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bjkatcher's review against another edition
4.0
This book just goes to show you how much your life can change in the blink of an eye. Most of this book was about her relationship with her boyfriend until one day she was shot by the Gestapo. And it could change like that for any of us.
kiperoo's review against another edition
Heartbreaking. What Renia might have become had she survived ...
55_sallymander's review against another edition
5.0
Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal by Renia Spiegel; With Her Sister, Elizabeth Bellak and With Writer Sarah Durand
Renia started a diary for herself, in Poland, so she would have a nonjudgmental friend who could console her when she was down January 31, 1939.
Renia shares her hopes and dreams, poetry and songs-some that she made up and others that spoke to her. She hangs out with her friends. She misses her sister-who is a start and is gone a lot. She misses her mama-who lives in a different part of the country.
She gets a boyfriend Zygmunt. He survived and Renia did not. She had given Zygu (a nickname she called him by) her journal. Her journal is interesting, she lives is Przemysl, Poland with her grandparents, who live in the apartment above their stationary shop. Her mother is mostly in Warsaw and their father lives out on their country estate, farming and keeping people working for him.
Renia gets together with her friends regularly, there are 6 or 8 guys and girls that hang out together, regularly.
Her diary is interesting, but seems to stay in one place. There was an expectation, that this was a diary from someone who lived and died during the Holocaust, or who survived. It wasn't until the Epilogue by her sister Elizabeth that explained a lot of things. The poetry and songs aren't my thing, but for the right person, it would be great.
Renia was murdered by the Nazis in 1942.
I received a complimentary copy from Goodreads and St. Martin's Press with no obligation to review.
Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal by Renia Spiegel; With Her Sister, Elizabeth Bellak and With Writer Sarah Durand
Renia started a diary for herself, in Poland, so she would have a nonjudgmental friend who could console her when she was down January 31, 1939.
Renia shares her hopes and dreams, poetry and songs-some that she made up and others that spoke to her. She hangs out with her friends. She misses her sister-who is a start and is gone a lot. She misses her mama-who lives in a different part of the country.
She gets a boyfriend Zygmunt. He survived and Renia did not. She had given Zygu (a nickname she called him by) her journal. Her journal is interesting, she lives is Przemysl, Poland with her grandparents, who live in the apartment above their stationary shop. Her mother is mostly in Warsaw and their father lives out on their country estate, farming and keeping people working for him.
Renia gets together with her friends regularly, there are 6 or 8 guys and girls that hang out together, regularly.
Her diary is interesting, but seems to stay in one place. There was an expectation, that this was a diary from someone who lived and died during the Holocaust, or who survived. It wasn't until the Epilogue by her sister Elizabeth that explained a lot of things. The poetry and songs aren't my thing, but for the right person, it would be great.
Renia was murdered by the Nazis in 1942.
I received a complimentary copy from Goodreads and St. Martin's Press with no obligation to review.
Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal by Renia Spiegel; With Her Sister, Elizabeth Bellak and With Writer Sarah Durand
bananafreckles's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Read for book club at the library. It was good to have another first-person perspective of her experiences during the Holocaust in Poland, but it was just so heartbreaking reading her diary entries full of optimism, hope, and longing knowing she wouldn't survive the war. It was also cool to see her grow as a poet. However, I had a lot of questions about the translation and the translators' choices, especially when it came to her poems. I was also disappointed that even though there were several references to notes and pictures being pasted into the diary, they weren't reproduced in the book, nor were there any photos of the actual diary pages.
checole's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The reason I am giving this book five stars is because it’s a diary, somebody’s deep secrets. Renia’s sister Elizabeth was kind enough to publish her sister’s diary, even though it was very hard for her.
About the book, it’s about Renia’s teenage life. She talks about her friends, her poems she wrote, how she misses her mom dearly, her faith in God, the boys she liked, and her boyfriend. She doesn’t really talk about the war until more then halfway through the book, even then she doesn’t say much about it until more towards the end. The part I enjoyed the most is the end where Elizabeth writes her notes, there she clarifies stuff about her family, what she remembers, about Renia’s boyfriend and friends, information about the war, talks about stuff before/during/after the war, and her thought process. I feel for Elizabeth and can’t imagine everything she went through, she was very brave about publishing her older sister’s diary and I’m glad she wanted her sister’s voice to be heard. Overall it was a good read.
