The novel alludes to the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes through ubiquitous mentions of military propaganda and anti-Jewish rhetoric the shame that Max expresses before he lapses into complete catatonia and the Jewish families’ heirlooms that Etta’s best friend, Ilse, stores in her cellar for “when they come back,” though, privately, each woman knows their neighbors are unlikely to return. Annette Binder imagines the Hubers’ lives through a difficult winter and ultimately through the destruction of the city of Würzburg in March 1945, a few weeks shy of Germany’s surrender to Allied forces.
In her debut novel, The Vanishing Sky, drawn from her own family’s experiences during World War II, L.
Miles away, the Hubers’ bookish younger son, Georg - who is even less suited for the physical demands of military life than a typical 15-year-old - falls in love with another boy at the Hitler School and dreams of deserting his post, two crimes punishable by death.
Meanwhile, Etta’s husband, Josef - haunted by an injury that cut his own wartime service short decades ago and ashamed that the creeping loss of his faculties cost him his teaching job and prevents him from fighting for the fatherland now - seems to resent Max more each day. In the small town of Heidenfeld, Germany, Etta Huber welcomes her elder son, Max, home from the frontlines of World War II with elation that quickly gives way to anxiety as Max’s mental health deteriorates.
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