Fatherline

Following the success of her international bestseller Consent, Vanessa Springora's new book Patrimony is a kaleidoscopic work that weaves together personal narrative, family memoir and modern history. Following the death of her father, who passed away on the day that Consent was published, Vanessa Springora sets out on the trail of family legends and begins to question the significance of her last name. Illuminating both her father's life and her own through her discoveries, she offers a profound reflection on the relentless nature of genealogy and the devastating impact of what remains unspoken.
As she prepares to appear on a TV panel to talk about Consent, Vanessa is called by the police to identify the lifeless body of her father, whom she has not seen for ten years. A narcissistic and misanthropic man, he had ended his days in isolation and decline. While clearing out his apartment, she is horrified to discover two photos of her paternal grandfather wearing Nazi insignia, a discovery that makes her wonder whether the family story that she had always been told might be a lie.
So begins a quest to uncover the true identity of her Czech grandfather, whose surname she inherited, and to determine whether he could have collaborated in the atrocities of the Nazis. Through the tumultuous journey of a young man caught in the upheaval of history, the entire tragedy of the 20th century resurfaces, leaving its scars on subsequent generations.
Patrimony is a captivating book which explores unresolved family wounds, the weight of a heritage fraught with silence and secrets, and the fragile links between past and present.