Finding Home

Hungary, 1945

By: Dean Cycon

Narrated by: Xe Sands

For nine months in Auschwitz, eighteen-year-old Eva Fleiss clung to sanity by playing piano on imaginary keyboards. After liberation, Eva and the five remaining Jews of Laszlo, Hungary, journey home, seeking to restart their lives. Yet the town that deported them is not ready to embrace their return. Their former neighbors and friends resist relinquishing their newfound status and property, and they struggle with their roles as perpetrators, enablers, and bystanders during the Holocaust.

Longing for connection to her old life, Eva agrees to clean her former home, now the mayor's home, in return for practice time on her piano. As her profound experiences allow her to access music at a depth she didn't know existed, Eva's performances begin to affect those around her-with unexpected consequences.

©2023 dean cycon (P)2023 dean cycon

Critic reviews

"Historically and dramatically compelling, Cycon's multi-layered narrative unspools the under-reported story of endemic post-war antisemitism... A haunting, emotionally challenging read, with frightening contemporary relevance." — Kirkus Reviews

A MUST READ What a perfect representation of historical fiction. Cycon handled this dark piece of our world's history with such grace and tact it made the emotional rollercoaster he put on just jarring enough to shock; intense enough to envelope and consume; and perfectly balanced... A beautiful piece and experience I wish I could relive all over again. - Reedsy Discovery