity, intolerance, and authoritarianism as just that—an act of profound love, a planting of acorns for future oaks.
May we “remain hopeful.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Libba Bray’s writing has been described as “compulsively readable,” often receiving starred reviews and Best-Book-of-the-Year accolades. Her novels have topped the New York Times, USA Today, Indie, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Her work includes the Gemma Doyle trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing); the Michael L. Printz Award–winning Going Bovine; Beauty Queens, an L.A. Times Book Prize finalist; and the Diviners series. She is originally from Texas but makes her home in New York City. Visit her online at libbabray.com, or sign up for email updates here.