Sigrid Laube Der unterbrochene Ton (The Broken Sound) Verlag Jungbrunnen, August 2001. 288pp. ISBN 3-7026-5736-3 Clara is celebrating her twelfth birthday when this subtle, poignant, intelligent children's novel chronologically begins. She is a member of a well-to-do, very closely-knit Viennese family, father, mother, three brothers and Pepi, who is more than just a housekeeper: she is the good spirit of the Loewen household. But the Anschluss is looming. Marching songs, raids, swastika-encrusted banners, public meetings and anti-Jewish slogans - all prelude the 'dark clouds' from Germany. But Clara, so far, has been totally unaware of her family background, in so far as it will be affected by these events. Now she must learn them. News of suicides, hasty departures from Austria, expulsions from schools and attacks on local Jewish shops reach the family. Clara's father receives threatening phone calls, his own brother-in-law breaks off their friendship, SS men appear at the house. Husband and wife decide on a 'paper' divorce to safeguard the children. Clara finds consolation in her favourite sport, fencing. Then one day, returning from a memorable weekend with friends of the family in the mountains, she discovers her father has gone. Now Pepi, the good spirit, becomes the mainstay of the family's life, and after the war it is mainly due to her powers of persuasion that Clara decides to accept an American scholarship and to achieve, she hopes, a reunion with her father. All the characters in this book, which is based on a true story, come sensitively to life. Clara, though brought up in affluence, is not at all spoilt. She has an innocence and naturalness that are totally engaging. Her father, a professor forced to quit his university job, is dignified yet warm-hearted. Mother is reserved and artistic - her piano- playing fills the house and the book. The story-telling alternates between stream of consciousness, interior monologue, diary entries, flashbacks and general narrative. The language is rich, the political and family aspects of the tale well-balanced. Teachers as well as young readers should be given the chance to take a look at this one.