The Girl From the Train, by Irma Joubert

     The Girl From the Train is a delightful journey that I simply did not want to end.  It is a must read for anyone who likes historical fiction from the 1940s and 1950s

     Gretl is a little German girl who escapes a train bound for Auschwitz.  Jakob is a young Polish man who rescues her and takes her into his home.  She lives with his family for a few years, but circumstances force her to leave.  She ends up being taken in by a South African family.  This story is about the growth and self-discovery both of these characters make through an interesting time in history for both Eastern Europe and South Africa.

     Joubert writes with such elegance, and her characters are so real you feel as though you've known them forever.  A former teacher, Joubert's research into these times and places is quite evident in the book.  Jakob's love of Polish traditions and his involvement in Polish politics of the time are fascinating.  Gretl's story is equally as captivating.  She's a girl with multiple experiences which she must learn to reconcile - her German, Polish, and South African roots conflict with each other almost as much as her Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic backgrounds do.  And through all of this is woven a very compelling and innocent love story.

     In a word, this novel is breathtaking.  It's one of my new favorites, which I plan on rereading many times.  I highly recommend it to anyone who knows how to read.  Seriously.

Disclaimer:  I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Five out of Five Stars, in case you couldn't tell.   =)

   

On Distant Shores, by Sarah Sundin

     On Distant Shores is the second novel in a series about flight nurses in World War II.  I loved the first book, With Every Letter, and was anxious enough to read the sequel that I actually bought it from the Kindle store.  The first one was free, but Sarah Sundin's carefully researched story sucked me in.  And I have to say, after having read On Distant Shores, I am now an avid fan of Sundin's works.

     My only issue with the first book was that the writing style seemed simplistic.  I didn't find that here.  On Distant Shores was so well crafted that I found it difficult to put down.

     In this installment, we read about Georgie, the bubbly nurse from the first book, and her journey as she discovers the strength she never knew she had.  Along the way, she is guided by Hutch, a pharmacist who is struggling with his own overwhelming desire to become something more than what he is.  Hutch's story is very interesting from an historical point of view; although he is a pharmacist, he is not an officer.  WWII Army pharmacists and techs were enlisted men despite their education.  Hutch becomes involved in the push to start the Army Pharmacy Corps.  Since Sundin is a pharmacist herself, the details of his life are particularly good.

     As with the first installment in the series, this book was very well researched.  It's also charged with emotion as we see Georgie and Hutch experience the war in a way that will change them forever.  A must-read for anyone who enjoys good historical fiction.

     Five out of Five Stars

With Every Letter, by Sarah Sundin

   
     I picked this book up from the Kindle free store for a little light sick-in-bed reading, and goodness, was I pleasantly surprised!  This is the story of a World War II Army flight nurse who begins an anonymous pen pal relationship with an Army engineer.  For anyone who loved the movies The Shop Around the Corner and You've Got Mail, this is the book for you.

     Other reviewers have said that the writing is a bit simplistic, and I would have to agree.  It took me a few chapters to really get into it.  However, the research that went into this book and the incredible likability (yes, that's a word, I swear!) of the characters make this book a gem.  My grandmother's desire to become a WWII flight nurse and my interest in the era was what originally drew me to this book.  The incredible attention to historical detail did not disappoint!  The author's descriptions and the character development made it so easy for me to lose myself in this story.  And while there is a satisfying conclusion, I really hated to put it down.

     Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the era, or who wants to read a well-researched novel about the brave, pioneering "Winged Angels" of the US Army Nurse Corps flight nurses.  These ladies were the real deal, gals, and this book is a fantastic tribute to them.

     Five out of Five Stars

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In, by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin

  This is the book I've been waiting for since I finished Laura Hillenbrand's biography of Louis Zamperini, Unbroken.   I loved that book, but it seemed to me that the real story of heroism came after the war, when Zamperini was able to overcome the atrocities that he was subjected to.  

     This book, which was finished just before Zamperini passed away, tells that story.  I felt on reading Unbroken that it glossed over the power of God in Zamperini's life.  Don't Give Up gets more into how instrumental Zamperini's faith was in helping him overcome post traumatic stress and its symptoms.  As his son writes in this book, "miracles happened to [Zamperini] to demonstrate the power of God in his life."  And that's the story that I think most people don't get to hear about outside of this book.

  
     More than just a testament to Zamperini's faith, this book also tells the lessons that he learned throughout his life's journey.  How do you forgive someone who has deeply hurt you?  How do you stay positive enough to weather the bad times?  How can you maintain your self respect and dignity at all times?  These questions and more are answered in this book.  And in providing us with his wisdom gained through years of unspeakable trial and a life given in service to humankind, I think Louis Zamperini has shown himself to be the kind of hero our society desperately craves.

     I highly recommend this book not just to those interested in Zamperini's story, but also to anyone who feels that there should be more to life than what they have. Life is not meant to be simply survived, but lived.  And Louis Zamperini understood that.


Five out of Five Stars

Bug Swamp's Gold, by Billie H. Wilson

     Bug Swamp's Gold, by Billie H. Wilson, is a memoir of a young girl's experiences growing up during the 1930s and 1940s in rural South Carolina.  I appreciated this book for the great gift that it must be to the author's family.  There are so many fantastic stories of the lives, loves, and losses of one family during a trying time in our nation's history.  Billie Wilson's family is blessed indeed to have a grandmother who had the time, talent, and determination to turn her memories into this book.  This book must be a treasure to them.

