On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: THE AMBER CRANE by Malve von Hassell #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @MvonHassell @maryanneyarde

 

Chafing at the rules of the amber guild, Peter, an apprentice during the waning years of the Thirty Years’ War, finds and keeps a forbidden piece of amber, despite the risk of severe penalties should his secret be discovered.

Little does he know that this amber has hidden powers, transporting him into a future far beyond anything he could imagine. In dreamlike encounters, Peter witnesses the ravages of the final months of World War II in and around his home. He becomes embroiled in the troubles faced by Lioba, a girl he meets who seeks to escape from the oncoming Russian army.

Peter struggles with the consequences of his actions, endangering his family, his amber master’s reputation, and his own future. How much is Peter prepared to sacrifice to right his wrongs?

What inspired you to start writing?

I always enjoyed writing and hoped that writing would be a component of my future work. Fortunately, this turned out to be the case. I have worked as an academic where I had to write up the results of my research and as a translator where I had to grapple with the language of others and turn it into a credible product without losing the original voice and meaning. Writing fiction presents different challenges, but in some respects the process is very much the same. I always enjoyed historical fiction; in fact, I acquired some of my knowledge of history through reading. In my own work, I try to convey some of the richness and excitement of history. I also think that this form of writing provides a vehicle for representing certain periods and places in history that are underrepresented and deserve a retelling. 

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

The hardest part was trying not to go overboard with historical details. History is never straightforward, and this is true especially of the two time periods in question. It was hard not drown in a vast amount of history and to resist the temptation of conveying all the complexities of events. I wanted to let the story speak for itself, while offering just enough context, so readers not familiar with the setting and the time would have enough to go on with.

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

My protagonist Peter is an apprentice to a master in the amber guild. Master Nowak was inspired by a friend of our family whom I had known since my childhood and whom I loved. I tried to depict Master Nowak as a man who is not easily perturbed, calm, kind, and grave, albeit with a sense of humour. He suffered grievous losses in his life, but was not bitter as a result, instead remained steadfast, generous, and compassionate.    

If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it? 

What a lovely question. I quite enjoy thinking about this. For the main roles, I would pick Jacob Tremblay, Sophia Lillis, and Jena Malone, and Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson as supporting characters.

What do you hope your readers take away from this book?

There are three things I hope readers will take away from my book. One is an appreciation for the richness and allure of the history of amber, in terms of its acquisition, production, and trade, and with its colourful legends. The second is an appreciation for the astounding resilience of human beings living through extraordinary times. And I also wanted to share a little bit of the history of this region with readers in light of the fact that since 1945 so much of that history is no longer tethered to physical manifestations and all the names have been changed. 

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Malve von Hassell 

Malve von Hassell is a freelance writer, researcher, and translator. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the New School for Social Research. Working as an independent scholar, she published The Struggle for Eden: Community Gardens in New York City (Bergin & Garvey 2002) and Homesteading in New York City 1978-1993: The Divided Heart of Loisaida (Bergin & Garvey 1996). She has also edited her grandfather Ulrich von Hassell's memoirs written in prison in 1944, Der Kreis schließt sich - Aufzeichnungen aus der Haft 1944 (Propylaen Verlag 1994). She has taught at Queens College, Baruch College, Pace University, and Suffolk County Community College, while continuing her work as a translator and writer. She has self-published two children’s picture books, Letters from the Tooth Fairy (2012/2020) and Turtle Crossing (2021), and her translation and annotation of a German children’s classic by Tamara Ramsay, Rennefarre: Dott’s Wonderful Travels and Adventures (Two Harbors Press, 2012). The Falconer’s Apprentice (namelos, 2015) was her first historical fiction novel for young adults. She has published Alina: A Song for the Telling (BHC Press, 2020), set in Jerusalem in the time of the crusades, and The Amber Crane (Odyssey Books, 2021), set in Germany in 1645 and 1945. She has completed a biographical work about a woman coming of age in Nazi Germany and is working on a historical fiction trilogy featuring Adela of Normandy.

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