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A review by shauna_reads
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
"Finally, the ghetto understands what the Germans intend. If they can take the children, they will take everybody."
This novel tells the true story of Dr. Janusz Korczak, a Polish pediatrician, author, and educator who ran an orphanage in Warsaw during the Second World War. While I was reading I knew that Korczak was a real person but had no idea that nearly every single other character also existed, too. Misha and his wife Sophia worked with Korczak, helping care for the children and bringing food and supplies as the restrictions tightened in the ghetto.
I have read a lot of World War II novels but this was the first one focused around the children murdered by the Nazis. I think that Gifford handled what's an unthinkably tragic topic with great sensitivity. It's not a mystery what happened to Korczak and the kids, but the entire time I was reading I wondered how she was going to handle writing it out. The author takes care to imply their final moments in as tasteful a way as possible without getting into any details.
Afterward, I liked how the remaining chapters all began with a real quote from Korczak, allowing his influence to remain through the end of the novel. This story is heartbreaking yet somehow still manages to bring forth moments of great hope and faith. The final chapter is a thing of great beauty, a serene and peaceful scene of Korczak and his children that one can imagine as all of them together in the afterlife.
The Good Doctor of Warsaw is a book that teaches - not only facts about people, places and events but also how to be a generous human being - while at the same time pulling the reader fully into the story.
This novel tells the true story of Dr. Janusz Korczak, a Polish pediatrician, author, and educator who ran an orphanage in Warsaw during the Second World War. While I was reading I knew that Korczak was a real person but had no idea that nearly every single other character also existed, too. Misha and his wife Sophia worked with Korczak, helping care for the children and bringing food and supplies as the restrictions tightened in the ghetto.
I have read a lot of World War II novels but this was the first one focused around the children murdered by the Nazis. I think that Gifford handled what's an unthinkably tragic topic with great sensitivity. It's not a mystery what happened to Korczak and the kids, but the entire time I was reading I wondered how she was going to handle writing it out. The author takes care to imply their final moments in as tasteful a way as possible without getting into any details.
Afterward, I liked how the remaining chapters all began with a real quote from Korczak, allowing his influence to remain through the end of the novel. This story is heartbreaking yet somehow still manages to bring forth moments of great hope and faith. The final chapter is a thing of great beauty, a serene and peaceful scene of Korczak and his children that one can imagine as all of them together in the afterlife.
The Good Doctor of Warsaw is a book that teaches - not only facts about people, places and events but also how to be a generous human being - while at the same time pulling the reader fully into the story.