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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The Goddess of Warsaw” is the harrowing tale of Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew from the Warsaw Ghetto that is an assassin for the resistance turned Hollywood Star. Despite rising in Hollywood, her search for revenge against the Nazi’s drives her forward.
Lisa Barr crafts a deeply personal story of the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto and what the people trapped there did to survive and how it shaped their future lives. Barr was able to seamlessly weave fiction with reality in this fast paced novel of survival and revenge. I did ended up googling quite a bit because at times events seemed a little too implausible for reality, there was a lot going on, hoping that truth was crazier than fiction and not wanting to jump ahead to the authors note, which does discuss what was pulled from realty. I appreciated the post WW2 perspective and Nazi infiltration of Hollywood, which is a time I find fascinating and would love to learn even more about. Overall a good book for readers looking for a different and unique perspective of the holocaust and WW2, but for those that like the balance leaning towards historical over fiction, it will be a stepping stone to learn more. Rating this a 3.5 and rounding up to 4 on Goodreads.
Lisa Barr crafts a deeply personal story of the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto and what the people trapped there did to survive and how it shaped their future lives. Barr was able to seamlessly weave fiction with reality in this fast paced novel of survival and revenge. I did ended up googling quite a bit because at times events seemed a little too implausible for reality, there was a lot going on, hoping that truth was crazier than fiction and not wanting to jump ahead to the authors note, which does discuss what was pulled from realty. I appreciated the post WW2 perspective and Nazi infiltration of Hollywood, which is a time I find fascinating and would love to learn even more about. Overall a good book for readers looking for a different and unique perspective of the holocaust and WW2, but for those that like the balance leaning towards historical over fiction, it will be a stepping stone to learn more. Rating this a 3.5 and rounding up to 4 on Goodreads.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
tense
medium-paced
The author tries to tackle too many events (or embellishments of events), so some aspects of the plot feel unrealistic and therefore cheesy. It is vitally important to tell Holocaust history accurately, and I felt like this cheapened that history. The writing left something to be desired as well, and led to some moments that were supposed to have an emotional impact falling very flat, because they felt like they came out of nowhere and didn’t improve the plot: the reveal of the mole within Żegota, the reveal of Bina’s real father, and Connie’s betrayal
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
dark
sad
tense
slow-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
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Yes
DNF-ing about half way through. This book is too melodramatic and feels like it’s in some way trying to be seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo with the whole actress thing but in WWII era with gut wrenching details of the war and somewhat unbelievable plot lines. It doesn’t work. And the characters obsession with her husband’s brother is weird and feels so out of place and just kind of grosses me out. The story isn’t very moving and I feel no connection to these characters or their struggles and the insane horrors that they’re clearly facing, when you’d think that would be the case in a historical fiction novel about a woman who has such an important role in the resistance. Which also how did she get this role? I’m still confused as to how she just fell into this, because she can act? It’s just a weirdly put together book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes