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I was intrigued by the story of Jewish sisters and musical prodigies surviving the Holocaust by assuming fake names and performing for German soldiers. It was interesting to read about their experiences, growing up with music as a foundation of their lives, getting into a number of prestigious schools and performing opportunities. Then, to see how things changed in an instant and how the future - once promising and bright - became only nothing more than a question and a hope for survival as they were forced to leave their home and became submerged in the horrors of the Holcaust.
Despite the story that was there, I think it could have been much better written. The author, the son of the woman whose story is told, actually admits he wondered if his work as a newspaper column writer provided the experience necessary to pull off a book. I think he may have overestimated his success. All the elements for an engaging biography were there, but the storytelling part was really lacking. There were ridiculous grammatical errors ("four" instead of "for") that really anyone should have caught. A number of phrases were unnecessarily repeated as many as three times in different parts of the story, and the chronology was sometimes hard to follow, especially in the latter chapters as more stories crossed and backgrounds were given for each person.
Despite the story that was there, I think it could have been much better written. The author, the son of the woman whose story is told, actually admits he wondered if his work as a newspaper column writer provided the experience necessary to pull off a book. I think he may have overestimated his success. All the elements for an engaging biography were there, but the storytelling part was really lacking. There were ridiculous grammatical errors ("four" instead of "for") that really anyone should have caught. A number of phrases were unnecessarily repeated as many as three times in different parts of the story, and the chronology was sometimes hard to follow, especially in the latter chapters as more stories crossed and backgrounds were given for each person.