Tag Archive | Steve N Lee

The Ruins In Which We Bleed by Steve N Lee

Jun12

Heart-Breaking & Inspiring

The Ruins In Which We Bleed by Steve N Lee is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep. It is the third book in the World War II Historical Fiction series but can be read as a stand-alone.

This is a book that will both horrify and inspire you. This is a book that will impact you and not leave you unchanged – because this is a book that is based on real lives.

What the lead character went through seems unbelievable, it seems impossible – but this impossibility is in fact true.

This is a story about a sixteen-year-old who was brave and resourceful. As you read the tale, it is all too easy to forget that she was just sixteen. She was wise beyond her years.

The story is set in the Warsaw ghetto. We hear about life both before and after the Warsaw uprising. We see the importance of family, and of having someone else to live for. Complete isolation would break a spirit. People needed to have someone to live for. “She smiled at the furry little creature. Even in hell, it appeared that friendships could blossom.”

Resistance came in many forms. “This was her sixteenth notebook… The other fifteen had been buried around the ghetto in tins… She couldn’t fire a gun, but she was deadly with a pencil – this was her way of resisting.” Without written records and personal testimonies, how would the world know? “Resisting isn’t only about picking up a gun but about refusing to simply lie down and die… We are resisting… because we’re still here.” There was a strong spirit to survive. “She’d vowed to survive to tell the world.”

Life in the Warsaw ghetto was horrific. Steve N Lee has written sensitively, whilst still relaying the horrors to the reader. “What kind of a world had they built where it was normal for streets to be littered with the corpses of emaciated children?”

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A Song Of Silence by Steve N Lee

May14

The Love Remains

A Song Of Silence by Steve N Lee is the most powerful and heartbreaking historical novel that totally consumed me. It is set in Poland beginning in 1939 as war breaks out. The roots of the story are grounded in fact, being based on the very brave Janusz Korczak who ran an orphanage. I knew about this real life incredibly brave man, so I had an idea where the book was going.

The reader witnesses the Nazis walking into a village where the lead character Mirek Kozlowski has his orphanage. It was a time of great horror. Families were desperate to escape but “there was nowhere to run.” The author has conveyed the fear and the horror. It is a horror that gets deeper and darker as the grip of the Nazis intensifies.

Mirek Kozlowski is a well-rounded, fully believable character. His heart is huge. He turns no one away from his orphanage and is well loved by all.

Mirek Kozlowski practices sacrificial love. Every action he undertakes is for the good of the children in his care. He doesn’t want to lose even one life – but the Nazi war machine breaks his heart.

As a lead character, Mirek Kozlowski faces many choices. His choices are always for the good of the children.

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To Dream Of Shadows by Steve N Lee

Apr16

Heart Stopping – So Powerful

To Dream Of Shadows by Steve N Lee is a powerful historical novel that has its roots in fact. The author has carefully woven his tale, clearly after much research in order to be as accurate as possible.

Much of the tale is set in a concentration camp which is hell on earth. We see the story through the eyes of Rudi, a Nazi, and Inge, a young Jewish woman. Their experiences are similar but different. Both are trapped – one in luxury, the other in filth. They are held captive. Rudi does not realise this at first but there is no escape from his posting. We see that “there was a huge difference between being a good German and being a good Nazi. Which one was he?” There are always decisions to be made – keep low and don’t rock the boat? Or stand up for what is right?

We see the strength needed to survive – not necessarily physical but that would help – but mental too. “Some people picked up a rifle to become a freedom fighter, but her resistance was going to be different – she was going to survive to tell the world of the atrocities she’d witnessed.” Luck would be needed too. We witness how Inge found blessings in the most horrendous of circumstances.

Steve N Lee has captured the horror with his words. Conditions were beyond horrific and yet people survived. There were moments of tenderness which were beautiful, as a character has compassion for nature, sharing what she has with a bird who has nothing. This is truly inspiring. “If a Jew can see beauty in a camp filled with horror, maybe there was hope for him too.” Drawn to a quiet inner beauty, she has compassion when those around her have lost theirs.

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