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blanchreads 's review for:
Salt to the Sea
by Ruta Sepetys
My second Sepetys for the month and my third book of hers. It is still a good one but I still love I Must Betray You the most.
What I love about this kind of book is I learn something new. Though fiction, this is based on a true event. The Wilhelm Gustloff is one of the shipwreck tragedies that I know nothing about. I am only aware of the Titanic, because it was made popular by the movie. The Wilhelm Gustloff is a German cruiser that sinks in the Baltic Sea by a Soviet submarine. The ship is overcrowded with more than 10,000 passengers, with the capacity of only 1,800 passengers, 9,000 of which lost their lives.
With the four fictional characters, they portray real-life tragedies and we get a glimpse of the situation during that time. Joana the Lithuanian nurse, Florian the Prussian soldier fleeing the Nazi with stolen treasure, Emilia the pregnant Polish girl saved by Florian, and Alfred the German soldier assigned to the Gustloff decks. Each has their tragic story to tell, trying to survive the war between the Nazi and the Russians. The story not only revolves around the people aboard Gustloff but also the people left behind, the people who suffers at the hands of these tyrants, evacuating their home that changes their lives forever.
As usual, the author’s writing is simple yet superb, stunning yet harrowing, easy to read but packed with so many emotions. It is a story of survival in the face of tragedy. Her story is something that will stay with me for some time. My only comment is the ending part. I really want to now more about what happened to them, more details of their life after the incident.
Will definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction that focuses on less popular stories of WWII.
What I love about this kind of book is I learn something new. Though fiction, this is based on a true event. The Wilhelm Gustloff is one of the shipwreck tragedies that I know nothing about. I am only aware of the Titanic, because it was made popular by the movie. The Wilhelm Gustloff is a German cruiser that sinks in the Baltic Sea by a Soviet submarine. The ship is overcrowded with more than 10,000 passengers, with the capacity of only 1,800 passengers, 9,000 of which lost their lives.
With the four fictional characters, they portray real-life tragedies and we get a glimpse of the situation during that time. Joana the Lithuanian nurse, Florian the Prussian soldier fleeing the Nazi with stolen treasure, Emilia the pregnant Polish girl saved by Florian, and Alfred the German soldier assigned to the Gustloff decks. Each has their tragic story to tell, trying to survive the war between the Nazi and the Russians. The story not only revolves around the people aboard Gustloff but also the people left behind, the people who suffers at the hands of these tyrants, evacuating their home that changes their lives forever.
As usual, the author’s writing is simple yet superb, stunning yet harrowing, easy to read but packed with so many emotions. It is a story of survival in the face of tragedy. Her story is something that will stay with me for some time. My only comment is the ending part. I really want to now more about what happened to them, more details of their life after the incident.
Will definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction that focuses on less popular stories of WWII.