     The author writes with such love of family members who have since passed from this world to the next.  And the portrayal of one small corner of this world, Bug Swamp, is a reminder of what makes this country great.  Despite the Great Depression, despite the atrocities of the War, one family's daily experiences - the small things in life - become the most important things in the world.  Life is made of a thousand small moments, and Bug Swamp's Gold is a testament to that.  Life during the Depression and the War was anything but easy.  However, the love that weaves its way through these family members proves to be strong enough to withstand anything this fallen world throws their way.  And for a small girl - for anyone regardless of age - that love makes all the difference in the world.

     I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in personal accounts of the effect the Great Depression had on rural families.  It also provides an interesting childhood perspective of the World War II homefront.    I would also like to both thank and congratulate the author for her work on this memoir.  It's a tough feat, and the end result is a jewel that her family will cherish for generations to come.



Disclaimer:  I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Three out of Five Stars

The Butterfly and the Violin, by Kristy Cambron

 

The Butterfly and the Violin surprised me with its beauty.  It is a poem in an otherwise prosaic world, a work of art that should not be missed.

The plot is wonderfully woven, telling two stories across time.  The first is that of Adele Von Bron, a Christian violinist who is sent to Auschwitz for the aide she gives to a Jewish family in hiding.  She becomes a member of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, forced to play during prisoner marches and arrivals.  The second story is of Sera James, a modern day art historian who is searching for a painting of Adele that was found among many other hidden pieces of art at Auschwitz.

The modern day story is sweet and reads more like a straightforward romance novel.  It is entertaining, and largely serves as relief for the more serious story of Adele.  It helps to advance the plot of the historical portion of the novel in a very appropriate way.

The beauty of this novel lies in Adele’s story.  Condemned by her own father, a general of the Third Reich, she loses the love of her family and is separated from the man she loves.  She is forced from her life of privilege into the brutal conditions of a Nazi death camp.  Within her story, we learn of perseverance, of hope for the future, and of resilient faith in God even under impossible circumstances.  “But worship in the midst of agony?  That is authentic adoration of our Creator,” is the line that best sums up the value of this novel.

Cambron gives us a well-researched story of the death camps.  I’ve always had an interest in this era from my own grandfather’s stories, and I found the book fascinating.  The existence of the Auschwitz orchestras was new to me, and I so appreciate the homage that Cambron has paid to the victims of the Holocaust.  This book is an emotional journey that is not to be missed.

Five out of Five Stars

Disclaimer:  I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand

Louis Zamperini, the subject of this book, piqued my interest for a couple of reasons - he was stationed in the Pacific Theater, like my grandfather.  He also attended USC, like myself and my father.  And as I also volunteer in the Rose Parade, his selection as Grand Marshal for the 2015 parade interested me further - although I'd already placed this book on my to-read list.

But Laura Hillenbrand is such a fantastic author, you don't need to find connections with Louis Zamperini to appreciate his story.  The connections are already there.  Zamperini's humanity comes out in this book in a way that has you feeling that you're with him.  And Hillenbrand, with her carefully researched details, allows you to use all five of your senses as you become immersed in the story.

Zamperini, a miler in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, became an officer in the Army Air Forces during the war.  Stationed in Hawaii, he flew a number of missions until his plane went down.  He, his pilot, and a fellow crewman survived the crash, but drifted in a raft for over a month before they were picked up by the Japanese.  Hillenbrand recounts all of this, plus Zamperini's experiences as a POW.

As much as I value the prewar and war portions of this book, I greatly admire Zamperini for sharing his experiences with post-traumatic stress after the war.  Hillenbrand does an amazing job of painting the picture of a man who was tormented by his memories.  So often, I think, we don't hear about this of our World War II veterans.  I feel they were expected to just cowboy up and get over it because of the associated stigma.  But so many of them have struggled with their memories, even 70 years later.  And so, both Zamperini and Hillenbrand offer an important perspective that many war stories ignore.  Zamperini's tale is especially inspirational as he shares the spiritual awakening that finally led him out of his misery.

Hillenbrand's book is a biography that reads like a novel.  I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the time period in general, or for anyone who is looking for a truly moving book.

Five out of Five Stars

Daisies Are Forever, by Liz Tolsma

Daisies are Forever is a story of an American in Germany during World War II.  It is a story of survival, of a group of innocents trying to flee the Soviet occupation of Berlin in the final days of the war.  It is based on the lives of two women - Ruth Lippert, who led a group of ten people to safety; and Lillian Tolsma, who lived in Berlin during the Soviet occupation.

The book really does read like two different stories.  The first half lacks passion, particularly in the dialogue.  The author does an excellent job of description, and the landscape that she paints leaps off the page into the reader's mind.  However, the character development in the beginning is weak, most particularly with Kurt and Audra.  Kurt's motives are not explained enough to make his story plausible, and his story's end seems rushed and too good to be true.  I wasn't able to connect with Gisela and Mitch, the two main characters, as they tried to flee the German countryside to the safety of Berlin.

The second half of the book is a joy to read.  Small wonder, since it is based on the life of the author's grandmother.  The stories she must have told the author heavily influence this last half.  Here, we see characters finally spring to life with the zeal that was missing in the beginning.  We feel their fears, their determination, and their joy.  The love story becomes more believable.  And we get a very real sense of what it was like to live in Berlin just before and during the Soviet occupation in 1945.

The second half of the book is worth the first half.  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in civilian life during World War II.

Three of Five Stars

Disclaimer:  I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.