Tag Archive | Bookouture

The Family Behind The Walls by Shari J Ryan

Jan27

Pointing The Way Home

The Family Behind The Walls by Shari J Ryan is a powerful historical novel that gripped me from the start.

The book opens in Germany in 1942 as we follow six members of one Jewish family through the war years.

We witness the pit of hell that is Auschwitz and see that more than just hope is needed to survive, luck is needed too.

We also join the children’s camp and then a church-run orphanage.

It is important to have hope. “I need to give Lilli hope.” Without hope, the people perish.

We see the lessons of the past keep characters grounded and give them a purpose even in the darkest of times. “They may take my hair, but not Mama’s teaching to care, lead and be brave for those unable to.”  We need to be the beacon that shines in the darkness.

Within the pit that is Auschwitz, trust is in short supply. “We’re rewarded for turning on each other. Desperation can alter a person’s ability to navigate their morals.” People are exploited when they are at their lowest. An animal instinct to survive kicks in.

In contrast we witness a character who serves. “Hate is the only contagious disease that’s killed more people here than typhus.” We do not want to water the seed of hate but feed the seed of care and compassion.

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The Train That Took You Away by Catherine Hokin

Jan22

Holding On To Hope

The Train That Took You Away by Catherine Hokin is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings.

The novel is set from 1936-1946 in Berlin, the seat of the Nazis power. There are also a few scenes in Blitz-ravaged London.

We follow three main characters all connected with the art world – a young female art restorer from England; a young artist; and a young mother who runs an art gallery in Berlin. The latter two are Jewish and their war is beyond horrendous.

Germany seems to be a civilized nation in 1936 as it welcomes people to the Olympics. The young art restorer declares in 1936; “The German people are too kind and too good to let hatred and prejudice swallow it.” Unfortunately, the German people were governed by fear and/or blind adoration as they believed the lies they were told.

Bit by bit the lives of the Jewish people were eroded until all their liberties and freedoms were gone. Those who remained in Berlin were said to be “invisible and we’re targets, and we’ve nothing to live on but bad food, fear and rumor.”

There is much heartache and sacrificial love as a character makes the decision to put her eight-year-old son on the kinder transport to England for safety. It is an emotional wrench and only the hope that she will see him again, keeps her going.

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The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood

Dec21

Symbols Of Resistance

The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood is a powerful historical novel. It is a tale of courage, resistance and hope. Even in the darkest pit it is possible for light to shine.

The reader witnesses the bravery in a time of complete and utter horror. Ellie Midwood focuses in on two characters who do what they can in order to tell the world their stories. “You … will need to survive to avenge those people who perished.” Many went straight to their deaths, those who didn’t must tell the world of the evil.

Hope kept people going. Without hope the people perish. “He was the only person who gave her hope in this hell. Without him life lost all meaning.” In the depths of hell, people needed hope to believe that there were better times ahead.

There were many ways to resist. “Survival was the biggest form of resistance.” To keep going and to hold heads high when the Nazis wanted to brow beat everyone, offered hope to all who witnessed.

Auschwitz had guard towers. “Guard towers … to ensure that we won’t escape to tell our stories.” 

As the war drew to a close, the Nazis tried to destroy all the evidence in the camps. “They’ll slaughter us all … No one wants us to walk out of here and start telling our stories.” – But people did survive and told the stories of those who perished.

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When The World Went Silent by Ellie Midwood

Dec6

Pandora’s Box

When The World Went Silent by Ellie Midwood is a powerful, harrowing historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The novel is set in Germany during World War II but opens and closes in Hiroshima in 1946. The whole novel surrounds the topic of the nuclear bomb, as we join and follow a young girl with a passion for physics. Deaf since measles aged five, Mina has immersed herself in science. “The world outside is hostile, filled with prejudice and intolerance. But precise sciences are her sanctuary.”

Following the Nazis rise to power, Mina was excluded from school and seen as ‘undesirable’, and has been home-schooled. Her superior talent within nuclear physics has brought her to the attention of the Nazis at the highest level. Mina is sent to Berlin to work on the development of the nuclear bomb but she is determined to never make a bomb. She wants to heal not harm. “We’ll all have to face the choices we made today.”

Mina has a conscience, a heart and much courage. “The courage of those who dare to stand against the darkness.” As a young girl, she stood up for the marginalized except for one time when she ran, and this haunts her dreams. “Still has nightmares… she was just a young girl whose only fault was walking away when she should have stayed.” The guilt remains even though she knows there is nothing she could have done. Later she is told “Sometimes running away is the only logical thing to do.”

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