There have been a number of books lately that revolve around the Holocaust/concentration camps and they have, without exception, moved me immensely.
I imagined that I would feel the same about Mischling but it somehow just left me feeling a little cold.
I'm not really sure why. The subject matter is certainly harrowing enough - centred as it is around the notorious Dr Josef Mengele - but maybe it's because the abuses are almost secondary to the story, as the book concentrates on the relationships between the children being abused.
The main characters are twins Pearl and Stasha - both are subjected to various abuses - injections in the eye, boiling water in the ear - but when Pearl disappears during a concert they also lose each other and their unique "twin-ness".
The camp is liberated with neither knowing if the other has escaped alive. It's then that the real survival begins.
The book did prompt me to check out the real stories of Mengele's zoo - several real life abuses had been mentioned in the book - but it was this research that really hammered the full horror home and I think the book would have been more compelling had it been a more uncomfortable read.
I imagined that I would feel the same about Mischling but it somehow just left me feeling a little cold.
I'm not really sure why. The subject matter is certainly harrowing enough - centred as it is around the notorious Dr Josef Mengele - but maybe it's because the abuses are almost secondary to the story, as the book concentrates on the relationships between the children being abused.
The main characters are twins Pearl and Stasha - both are subjected to various abuses - injections in the eye, boiling water in the ear - but when Pearl disappears during a concert they also lose each other and their unique "twin-ness".
The camp is liberated with neither knowing if the other has escaped alive. It's then that the real survival begins.
The book did prompt me to check out the real stories of Mengele's zoo - several real life abuses had been mentioned in the book - but it was this research that really hammered the full horror home and I think the book would have been more compelling had it been a more uncomfortable read.