Lilac Girls by Martha Hall KellyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
SWEDISH REVIEW
CAROLINE är volontär på franska ambassaden i New York och har precis mött mannen i sina drömmar. På andra sidan Atlanten tar den polska sextonåringen KASIA spionuppdrag för att imponera på pojken hon älskar. Samtidigt ser den unga tyska läkaren HERTA inget annat val än att börja arbeta i ett koncentrationsläger för att försörja sig.
Efter att Kasia tillfångatagits av tyskarna möter hon Herta under omständigheter som saknar motstycke i vår historia. Men Carolines välgörenhetsarbete tar henne till Europa, där hennes och Kasias vägar möts.
Skönhetens väg bygger på en sann historia. Caroline Ferriday och Herta Oberheuser var verkliga personer. Den ena förärades två tapperhetsmedaljer för sina insatser under andra världskriget. Den andra dömdes i Nürnberg för fasansfulla brott mot mänskligheten. Romanen är en fängslande berättelse om deras drömmar, umbäranden och uthållighet och det godas seger över ondskan.
Efter att Kasia tillfångatagits av tyskarna möter hon Herta under omständigheter som saknar motstycke i vår historia. Men Carolines välgörenhetsarbete tar henne till Europa, där hennes och Kasias vägar möts.
Skönhetens väg bygger på en sann historia. Caroline Ferriday och Herta Oberheuser var verkliga personer. Den ena förärades två tapperhetsmedaljer för sina insatser under andra världskriget. Den andra dömdes i Nürnberg för fasansfulla brott mot mänskligheten. Romanen är en fängslande berättelse om deras drömmar, umbäranden och uthållighet och det godas seger över ondskan.
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Martha Hall Kelly har skrivit en fantastisk bok. Men också en av de mest jobbigaste böcker jag har läst. Men böcker som SKÖNHETENS VÄG behövs. Man behöver läsa böcker som tar upp svåra ämnen.
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Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this debut novel reveals a story of love, redemption, and secrets that were hidden for decades.
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
I have read many books about the horror of WW2, but not all of the books have moved me in the way LILAC Girls did. Undoubtedly this is a book one really should read. I actually have difficulty describing how terrible it was to read this book. It may sound bad, but the devastation that occurred during WW2 is written in such a detail in this book that I couldn't help feel trepidation reading the story. Also, to add Herta Oberheuser's story to the book made the story even stronger. I did not read about Herta before I started reading the book. I did not do that until later. That meant that I did not know that she would later be held accounted for her actions at the trial in Nuremberg. So, to me at first, she was only a character, along with Caroline and Kasia. However, unlike the other two women, Herta's story is of evil doings. Which I discovered as the story progressed. Her work at Ravensbrück, the tests carried out cannot be described in any other way. Reading about Ravensbrück, what happened to Kasia and the other women was truly difficult. So, very, very, difficult.
Martha Hall Kelly has written a wonderful book. It's also one of the hardest books I have read. However, books like the LILAC Girls are needed. You need to read books that deal with difficult topics like this.
ENGLISH REVIEW
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this debut novel reveals a story of love, redemption, and secrets that were hidden for decades.New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
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I have read many books about the horror of WW2, but not all of the books have moved me in the way LILAC Girls did. Undoubtedly this is a book one really should read. I actually have difficulty describing how terrible it was to read this book. It may sound bad, but the devastation that occurred during WW2 is written in such a detail in this book that I couldn't help feel trepidation reading the story. Also, to add Herta Oberheuser's story to the book made the story even stronger. I did not read about Herta before I started reading the book. I did not do that until later. That meant that I did not know that she would later be held accounted for her actions at the trial in Nuremberg. So, to me at first, she was only a character, along with Caroline and Kasia. However, unlike the other two women, Herta's story is of evil doings. Which I discovered as the story progressed. Her work at Ravensbrück, the tests carried out cannot be described in any other way. Reading about Ravensbrück, what happened to Kasia and the other women was truly difficult. So, very, very, difficult.
Martha Hall Kelly has written a wonderful book. It's also one of the hardest books I have read. However, books like the LILAC Girls are needed. You need to read books that deal with difficult topics like this.
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