Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say: A WWII Historical Fiction Novel – A NYT Bestseller Romance Drama of Polish Courage

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Last updated Nov 4, 2026 at 2:32am
Kelly Rimmer

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The New York Times bestseller—for fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See! From the bestselling author of Before I Let You Go, and the The Warsaw Orphan, Kelly Rimmer’s powerful WWII novel follows a woman’s urgent search for answers to a family mystery that uncovers truths about herself that she never expected.
In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.
Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate.
Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.
Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.
Don’t miss Kelly Rimmer’s newest novel, The Story Keeper, an evocative story about a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery!
For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for:The Things We Cannot Say Deluxe Hardcover Edition
Before I Let You Go
Truths I Never Told You
The Warsaw Orphan
The German Wife
The Paris Agent
The Story Keeper
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Editor's Take

Reviews for The Things We Cannot Say are strongly positive overall. Goodreads reviewers describe it as deeply emotional, powerful historical fiction with a compelling dual-timeline structure and strong themes of survival, hope, and Polish WWII history. Some readers praise the family relationships and emotional impact, while a smaller number note that parts of the story feel overly sentimental or could have used tighter editing. Review blogs echo the same split: many call it a page-turner and recommend it for historical fiction and book clubs, while a few mention pacing or character choices as drawbacks.

On Reddit/forum-style discussion and other review pages, readers often highlight the book’s portrayal of occupied Poland, the Holocaust backdrop, and the intergenerational mystery at the center of the plot. Amazon reviewers are also referenced as very positive in one review blog, with the book described as memorable, engaging, and emotional.

For YouTube, search results surfaced real videos directly about the book, including a Kelly Rimmer author video and multiple book discussion/audiobook uploads. The most clearly relevant real YouTube review-style result was a video titled The Things We Cannot Say - By: Kelly Rimmer, and another relevant result was The Things We Cannot Say. These appear to be about the specific title, but only actual watch URLs were used as the basis for IDs.

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Specifications

Genre Fiction
Illustrated No

Product Details

Publisher Graydon House
Publication date March 19, 2019
Edition Original
Language English
Print length 432 pages
ISBN-10 1525823566
ISBN-13 978-1525823565
Item Weight 2.31 pounds
Dimensions 5.94 x 1.14 x 8.93 inches
Best Sellers Rank #2,438 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Jewish Literature & Fiction #7 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books) #11 in Multigenerational Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (64,031)

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