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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Loved this story! Of course it had sad parts and was hard to read at times because it is based on true Holocaust events.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for one digital copy in exchange of an honest review.
I'm always up to a good Auschwitz story, since is one of the historical events I like to read the most about, even if sometimes (most of them) it's painful to read about all the crimes that were committed. But I really liked the approach of this book, and the author did a respectful job. Mala and Edek are characters you inevitably fall in love with. At first, it seemed to me that they fell in love very fast, but well then I thought about the context and how time wasn't the same in Auschwitz. I was seriously rooting for them, and even If got heartbroken at the end, I think theirs is an amazing story that gave hope to many of the inmates. I'm thankful to Ellie to transform their story into a novel. I definitely would read more from her -I saw that she also has another Auschwitz book. I liked it a loot and of course was well written, but I did realize that they were some punctuation errors that I guess will be corrected for the final version.
I'm always up to a good Auschwitz story, since is one of the historical events I like to read the most about, even if sometimes (most of them) it's painful to read about all the crimes that were committed. But I really liked the approach of this book, and the author did a respectful job. Mala and Edek are characters you inevitably fall in love with. At first, it seemed to me that they fell in love very fast, but well then I thought about the context and how time wasn't the same in Auschwitz. I was seriously rooting for them, and even If got heartbroken at the end, I think theirs is an amazing story that gave hope to many of the inmates. I'm thankful to Ellie to transform their story into a novel. I definitely would read more from her -I saw that she also has another Auschwitz book. I liked it a loot and of course was well written, but I did realize that they were some punctuation errors that I guess will be corrected for the final version.
Every so often a book comes along that completely and utterly destroys me. I finish it, I set it down, and, for a moment, I strongly consider never touching a book again. And then, slowly but surely, I pull my mangled heart from the pages, gently piece it back together, and continue on. But the book has made its mark. A permanent imprint on me. My heart carries this mark forever, and over the years, these repeated experiences have shaped how I view the world. The authors have helped shape me as a person. Today, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz joined this short, but distinguished, list.
Set in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the WWII German concentration camps, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz tells the story of Mala and Edek, two Polish prisoners who fall in love while planning their escape. Ellie Midwood is an incredibly gifted historian who, through her detailed descriptions, was able to bring the camp to life so many decades later. While I found myself entranced by the novel, I couldn’t escape the glaring reminder that this book is based on a true story. The crematoriums, the gas chambers, the mass graves, piles upon piles of corpses - they all happened. I have never, and will never, be able to understand how humans can be so ungodly cruel to one another. How we can be so cold, completely immune to the pain of another. I don’t want to understand. But I do want us to remember- because that is the only way we can hope to avoid reliving.
Midwood has already established herself as an amazingly gifted writer - she doesn’t need me to remind everyone of that. But if I may, I would like to thank her - for telling the stories that need to be told. For holding us accountable. For reminding us that beauty exists where we least expect it. Look for it.
Thanks so much to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Set in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the WWII German concentration camps, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz tells the story of Mala and Edek, two Polish prisoners who fall in love while planning their escape. Ellie Midwood is an incredibly gifted historian who, through her detailed descriptions, was able to bring the camp to life so many decades later. While I found myself entranced by the novel, I couldn’t escape the glaring reminder that this book is based on a true story. The crematoriums, the gas chambers, the mass graves, piles upon piles of corpses - they all happened. I have never, and will never, be able to understand how humans can be so ungodly cruel to one another. How we can be so cold, completely immune to the pain of another. I don’t want to understand. But I do want us to remember- because that is the only way we can hope to avoid reliving.
Midwood has already established herself as an amazingly gifted writer - she doesn’t need me to remind everyone of that. But if I may, I would like to thank her - for telling the stories that need to be told. For holding us accountable. For reminding us that beauty exists where we least expect it. Look for it.
Thanks so much to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Every so often a book comes along that completely and utterly destroys me. I finish it, I set it down, and, for a moment, I strongly consider never touching a book again. And then, slowly but surely, I pull my mangled heart from the pages, gently piece it back together, and continue on. But the book has made its mark. A permanent imprint on me. My heart carries this mark forever, and over the years, these repeated experiences have shaped how I view the world. The authors have helped shape me as a person. Today, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz joined this short, but distinguished, list.
Set in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the WWII German concentration camps, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz tells the story of Mala and Edek, two Polish prisoners who fall in love while planning their escape. Ellie Midwood is an incredibly gifted historian who, through her detailed descriptions, was able to bring the camp to life so many decades later. While I found myself entranced by the novel, I couldn’t escape the glaring reminder that this book is based on a true story. The crematoriums, the gas chambers, the mass graves, piles upon piles of corpses - they all happened. I have never, and will never, be able to understand how humans can be so ungodly cruel to one another. How we can be so cold, completely immune to the pain of another. I don’t want to understand. But I do want us to remember- because that is the only way we can hope to avoid reliving.
