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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A long harrowing tale of a Jewish family surviving the WWII.
The author’s afterward made this story so personal and important.
This was a difficult narrative that needed to be told.
The author’s afterward made this story so personal and important.
This was a difficult narrative that needed to be told.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
I loved this book so much! Too many feels with it! Reading the authors note made this book so much more special. Thanks Georgia Hunter for writing this book about your family history.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
The Kurc family's lives are upended when Germany invades Poland to start World War II. Sol and Nechuma, the heads of the family, are moved to the ghetto in their hometown of Radom. The younger men of the family are initially called up to join the Polish army, but that leads to a quick surrender. Selim, husband of Mila, disappears during the Polish Army's brief battle. Mila and their 1-year-old daughter, Felicia, stay with Mila's parents in the ghetto. Adam, fiancé of the youngest Kurc daughter, Halina, works in the underground resistance in Lvov. Halina joins him there, and they use the documents Adam forges to live as non-Jews. Gelek and Herta are sent to an internment camp in Siberia, where their son Jozef is born. Bella sneaks into Lvov to join Jakob and her sister just as the Germans take over the city. Addy is living in France at the outbreak of the war and is assigned to a Polish unit of the French army. All will have to use their wits and everything available to them to try to survive the war.
I was astonished to learn at the end of the book that this was a novel based on the true experience of the author's family. I would have liked to know more details of each person's story throughout the war; several months could pass between updates on a particular person. I understand that she had to work with the information she could piece together, though. I enjoyed the story but never got fully immersed in it.
The Kurc family's lives are upended when Germany invades Poland to start World War II. Sol and Nechuma, the heads of the family, are moved to the ghetto in their hometown of Radom. The younger men of the family are initially called up to join the Polish army, but that leads to a quick surrender. Selim, husband of Mila, disappears during the Polish Army's brief battle. Mila and their 1-year-old daughter, Felicia, stay with Mila's parents in the ghetto. Adam, fiancé of the youngest Kurc daughter, Halina, works in the underground resistance in Lvov. Halina joins him there, and they use the documents Adam forges to live as non-Jews. Gelek and Herta are sent to an internment camp in Siberia, where their son Jozef is born. Bella sneaks into Lvov to join Jakob and her sister just as the Germans take over the city. Addy is living in France at the outbreak of the war and is assigned to a Polish unit of the French army. All will have to use their wits and everything available to them to try to survive the war.
I was astonished to learn at the end of the book that this was a novel based on the true experience of the author's family.
Spoiler
I thought it was unrealistic that the entire immediate family survived until I saw in the author's note at the end that it really happened.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix