You Can't See the Elephants

Lonely thirteen-year-old Mascha meets siblings Julia and Max at a playground. When Mascha witnesses the siblings' father physically abusing Max, she takes action: she lures Julia and Max to an abandoned house and locks them in. Has she solved the problem or made it worse? While the translation from the German occasionally feels stilted, this debut is a grim, important look at the realities of child abuse.

Every summer, lonely, Leonard Cohen--listening thirteen-year-old Mascha visits her grandparents while her father grieves the loss of her mother. Although she usually spends time interacting with her elderly neighbors, this year Mascha meets peculiar siblings Julia and Max at a playground. Seven-year-old Max frequently talks to an imaginary friend, while nine-year-old Julia sometimes stares off into space, tuning out the world. When massive bruises appear on Julia's torso and Mascha witnesses the siblings' father physically abusing Max, Mascha decides she must take action. Her grandparents and the rest of the neighborhood choose to ignore what is happening, and the police do not believe her; "in this neighborhood such a thing couldn't happen" has become the mantra of their small town. Even Julia denies the abuse: "Daddy doesn't do anything to us, does he, Max?" Desperate to save them, Mascha lures Julia and Max to an abandoned house and locks them in. Has she solved the problem or made it worse? While the translation occasionally feels stilted and the adults border on caricature, Kreller's debut novel is a grim and important look at the realities of child abuse and the ways in which even those who desire to help can be drawn into the cycle of harm. kazia berkley-cramer