MATERIAL FOR MEDIA

In 1939, the young and dispossessed Kohut family escapes from Nazi-occupied Prague. They survive betrayal, bad luck and violence. With courage and guile on their perilous route to France, they deal with unforeseen circumstances and a cast of characters, by turns endearing, unsavory or sinister.

In France, Willy Kohut, the young father, musician and fabric merchant, volunteers as a Czech soldier to gain revenge on the Germans for imprisoning him, humiliating his beautiful wife Sophie and ruining the good life they once had. Sophie, fed-up and exhausted by their dangerous journey does her best to care for their little boy Pavel and accept the family’s endless separations. She yearns for safety. In England, Sophie finds confidence in herself and gains a measure of independence from the straitjacket of her marriage. With the London Blitz at its height, three year-old Pavel adapts as he must when he is sent to live on an English farm with other children. From that moment on, the lives of each family member lead in different and often unexpected directions.

FIRST NOVEL OF THE KOHUT TRILOGY: THE DRAGONTAIL BUTTONHOLE … the spellbinding tale of the Kohut Family’s escape from the Gestapo, and their nerve-wracking flight through Germany and France. 2016. Amazon 5 star reviews

SECOND NOVEL OF THE KOHUT TRILOGY: CAFÉ BUDAPEST …penniless in Paris, Willy Kohut signs up with the Czech/French Army but when the Germans invade France, the family sails with thousands of other soldiers and refugees for Britain … Kirkus Review. One of the top 100 Indie books of 2018. 2019 Nancy Perl Award for Historical Fiction

THIRD NOVEL OF THE KOHUT TRILOGY: PAVEL’S WAR … arriving in London, the family faces more crises: the Blitz, the bombing their apartment and more separations. Pavel is sent away to a farm with other children. Sophie finds work, then starts her own café. The marriage begins to disintegrate … Kirkus Review. Curtis continues to artfully braid literary poignancy with potent historical witness in this achingly realistic tale. A heartbreakingly beautiful drama about the wages of survival.

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL