Firstly I just want to admit that this is the first book that I’ve ever read about the Holocaust. I’ve learnt about it at school, seen several movies concerning it and have quite a few novels on my ‘want to read’ list but this is the first that I’ve got on with reading. This is also only my second review and, considering the nature of this book, I’ve got to admit that I’m very nervous about writing it.
This book was amazing and I highly recommend reading it. Yes it’s very dark and harrowing at times but I believe that this was a story that needed to be told. Getting an inside perceptive on the horrors of the concentration camps was brutal but in many ways necessary. I think Lale’s, Gita’s and many others’s stories need to be told. They were both incredibly brave and strong to have survived what they did. I can’t even begin to imagine how they managed to endure so much. It’s very eye opening to have seen things from the perspective of somebody who was there and I think it’s amazing that Lale put himself at further risk to help others.
Before reading this book I knew that the concentration camps were horrid but some of the new things that I’ve learnt are, like what I already knew, truly atrocious. I never knew that it was prisoners who had to mark others like them, go through their belongings and in some cases even act as torturers. The different blocks that prisoners are sent to for various ‘reasons’ are horrifying and the ‘doctors’ are chilling. I feel as if I don’t know enough about some elements of this dark and despicable period of history but this definitely opened my eyes to it a bit more.
Surprisingly there is an underlying theme of hope throughout this book. Lale is determined to believe that he’ll survive, even in the darkest of circumstances. He shares his meagre rations with others and tries to help where he can. There are a few examples of others risking themselves to help too which warmed my heart. The scattered acts of humanity really stood out amongst such barbaric treatment. I also can’t believe that something as beautiful as love came from such a dark environment.
I was left with questions concerning several people at the end of this book but that is in no way a failing of the novel. As it was based on a true story I’m glad that it kept to the facts and didn’t make up false endings for the friends of Gita and Lale that I came to care for. Considering the vast numbers of people that were murdered in these camps and known only by their numbers it’s also not surprising that some people’s fates were unknown which, again, is a terrible fact.
I would definitely recommend reading this book to anyone, whether they’ve read books about the concentration camps before or not. Lale wanted his story to be told and he deserves to have his desire recognised. Besides which this was a truly good novel; it was hard at times, due to the atrocities within it, but entirely compelling and rather hard to put down.
This book was amazing and I highly recommend reading it. Yes it’s very dark and harrowing at times but I believe that this was a story that needed to be told. Getting an inside perceptive on the horrors of the concentration camps was brutal but in many ways necessary. I think Lale’s, Gita’s and many others’s stories need to be told. They were both incredibly brave and strong to have survived what they did. I can’t even begin to imagine how they managed to endure so much. It’s very eye opening to have seen things from the perspective of somebody who was there and I think it’s amazing that Lale put himself at further risk to help others.
Before reading this book I knew that the concentration camps were horrid but some of the new things that I’ve learnt are, like what I already knew, truly atrocious. I never knew that it was prisoners who had to mark others like them, go through their belongings and in some cases even act as torturers. The different blocks that prisoners are sent to for various ‘reasons’ are horrifying and the ‘doctors’ are chilling. I feel as if I don’t know enough about some elements of this dark and despicable period of history but this definitely opened my eyes to it a bit more.
Surprisingly there is an underlying theme of hope throughout this book. Lale is determined to believe that he’ll survive, even in the darkest of circumstances. He shares his meagre rations with others and tries to help where he can. There are a few examples of others risking themselves to help too which warmed my heart. The scattered acts of humanity really stood out amongst such barbaric treatment. I also can’t believe that something as beautiful as love came from such a dark environment.
I was left with questions concerning several people at the end of this book but that is in no way a failing of the novel. As it was based on a true story I’m glad that it kept to the facts and didn’t make up false endings for the friends of Gita and Lale that I came to care for. Considering the vast numbers of people that were murdered in these camps and known only by their numbers it’s also not surprising that some people’s fates were unknown which, again, is a terrible fact.
I would definitely recommend reading this book to anyone, whether they’ve read books about the concentration camps before or not. Lale wanted his story to be told and he deserves to have his desire recognised. Besides which this was a truly good novel; it was hard at times, due to the atrocities within it, but entirely compelling and rather hard to put down.