The Cut Out Girl

Astonishing. Van Es has created a masterpiece of history and memoir, concluding on a note of reconciliation, hope and great love * Evening Standard *An extraordinary, harrowing story of loss, survival and love * Guardian *Deeply moving, this is a remarkable memoir * Sunday Times *Powerful … extraordinary * Irish Times *Brought to life with family photographs and diary entries that add further impact to Lien’s harrowing memories and testimony - this deeply affecting and fascinating story is guaranteed to haunt you * Sunday Mirror *Remarkable - the story of one traumatic childhood, deeply moving, and told with great dexterity, allowing the wisdoms of today to run parallel with the absorbing narrative of wartime events * Penelope Lively *Compassionate and thoughtfully rendered, the book is both a memorable portrait of a remarkable woman and a testament to the healing power of understanding. A complex and uplifting tale * Kirkus *A nuanced, moving, and unusual “hidden child” account * Publishers Weekly *Superb. This is a necessary book - painful, harrowing, tragic, but also uplifting * The Times Book of the Week *Fascinating, beautifully written. Van Es carefully salvages Lien’s story and creates a deeply moving and complex book about war, atrocity and human suffering * The Oldie *

Bart van Es was born in the Netherlands and is bilingual in English and Dutch. He now lives with his family in England. He is a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College.