501 reviews for:

The Goddess of Warsaw

Lisa Barr

4.24 AVERAGE

alexandria_m's review

3.75

fast-paced

nicmedia123's review

4.5

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

---

This is riveting and compelling historical fiction that made this reader think about the rise in antisemitism in our present day world and how we can’t allow anything like the horror of the Warsaw Ghetto, Holocaust or antisemitic laws to ever happen again. I loved this femme fatale story of a woman who persists in surviving against all odds to live and avenge the deaths of her loved ones and many others by becoming a Hollywood starlet and assassin. It was an excellent novel and I recommend.

becky_powell's review

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

lindablock's review

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

The book was very emotional. Incredible depiction of the War and all of the horrors people endured. One can only wonder how people can pick up their lives and move on.  At the end one has to wonder if holding onto to hate is the right choice or the only possible choice. 

rachels_booknook's review

5.0

---

I don’t read many Holocaust books anymore. I love the movement towards Jewish joy in fiction, recognizing the Holocaust is not the only Jewish story. Recently there’s discussion that if you’re going to read a Holocaust book, which is obviously important, it should be written by a Jewish author and the story told properly. 

In my opinion, no one does it better than Lisa Barr. The Goddess of Warsaw is another brilliant book by the author of Woman on Fire. From the Warsaw Ghetto to the glamour of Hollywood, The Goddess of Warsaw tells the story of Bina Blonski/Lena Browning, who survived the Holocaust with the help of her looks and acting ability. 

Lisa Barr humanizes her characters. Yes, they are living through the Holocaust and life in the Ghetto, but they still have human emotions. While playing various roles during and after the war, the moments when Bina/Lina is her true self are vital to the story. This book not only details Bina’s story and the various ways Jews tried to document the war and fight back, but also the effects it continued to have on her decades later and how part of her would always be at war.  

I knew that many Nazis escaped to other countries to live peaceful lives after the war, but I learned from this book about “Operation Paperclip, a top secret intelligence program in which sixteen hundred high-ranking Nazi scientists, engineers, and technicians, were rescued from Nazi Germany, their criminal pasts wiped clean, and given U.S. government employment after the war.” 

Post-October 7, this book hits hard. Bina says about the Jewish people: “if the world is indifferent to us now, just imagine how it will be in the future.” She also says: “now more than ever, showing pride in our Judaism matters.” As we watch the current rise in antisemitism, we too know that showing pride in our Judaism is the most important thing we can do. 

kcherry's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

mhinnen's review

4.5

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

---

The book starts out with a star for Hollywood's golden age being asked to share her story with an up-and-coming starlet. I loved "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" so I'm immediately riveted. But, Lena Browning quickly corrects that assumption, “This is not a ‘Liz Taylor and her seven husbands’ story.”
And we learn Browning is not her name, "It’s the make of the gun I used to kill the Nazi who pistol-whipped my father to death.”

The Goddess of Warsaw is about survival and retribution. It is brutal and intriguing. It explores the different ways that people can resist injustice (or be swayed to stay silent or collude with evil).  I appreciated the historical information with details about the Warsaw Ghetto (and uprising) and the US complicity with Nazis after the war.  As we face breakdowns of democracy in the US, what are we willing to risk to help save others? To what lengths will we go to survive? How do we ensure safety for Jewish people while we see increased anti-semitism?

This novel is an important reminder of the atrocities of the Nazi regime. It is a complex story told through the lens of a woman who is so much more than people could ever imagine. There were parts that horrified me, parts when I questioned her actions (reminding myself she is only in her early 20s), and parts when I cried and gasped because of the moments of grace that emerged from such ugliness. 

sewjoy1's review

3.75

adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Well written, keeps you reading, informative and thought provoking. But it is less of a "spy" story and more of a "revenge/justice" story. Many disturbing violent scenes make the reader ask "what is the best choice of terrible choices?"

stephandreads's review

0.25

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder

ksprokes's review

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated