Meet the Characters in The Enemy’s Wife!
Zofia Kowalski
You last met my character Zofia in Last Train to Freedom, where she was a refugee fleeing the Nazis. On that journey she met Haru, a Japanese envoy to Russia, and they are immediately flung into a whirlwind romance, and by the time this book starts, they are married. Their happiness is to be short-lived. When Haru is conscripted into the Japanese army, Zofia is evacuated by the Japanese as a foreign national. Now she is in Shanghai – along with the other Jewish refugees who had made it out of Russia. She does not know if she will ever see her husband again.
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| Zofia, via Pexels |
Zofia is a character that has had to endure many shifts of territory, and has had nowhere to call home for all the war years. To survive, she has had to draw on all her resources. She is now without family or friends in yet another unfamiliar place. As usual, she has managed to find work as a translator, and a place to live, albeit shared with many others. Zofia speaks several languages and works as a translator and coach for Daisy and Jim, the children of Theodore Carter, a rich American.
When the Japanese invade Shanghai, she seeks shelter for herself, and her friend Hilly, with her American employer, a decision that will change her life.
Hildegard (Hilly)
Hilly is a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl who left Austria after the Nazi atrocities of Kristallnacht and has ended up like flotsam in Shanghai, with no relatives and no friends. Zofia’s heart melts at her predicament and she takes Hilly under her wing, sensing there is something broken in Hilly, and that she has endured tragedy in her past. This draws the two together. Zofia feels sorry for this young woman abandoned by everyone and left alone in a strange country. Hilly meanwhile accepts without question that Zofia will look after her, and that the two are inseparable.
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| Hilly, via Pexels |
Hilly is on the cusp of womanhood, and finds it hard to navigate relationships, as she is still suffering from trauma. At the same time, she has an innate love of anything glamorous and is attracted by the high life that Shanghai has to offer. Her blonde hair and blue eyes attract attention in a city like Shanghai. Zofia’s self-appointed task is to keep Hilly safe from the Japanese soldiers looking to prey on a girl like Hilly.
Theodore Carter (Theo)
Theo is an American businessman who runs his own shipping company that he has built from the ground up. Having endured a hard childhood in the dustbowl, he is determined his children should have everything that was denied to him as a child. However, his wife and two children are evacuated as soon as the Japanese invasion becomes likely.
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| Theo, via Pexels |
Thero has a strong sense of duty and fairness, which is severely tested when the Japanese threaten everything he holds dear. Once the takeover of the city is complete, Theo finds himself on the wrong side of the Japanese law, and ends up in prison and then in a camp. Whilst there, he discovers the true meaning of endurance and of friendship, and how much courage it takes to stand up against the enemy.
Haru Kimura
Zofia’s husband Haru is an intellectual. He is widely read and enjoys western culture such as ballet, and Russian literature such as Dostoevsky. When he is conscripted into the Japanese army, he must embrace the idea of ‘Bushido’ the Samurai warrior code that means a Japanese soldier must never surrender. To comply with this, the soldier recruits are beaten into submission, so they will accept that if victory does not come, then to die for their country is the only option.
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| Haru, via Pexels |
As his journey continues, Haru transforms into one of Japan’s elite soldiers. But has he lost all humanity, and can the old Haru ever be brought back to life?
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