Probably aimed at the young adult market, but a fascinating and gripping story for all, The Red Ribbon constantly wrong foots the reader making them look at history in a whole new way. The setting is based on the real life sewing workshop in the concentration camp Auschwitz, which provided a few with the the opportunity to avoid the gas chambers for a while. Understanding the need to succeed in every task in order to survive, does Ella let her pride in achievement and absorption in something like a congenial activity cross over into collaboration? Is it possible to see the humanity in your enemy while still condemning their actions and attitudes?
The book itself is tactile and gorgeous, a pleasure to handle and own; sewing notions and the red ribbon are scattered over the pages, and the chapters are named for the colours so lacking in the grim surroundings of the camp, where starving prisoners had even eaten the grass. I was completely gripped by the story, reading through the night to complete it at one sitting, since when I've read it another twice, taking my time and savouring the style and the detail.
The book itself is tactile and gorgeous, a pleasure to handle and own; sewing notions and the red ribbon are scattered over the pages, and the chapters are named for the colours so lacking in the grim surroundings of the camp, where starving prisoners had even eaten the grass. I was completely gripped by the story, reading through the night to complete it at one sitting, since when I've read it another twice, taking my time and savouring the style and the detail.