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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
The focus on this work is the horrific brutality that took place under Mengele in the concentration camp of Auschwitz during the holocaust brought about with Hitler's vision of a superior Aryan race and the means of achieving it. The majority of victims used by Mengele for his experiments were multiples especially twins which are featured in this story. The book is narrated between twin girls, Pearl and Stasha, each has her story to tell and it's heart breaking. As the story evolves the voices of the twins reach out to the reader, desperate in seeking solace and an end to the torture they are made to endure. I thought it was well written and researched. Although it is a Historical Fiction, it does mirror the true events that took place and is a relevant story. Until all forms of genocide are abolished in our world, stories like this remind us that this should never happen again and is unacceptable.
I'm so thankful that this book has a happy ending, because it is hard-going up until that point. It perfectly highlights the horrors of Auschwitz, and following the story of twins Stasha and Pearl makes it all the more terrifying.
Before starting this book I had actually just finished reading 'The Red Ribbon' by Lucy Adlington, which is another holocaust story, also set at Auschwitz, and it was interesting (if interesting is the right word) to read about the same time period from a slightly different point of view. Equally heartbreaking, but both with a hopeful ending.
This novel does a fantastic job at hinting at the horrors that went on in Dr. Mengele's lab without explicitly stating it outright. This is an important distinction because in a fiction book about a very real event, there is a fine line between telling and hinting at, and this author does that fantastically.
A brilliant book, if that's the right way to describe it. A haunting story with a hopeful ending, that's written well enough to enjoy.
Before starting this book I had actually just finished reading 'The Red Ribbon' by Lucy Adlington, which is another holocaust story, also set at Auschwitz, and it was interesting (if interesting is the right word) to read about the same time period from a slightly different point of view. Equally heartbreaking, but both with a hopeful ending.
This novel does a fantastic job at hinting at the horrors that went on in Dr. Mengele's lab without explicitly stating it outright. This is an important distinction because in a fiction book about a very real event, there is a fine line between telling and hinting at, and this author does that fantastically.
A brilliant book, if that's the right way to describe it. A haunting story with a hopeful ending, that's written well enough to enjoy.
Beautiful and heartbreaking. I found Pearl's ideas about forgiveness especially powerful - I wrote them down as something to aspire to.
DNF. I had a baby 3 months ago and reading a book about what sick people did to children is a no go for me. Made it a few chapters in and then returned to the library.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
This book is really hard to review. The writing style was beautiful, but the subject matter was horrific. It focuses on twins in Auschwitz and the experiments Josef Mengele performed on them. If you know anything about twins in Auschwitz, you might have an understanding about the horrors that happened. Very few pairs survived, since when one died the other was immediately killed to perform autopsies at the same time. The book was heart wrenching, and I found myself not being able to stomach more than a few chapters at a time before having to take a break. Definitely not a book for the faint of heart.
4.25⭐️ This was grate, i loved the representation of twins and how they always knew so much about each other. I never knew what Mangele actually did to his victims so this was something new but it was a vary interesting story and i would 100% recommend it
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Many people won't read this book because the subject matter is brutal, the story is brutal, just to think about what people do to other people is brutal. But then they would miss the wonder of the language, the finely wrought descriptions of beauty found in horror, and they would miss a strange and wonderful story of hope. There are some issues with the plot, yes, but by the time that happens you seriously don't give a shit.