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.   =)

   

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.