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Before Yulek's father died in a concentration camp, he made Yulek swear that he would one day return home to Poland to see if anyone else in their family had survived the war. Two years later, seventeen-year-old Yulek finally makes his way home but finds everything horribly changed. Now, more than ever, Yulek realizes that he is completely alone. Setting out to build a new life, Yulek attempts to enter Palestine, as an illegal immigrant, along with a group of other young Jews. Among these is Theresa, who was saved from the Nazis by Catholic nuns and, like Yulek, is uncertain about her place in the post-war world. Together, in love, they strive to rediscover the joy of living. Meanwhile, a mysterious English woman strives, in her own way, to locate the long-lost nephew that she has spotted in a newspaper photo of Jewish refugees. Perhaps by finding him she she will also find some-long hidden part of herself. At once perceptive and heart-stoppingly suspenseful, The Lady with the Hat is a thoroughly moving story of sorrow and love, and of the complicated search for identity and companionship.
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