About the book, it’s about Renia’s teenage life. She talks about her friends, her poems she wrote, how she misses her mom dearly, her faith in God, the boys she liked, and her boyfriend. She doesn’t really talk about the war until more then halfway through the book, even then she doesn’t say much about it until more towards the end. The part I enjoyed the most is the end where Elizabeth writes her notes, there she clarifies stuff about her family, what she remembers, about Renia’s boyfriend and friends, information about the war, talks about stuff before/during/after the war, and her thought process. I feel for Elizabeth and can’t imagine everything she went through, she was very brave about publishing her older sister’s diary and I’m glad she wanted her sister’s voice to be heard. Overall it was a good read.
sissiya's review against another edition
3.0
Abans de començar el llibre vaig llegir algunes ressenyes i totes deien el mateix: és una mica difícil qualificar-lo.
Se'm fa estrany pensar quina opinió tinc sobre un diari personal perquè al cap i a la fi no és un text que l'autor hagués pensat publicar.
He de dir que m'he saltat bastantes parts de l'obra. En el diari, la major part de l'estona, l'autora parla de la seva vida d'adolescent i la majoria d'entrades són sobre els seus amics i el seu xicot (totalment comprensible, òbviament).
Per mi, les entrades més interessants i doloroses de llegir han sigut les del final. És molt dur veure com la Renia no perdia l'esperança de sobreviure. No és la primera vegada que tinc aquesta experiència lectora (les dues altres han sigut amb els diaris d'Anne Frank i sobretot amb el d'Eva Heyman) però és complicat acostumar-se a aquesta sensació d'impotència.
Tot i que d'entrada l'obra no és el típic diari que un llegeix per saber més sobre els temps de l'Holocaust (bàsicament perquè l'autora descrivia més la seva vida social que no pas el context bèl·lic en el que passava), és una lectura molt recomanable i necessària.
Se'm fa estrany pensar quina opinió tinc sobre un diari personal perquè al cap i a la fi no és un text que l'autor hagués pensat publicar.
He de dir que m'he saltat bastantes parts de l'obra. En el diari, la major part de l'estona, l'autora parla de la seva vida d'adolescent i la majoria d'entrades són sobre els seus amics i el seu xicot (totalment comprensible, òbviament).
Per mi, les entrades més interessants i doloroses de llegir han sigut les del final. És molt dur veure com la Renia no perdia l'esperança de sobreviure. No és la primera vegada que tinc aquesta experiència lectora (les dues altres han sigut amb els diaris d'Anne Frank i sobretot amb el d'Eva Heyman) però és complicat acostumar-se a aquesta sensació d'impotència.
Tot i que d'entrada l'obra no és el típic diari que un llegeix per saber més sobre els temps de l'Holocaust (bàsicament perquè l'autora descrivia més la seva vida social que no pas el context bèl·lic en el que passava), és una lectura molt recomanable i necessària.
bkish's review against another edition
4.0
I dont like what some of the reviewers said herE..
So I think my review will matter to some people. To read and criticize this diary written by a girl in Poland in the 40s without knowing and valuing the context is almost kin to criminal.
This is something very unique very special.
Renia who wrote her diary in polish of course (translated by her niece very recently) was 16 to 18 when she wrote this about herself her boyfriend her friends her mother her sister and what was happening to the Jews during the German and the Russian occupation. Renia was a jewish girl and she was in a public school with young people who were and were not jewish. Renia was killed shot by the nazis when she was age 18.
The development of this diary is what is also important. She gave her Diary to her boyfriend and they loved each other - Zygmunt and he lived and came to US (also he became MD) and gave it to Renia sister Ariana who became Elizabeth in USA. It was her daughter Alexandra who translated the Diary and it has recently been available for us to read.
... to be continued...