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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Not a fan of love stories but ignoring that it's generally well written and avoids teetering into sentimentalism. except for the very end which felt a little hollow and flowery in terms of language
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
A well researched novel based on a true story. Doesn't spare the horrific day to day details of life - and death - in Auschwitz. A grim read, but a good one.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
sad
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The scary thing about this book is that this is not a work of fiction but the brutality and horrors of this story are based on real life and a series of atrocities that not only should never happen again but also must be explained to those of us who were lucky enough not to have to live through this to ensure that these type of acts never happen again. This story is heartbreaking but ultimately it shows that you can find love and happiness even in the most horrible of places.
Merged review:
The scary thing about this book is that this is not a work of fiction but the brutality and horrors of this story are based on real life and a series of atrocities that not only should never happen again but also must be explained to those of us who were lucky enough not to have to live through this to ensure that these type of acts never happen again. This story is heartbreaking but ultimately it shows that you can find love and happiness even in the most horrible of places.
Merged review:
The scary thing about this book is that this is not a work of fiction but the brutality and horrors of this story are based on real life and a series of atrocities that not only should never happen again but also must be explained to those of us who were lucky enough not to have to live through this to ensure that these type of acts never happen again. This story is heartbreaking but ultimately it shows that you can find love and happiness even in the most horrible of places.
This is my first Ellie Midwood book and it won’t be my last. I’ve read a lot of WWII, particularly Auschwitz, historical fiction and this is among my favourites. I really liked some of the characters and was pleased to find out that The Violinist of Auschwitz (Midwood’s previous book) is about one of the prisoners mentioned in this book and I can’t wait to get to it. Without giving anything away, I was surprised at the ending.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.
“Hell was empty because all the devils were in Auschwitz.”
Countless others have wanted someone to share Mala’s story as they reached out with memories from time spent in Auschwitz, but it is renowned author and Nazi Germany history expert, Ellie Midwood, a Jew herself, who picked up the torch and shed light on the first woman and first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Midwood’s novel, ‘The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,’ records courage in the face of tragedy and bravery in the face of fear as two inmates plot and escape from the death camp.
Mala Zimetbaum’s fluency in several languages was the reason she was chosen as a runner and translator for the SS and progressed to a privileged prisoner allowed freedom of movement within the camp. The reality was that Mala was prisoner 19880, but to many, she was their saviour as she used her position to save lives by smuggling food. While in the camp, Mala met Edward (Edek) Galiński and fell in love. Edek, a man with a dream and an escape plan, was, in reality, inmate 531, a Polish political prisoner who became a fighter for underground resistance in the camp.
With anti-Semitism on the rise again across the world, Midwood thinks it’s important to bring awareness of it and remind us what can happen if we allow hatred to run free and permeate our society. Speaking in an interview recently, she shared “it all starts with small things but can quickly grow into something atrocious that can devour countless human lives.” Midwood masterfully and eloquently honours Zimetbaum with her historical fiction tribute to this miraculous woman, a living symbol of resistance for all the inmates.
Despite the difficult read at times, Midwood’s characterization helps us focus on two inmates who displayed heroism and love in the darkness right until the bitter end. Midwood gently reminds us that this can’t be read like any other love story; time was not on Mala and Edek’s side. You may get swept away in the gentleness and tender moments shared between two people, but before long Midwood will bring you back to the harsh reality of guarded life behind the barbed wire. She is to be commended for not diluting the events; illness, beatings, death, constant ash, blood, the constant smell of burnt flesh and singed hair, hunger and the ongoing experimentations by Joseph Mengele. Readers of her previous novel will notice the re-appearance of several inmates. Midwood reminds us to continue to be the light in the darkness and search deep to find the hero within.
“We must die standing up for something.”
“And what are we standing up for?”
“The most important thing there is. Freedom.”
To be published March 09, 2021, this is a must-read for all historical fiction lovers.
Thank you again to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this superb advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Merged review:
“Hell was empty because all the devils were in Auschwitz.”
Countless others have wanted someone to share Mala’s story as they reached out with memories from time spent in Auschwitz, but it is renowned author and Nazi Germany history expert, Ellie Midwood, a Jew herself, who picked up the torch and shed light on the first woman and first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Midwood’s novel, ‘The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,’ records courage in the face of tragedy and bravery in the face of fear as two inmates plot and escape from the death camp.
Mala Zimetbaum’s fluency in several languages was the reason she was chosen as a runner and translator for the SS and progressed to a privileged prisoner allowed freedom of movement within the camp. The reality was that Mala was prisoner 19880, but to many, she was their saviour as she used her position to save lives by smuggling food. While in the camp, Mala met Edward (Edek) Galiński and fell in love. Edek, a man with a dream and an escape plan, was, in reality, inmate 531, a Polish political prisoner who became a fighter for underground resistance in the camp.
With anti-Semitism on the rise again across the world, Midwood thinks it’s important to bring awareness of it and remind us what can happen if we allow hatred to run free and permeate our society. Speaking in an interview recently, she shared “it all starts with small things but can quickly grow into something atrocious that can devour countless human lives.” Midwood masterfully and eloquently honours Zimetbaum with her historical fiction tribute to this miraculous woman, a living symbol of resistance for all the inmates.
