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what_katie_read_in_ca's review
5.0
I'm so thankful I was able to read an e-galley of this amazing memoir written between 1943-44. Francoise Frenkel's story is fascinating and I think everyone interested in what it was like to be Jewish and living in Europe during the war should read this. What is utterly astounding is that this was written so soon after the events it describes so there is an authenticity here that can be rare to find in other books about the period. As the publication date nears, I will share a lengthier and more detailed review but I am very lucky to have encountered this memoir and will be thinking about it for a long time, will re-read it, and will also recommend it to the educators I teach in my Holocaust Literature course!
gamusinaverde's review against another edition
L'angoixa i la incertesa llegida en primera persona, et fa perdre i retrobar la fe en la humanitat en moltes ocasions. Tan de bo haver pogut visitar La Maison du Livre. Em segueix encuriosint la traducció del títol.
chickflix's review
2.0
I read this for a book club. It was fine. I always feel bad rating memoirs poorly, especially when they deal with serious subject matter, but this was pretty forgettable for me. There's nothing wrong with it but I just think there are better memoirs out there.
I think it's also worth noting that this has very little to do with a bookshop. This isn't a book about books, which I thought it might be when I went into it. The author had started a bookshop when she had to go into hiding. Most of the book takes place after that.
I think it's also worth noting that this has very little to do with a bookshop. This isn't a book about books, which I thought it might be when I went into it. The author had started a bookshop when she had to go into hiding. Most of the book takes place after that.
tamaranr's review
4.0
This book is a translation of memoir that was published in 1945 after World War II. The memoirist ran from the Nazis after owning a French bookshop in Berlin. She escaped to France, and the Nazis followed. She is also a Jew. As the Nazis close in, Frenkel must go into hiding. She is working her way across the country to Switzerland when she is arrested.
This memoir was very readable. It was told in a very straight forward, not overly romanticized way. This is great for readability, but it makes it difficult to truly feel the anxiety and apprehension that she must have felt. She seems to be telling her story as quickly as possible to avoid the pain that the retelling must conjure in her.
It did leave the reader with a sense of hope in the goodness of people, even in the most trying of circumstances. Frenkel was just very lucky, and the help she had along the way made that luck possible.
The translation was fantastic. It never felt awkward. The prose was almost lyrical and added to the readability.
This memoir was very readable. It was told in a very straight forward, not overly romanticized way. This is great for readability, but it makes it difficult to truly feel the anxiety and apprehension that she must have felt. She seems to be telling her story as quickly as possible to avoid the pain that the retelling must conjure in her.
It did leave the reader with a sense of hope in the goodness of people, even in the most trying of circumstances. Frenkel was just very lucky, and the help she had along the way made that luck possible.
The translation was fantastic. It never felt awkward. The prose was almost lyrical and added to the readability.