Joseph Peretz

The Collaborator: a Novel Joseph Peretz

Set during the darkest times in modern history, The Collaborator tells the story of multiple generations struggling within the complexities and conspiracies of not one, but two world wars. Joseph Peretz uses his personal experiences as a Belgian Holocaust survivor to paint a fascinating view of Antwerp, Belgium, in the first half of the twentieth century. Young and unwed, Sarah Kohen is horrified by the news of her pregnancy. She flees her shame not long after giving birth, leaving her son Albert to be raised by the Molls, a Christian family in Belgium. When Albert grows to maturity, he changes his last name to Komen to disguise his Jewish heritage. He begins working for the Luftwaffe during World War II while secretly contributing to the Resistance efforts led by his foster brother, Louis. The Collaborator unfolds as Peretz brilliantly weaves the real lives of historical people and places into a story of friends and family trapped by bigotry, greed, and betrayal. He draws a portrait of the journey each character must undertake to survive the horror of the Nazi war machine. In its shocking conclusion, The Collaborator sheds a brilliant light on the harsh realities only found in the aftermath of major war.