As I have mentioned in prior reviews, this genre is not always for the faint of heart. Most of the novels I have read focus on WWII in some aspect. That’s obviously because it is a gold mine of stories, experiences, and there is no end to the characters that can be fashioned from real life people.
Of those novels, many are also set in the concentration camps, or capture the Nazi regime in some other fashion. Although the brutality and depravity of the party is well-known, it is still often difficult to fathom the depths of hatred and callousness exhibited by human beings.
That is what makes books like this hard to read at times. It’s not because the story or writing is bad, but more that the relentless reminder of the horrors perpetrated on innocent people is often stomach churning.
That is what I found to be the case with this book.
Set in the Polish ghettos, the story largely belongs to Emilia and Roman, two people on either side of the walls erected by the Nazis, but with the common goal of saving children from being shipped to the “work camps” (yes, we know what those really are).
There are a lot of people to keep track of in the story, which made for slow reading at times. I don’t know if I wasn’t concentrating enough, but I found myself forgetting who people were and needing to go back in the story to clarify.
The author obviously felt a passion for the subject matter, because it was incredibly detailed and seemingly impeccably researched. I think it was that level of detail that gave it the authenticity that made it difficult at times (if that makes sense).
Another thing that many of these books often have in common, though, are the dual messages of hope in the face of terror and how the bravery of an ordinary person can make an enormous impact on people.
Both of those are on full display in this story.
I know I have been general in this review, but it would be impossible to recount the plot points and good and bad details of everything. I will just repeat that it is very-well written, with lots of gut-wrenching detail, and more than a glimpse at the extraordinary people who fought a tide of hatred.
Not light beach reading, to be sure. But it shouldn’t be missed.
Twitter: @KelRimmerWrites
Instagram: @kelrimmerwrites
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kelly Rimmer is the worldwide, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Before I Let You Go, The Things We Cannot Say, and Truths I Never Told You. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. Please visit her at https://www.kellyrimmer.com/
BUY LINKS:
- Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-warsaw-orphan-a-wwii-novel-9781525811531/9781525895999
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