Fifteen-year-old Jana’s Romani family leads a nomadic life, traveling and trading horses in Czechoslovakia. When her family relocates to Prague one step ahead of the Nazi invasion, Jana becomes a freedom fighter.
Joined by her Resistance contact Otto, and others, Jana must face danger and desperate choices as she learns that this fight will cost them more than they ever imagined. In this suspenseful and engaging coming-of-age story, Jana and her friends strive to find love and their place in the world—even as they fight the Nazi occupation of their country. Set in extraordinary times that echo current events, “Caravans in the Dark” is a fast-paced historical fiction novel examining the severity of the Roma holocaust while showcasing how people hold onto hope even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Caravans in the Dark is everything historical fiction ought to be. At once fascinating in its period detail, epic in scope, and impossibly rich, it not only brings the past to resplendent light, but also illuminates the foibles of our contemporary moment. On top of all this, it’s a novel fairly bursting with characters to fall in love with. What an accomplishment from a writer who can seemingly do it all.
—Peter Geye, author of The Ski Jumpers
By creating an unlikely heroine B.K. Oldre captures the centuries-old persecution and suffering of the Romani people that culminated in Porajmos, the genocide committed against the Roma during WWII. Jana encapsulates crucial elements of the recurring prejudice against the Roma, and at the same time illuminates a reality in which Roma cease to be nonhuman.
—Habiba Hadziavdic, author of Antigypsims and Film.
B.K. Oldre’s Caravans in the Dark captures a not-often-told World War II story—that of the persecution of the Romani people in Czechoslovakia. Deeply researched and tenderly rendered, the novel paints a portrait of a Romani family leaving their nomadic life to settle in Prague ahead of the Nazi invasion. Through its fifteen-year-old heroine, Jana, we confront her coming of age struggles and desires, set against the day-to-day darkness of war and the small acts of grace. Readers of historical fiction and those interested in WWII stories will find much to admire.
—Linda Kass, author of Tasa’s Song and A Ritchie Boy
“Overall, this historical novel has a compelling premise, tackling an underrepresented story of the Second World War. . . . Oldre’s impressive research shines in the descriptions of Romani life and traditions.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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