Sylvie Rosenberg was once the aristocratic daughter of a prominent Dutch art dealer, until the Nazi invasion of Holland changed everything. Forced to part with his astonishing collection of masterpieces, her father managed to trade a Rembrandt for the lives of twenty-five family members, including Sylvie. Many years later, in America, Sylvie is on a path of self-destruction, still equating love with all the "things" that were taken away from her. Pocketing small items at first, eventually her hopelessness leads to a monumental betrayal, dismantling the lives of her son, Michael, a writer and Vietnam vet still struggling with the consequences of war, and his schoolteacher wife, Angela, as they struggle to fill their own void after failed attempts to conceive a child. Desperate to win back their love, Sylvie returns to her homeland to face old ghosts and the Dutch judicial system, seeking restitution of her family's masterpieces. But the battle proves far more difficult than she imagined…
Janet Berg's work has been featured in Dan's Papers, The East Hampton Star, The Independent, The Montauk Quarterly, Newsday, The Southamtpon Press, and The Post & Courier, Charleston, S.C., and was interviewed on WHTV Television. She has two novels, titled Rembrandt's Shadow (Simon and Schuster) and Restitution, both loosely based on stunning true life events of her husband's family during the Holocaust. Sylvie Rosenberg, the privileged daughter of a renowned Jewish art dealer in Holland, spends the first fifteen years of her childhood without ever knowing her father’s love, until the day that he trades his beloved Rembrandt to the Nazis in exchange for her life. The real story behind the novel appeared in The New York Times article, "Heirs Make Huge Claim Over Dutch Art Trade". Over 70 years later, and the family still awaits the return of nearly 200 works of art stolen from the Grandfather's art gallery collection by the Nazis.
"...A moving story well-told of a family's struggle to survive; a story of hope, redemption, family values, forgiveness and love--a poignant novel by a talented writer...it doesn't get any better than this.” -Fern Michaels, #1 New York Times Best Selling Author
"An affecting depiction of the horrors of the Dutch Holocaust and the effects of family secrets that can linger for generations."-Publishers Weekly
Bestselling Author
Date: Friday, November 4th
Time: 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: Litchfield Books- 11421 Ocean Hwy Unit D, Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Author Book Talk/Signing by Janet Lee Berg
Appetizers
Cooking Demo by Chef Bobby Shealy
Themed Refreshment