Posts
As Hunter reveals at the start, fewer than 300 of the 30,000-plus Jewish residents of Radom, Poland, remained alive after WWII. Her grandfather and his four siblings were among them. Learning about her family’s Holocaust past as a teenager, she set out to uncover their stories: interviewing older relatives, tracing their paths across Europe and elsewhere, poring through archives for relevant facts.
Knowing the ultimate outcome, one may wonder whether the novel offers any suspense. In short, yes. The circumstances her characters endure are excruciatingly traumatic; that they manage to survive is thanks to a combination of resourceful planning, split-second decisions made under tremendous pressure, and random luck.
Also, there are numerous other people they care deeply about, and readers will anxiously hope that they survive as well. Many chapters end with a mini-cliffhanger, which seems over-the-top initially but does heighten tension.
The story has impressive breadth, spanning over six years and many countries around the globe as the Kurcs pursue separate quests for safety through a Nazi-darkened world. One can sense the terror faced by Mila, forced to hide her two-year-old daughter, Felicia, in a paper sack of fabric scraps when the Gestapo invades the factory where she works—and feel Felicia’s claustrophobic fear as well.
Genek and his wife Herta endure near-frozen conditions in a Siberian gulag, where their baby son is born. The author’s grandfather, Addy, an affable, talented musician, leaves Paris early on, but his planned voyage to Brazil is held up, and he remains consumed by worry over his family.
The novel is full of tangible details but has thriller-style pacing. Reading it is a consuming experience.
We Were the Lucky Ones was published by Viking in February and was reviewed in February's Historical Novels Review. The UK publisher is Allison & Busby. Read more about the author's background and multi-year quest to track her family's story at her website.
I might have to pass on this one, but I certainly appreciate the review. Tough stuff.
ReplyDeleteI understand. Knowing that the main characters survive does help, but many of the situations aren't easy to read about.
DeleteI have this book in my TBR pile. Picked it up a number of times and put it back. Still waiting for the right frame of mind to tackle it.
ReplyDeleteLooking over my review, I probably didn't emphasize enough that it's about the strength of family - they're all very close - and that closeness helps them endure what they do. If that helps... although this period of time is always difficult to read about, no matter what. Great novel, overall, and I'm glad I read it.
DeleteI was deciding whether to give this a read, but I don't know if I want to read an overly sad book at the moment. This looks like it'll be a nice addition to the historical fiction genre. What I've always wondered about is why Holocaust books always feature the things in the holocaust without showing the systematic seizure of Jewish rights in the years before or the fact that the average German had no idea what was really happening in those camps. The only way the Nazis were able to get away with it so long was propaganda and lying.
ReplyDeleteOne historical novel that could fit that description is Laurie Lico Albanese's Stolen Beauty, which focuses on Jewish life in Austria (rather than Germany) prior to WWII. Also, Alexis Landau's The Empire of the Senses, covers Jewish life in Berlin in the late '20s and the rise in anti-Semitism the characters experience.
Delete