Ernesto is somewhat inept, naïve and slow on the uptake, and you are going to love him. A musician in a Cuban nightclub, he flees his...

By the autumn of 1941 Jews could not legally leave Germany. So why didn’t the Klemperers flee while they could? Victor’s elder brother, Georg, was living in the United States. They had the possibility of sponsorship and support. The answer to that question lies within the pages of the diaries.

Yet you will feel for them. You will know their frustration, almost desperation, their dislocation and their failure as they lead you through experiences you never had.