Midwood has already established herself as an amazingly gifted writer - she doesn’t need me to remind everyone of that. But if I may, I would like to thank her - for telling the stories that need to be told. For holding us accountable. For reminding us that beauty exists where we least expect it. Look for it.
Thanks so much to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Set in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the worst of the WWII German concentration camps, The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz tells the story of Mala and Edek, two Polish prisoners who fall in love while planning their escape. Ellie Midwood is an incredibly gifted historian who, through her detailed descriptions, was able to bring the camp to life so many decades later. While I found myself entranced by the novel, I couldn’t escape the glaring reminder that this book is based on a true story. The crematoriums, the gas chambers, the mass graves, piles upon piles of corpses - they all happened. I have never, and will never, be able to understand how humans can be so ungodly cruel to one another. How we can be so cold, completely immune to the pain of another. I don’t want to understand. But I do want us to remember- because that is the only way we can hope to avoid reliving.
Midwood has already established herself as an amazingly gifted writer - she doesn’t need me to remind everyone of that. But if I may, I would like to thank her - for telling the stories that need to be told. For holding us accountable. For reminding us that beauty exists where we least expect it. Look for it.
Thanks so much to Ellie Midwood, Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Another good story about true events from personal accounts. Always learning more about this time in history.
This is a story about standing in the deep bowels of hell, staring imminent death in the face every moment yet still managing to stand up for one's beliefs, daring to hope and to love.
Auschwitz was the Grim Reaper's abode, where the SS harvested souls of the people whose only crimes were being able to pick up a weapon, following a different God or simply existing. Imprisonment wasn’t punishment enough. So the prisoners were forced to take part in murdering their own - operate the Gas Chambers and Crematoriums. The SS seemed to do it all for their twisted entertainment. And when the war seemed to be lost, they took even more drastic measures to hide their crimes.
Amidst of it all Mala, Edek and their friends from the resistance stood for hope. Each and every character were memorable. They enriched the story regardless of however small their appearance were. Their struggles, their love for each other and their ability to hold on to their humanity in that living hell broke my heart into million pieces. The book also focused on the German character and their complexities. How some of them too were human, how they tried to make life a little bearable for the prisoners and were punished for it.
"
Auschwitz was the Grim Reaper's abode, where the SS harvested souls of the people whose only crimes were being able to pick up a weapon, following a different God or simply existing. Imprisonment wasn’t punishment enough. So the prisoners were forced to take part in murdering their own - operate the Gas Chambers and Crematoriums. The SS seemed to do it all for their twisted entertainment. And when the war seemed to be lost, they took even more drastic measures to hide their crimes.
Amidst of it all Mala, Edek and their friends from the resistance stood for hope. Each and every character were memorable. They enriched the story regardless of however small their appearance were. Their struggles, their love for each other and their ability to hold on to their humanity in that living hell broke my heart into million pieces. The book also focused on the German character and their complexities. How some of them too were human, how they tried to make life a little bearable for the prisoners and were punished for it.
"
I am absolutely DESTROYED from this book.
What makes this story so hard is the dramatic irony. We know, from the start, what happens when Mala and Edek escape Auschwitz. For me, there was this “impending doom” sensation throughout the entirety of the book. But it was consistently asking “what’s gonna happen after?”
I feel like I identify with Weisław. The best friend. The. And when we found out about Mala and Eden’s fates, my thought was “That could’ve also been Weisław”. It was heavy.
There were several points in this story where I needed to stop and take a break because the material was fucking with my head. But it’s still an important read, and even more important that it’s based on a true story.
What makes this story so hard is the dramatic irony. We know, from the start, what happens when Mala and Edek escape Auschwitz. For me, there was this “impending doom” sensation throughout the entirety of the book. But it was consistently asking “what’s gonna happen after?”
I feel like I identify with Weisław. The best friend. The. And when we found out about Mala and Eden’s fates, my thought was “That could’ve also been Weisław”. It was heavy.
There were several points in this story where I needed to stop and take a break because the material was fucking with my head. But it’s still an important read, and even more important that it’s based on a true story.
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story is about the strength of the concentration camp prisoners. There are many stories about the lengths people would go to to stay safe and alive. This is the first story I have read about an escape plan. At the end of the book the author explains what events were real and who the characters were based on.
I rated this book three stars not because the story is unimportant but because it did not capture my attention as much as I’d hoped. I struggled reading the middle of the book and found my attention wandering.
I rated this book three stars not because the story is unimportant but because it did not capture my attention as much as I’d hoped. I struggled reading the middle of the book and found my attention wandering.