Despite the difficult read at times, Midwood’s characterization helps us focus on two inmates who displayed heroism and love in the darkness right until the bitter end. Midwood gently reminds us that this can’t be read like any other love story; time was not on Mala and Edek’s side. You may get swept away in the gentleness and tender moments shared between two people, but before long Midwood will bring you back to the harsh reality of guarded life behind the barbed wire. She is to be commended for not diluting the events; illness, beatings, death, constant ash, blood, the constant smell of burnt flesh and singed hair, hunger and the ongoing experimentations by Joseph Mengele. Readers of her previous novel will notice the re-appearance of several inmates. Midwood reminds us to continue to be the light in the darkness and search deep to find the hero within.
“We must die standing up for something.”
“And what are we standing up for?”
“The most important thing there is. Freedom.”
To be published March 09, 2021, this is a must-read for all historical fiction lovers.
Thank you again to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this superb advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Countless others have wanted someone to share Mala’s story as they reached out with memories from time spent in Auschwitz, but it is renowned author and Nazi Germany history expert, Ellie Midwood, a Jew herself, who picked up the torch and shed light on the first woman and first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Midwood’s novel, ‘The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,’ records courage in the face of tragedy and bravery in the face of fear as two inmates plot and escape from the death camp.
Mala Zimetbaum’s fluency in several languages was the reason she was chosen as a runner and translator for the SS and progressed to a privileged prisoner allowed freedom of movement within the camp. The reality was that Mala was prisoner 19880, but to many, she was their saviour as she used her position to save lives by smuggling food. While in the camp, Mala met Edward (Edek) Galiński and fell in love. Edek, a man with a dream and an escape plan, was, in reality, inmate 531, a Polish political prisoner who became a fighter for underground resistance in the camp.
With anti-Semitism on the rise again across the world, Midwood thinks it’s important to bring awareness of it and remind us what can happen if we allow hatred to run free and permeate our society. Speaking in an interview recently, she shared “it all starts with small things but can quickly grow into something atrocious that can devour countless human lives.” Midwood masterfully and eloquently honours Zimetbaum with her historical fiction tribute to this miraculous woman, a living symbol of resistance for all the inmates.
Despite the difficult read at times, Midwood’s characterization helps us focus on two inmates who displayed heroism and love in the darkness right until the bitter end. Midwood gently reminds us that this can’t be read like any other love story; time was not on Mala and Edek’s side. You may get swept away in the gentleness and tender moments shared between two people, but before long Midwood will bring you back to the harsh reality of guarded life behind the barbed wire. She is to be commended for not diluting the events; illness, beatings, death, constant ash, blood, the constant smell of burnt flesh and singed hair, hunger and the ongoing experimentations by Joseph Mengele. Readers of her previous novel will notice the re-appearance of several inmates. Midwood reminds us to continue to be the light in the darkness and search deep to find the hero within.
“We must die standing up for something.”
“And what are we standing up for?”
“The most important thing there is. Freedom.”
To be published March 09, 2021, this is a must-read for all historical fiction lovers.
Thank you again to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this superb advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Merged review:
“Hell was empty because all the devils were in Auschwitz.”
Countless others have wanted someone to share Mala’s story as they reached out with memories from time spent in Auschwitz, but it is renowned author and Nazi Germany history expert, Ellie Midwood, a Jew herself, who picked up the torch and shed light on the first woman and first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Midwood’s novel, ‘The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,’ records courage in the face of tragedy and bravery in the face of fear as two inmates plot and escape from the death camp.
Mala Zimetbaum’s fluency in several languages was the reason she was chosen as a runner and translator for the SS and progressed to a privileged prisoner allowed freedom of movement within the camp. The reality was that Mala was prisoner 19880, but to many, she was their saviour as she used her position to save lives by smuggling food. While in the camp, Mala met Edward (Edek) Galiński and fell in love. Edek, a man with a dream and an escape plan, was, in reality, inmate 531, a Polish political prisoner who became a fighter for underground resistance in the camp.
With anti-Semitism on the rise again across the world, Midwood thinks it’s important to bring awareness of it and remind us what can happen if we allow hatred to run free and permeate our society. Speaking in an interview recently, she shared “it all starts with small things but can quickly grow into something atrocious that can devour countless human lives.” Midwood masterfully and eloquently honours Zimetbaum with her historical fiction tribute to this miraculous woman, a living symbol of resistance for all the inmates.
Despite the difficult read at times, Midwood’s characterization helps us focus on two inmates who displayed heroism and love in the darkness right until the bitter end. Midwood gently reminds us that this can’t be read like any other love story; time was not on Mala and Edek’s side. You may get swept away in the gentleness and tender moments shared between two people, but before long Midwood will bring you back to the harsh reality of guarded life behind the barbed wire. She is to be commended for not diluting the events; illness, beatings, death, constant ash, blood, the constant smell of burnt flesh and singed hair, hunger and the ongoing experimentations by Joseph Mengele. Readers of her previous novel will notice the re-appearance of several inmates. Midwood reminds us to continue to be the light in the darkness and search deep to find the hero within.
“We must die standing up for something.”
“And what are we standing up for?”
“The most important thing there is. Freedom.”
To be published March 09, 2021, this is a must-read for all historical fiction lovers.
Thank you again to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this superb advance copy in exchange for my honest review.