Makeshift

A fascinating and long-neglected novel about the experiences of a German Jewish woman from the end of the First World War to the mid-1930s, her growing awareness of the rise of Nazism and her search for a home as a refugee. The story of the struggle to establish an identity in an unstable and intolerant world, told in an unforgettable voice. Makeshift traces the story of Charlotte Herz, a German Jewish woman, from the end of the First World War and the time of the Weimar Republic to the rise of Nazism and Hitler’s takeover as Reichs Chancellor. Campion details Charlotte’s struggle to establish her identity in the midst of increasing anti-Semitism and violence against Jews. Finally, driven into exile, she roams from England to South Africa and Australia before settling, uneasily, in New Zealand. Charlotte’s stubborn, irascible outlook makes her a caustic and often bitingly funny observer and her unique voice becomes an irresistible narrative voice. A unique account of the experience of exile that makes for an unforgettable novel.