Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Susan's Book Talk: The Kommandant's Girl
For every clunker I find for my book club, I manage to find some absolute keepers, too. This month, we read The Kommandant's Girl, Pam Jenoff's debut novel. Here's a blurb, taken from the author's website:
Okay, how do I even begin to tell you guys about this book? Here are some thought fragments:
Utterly impossible to put down
Compelling
The sort of book you get lost in
Impossible to keep from identifying with Emma/Anna
See a trend here? I'm writing this before tonight's meeting, but the members of the book club I've spoken with thus far have all spoken highly of this book. They've all agreed it's the good kind of fast read: the kind that sucks you in and you just want to read and read and read until it's over. And then, dammit, you want more.
Best of all, part of the central conflict of this book is one that leads to such great discussions: if you were Emma (or Jacob), what would you do? How would you view Emma's actions?
The ending is open. We don't get to find out what happens to Emma, although the story of Lukasz, the rabbi's son who the resistance passes off as Anna's cousin, would make for a compelling story in its own right. Again, this will also make great discussion at the meeting tonight.
I've mentioned before that my book club tends to veer away from the Holocaust; when you get a group of Jewish women together, you're bound to have someone whose ties cut a little too close to this period in history. But like A Thread of Grace, this is one book I'm glad we chose to read.
There is a follow-up that was just released in April. Called The Diplomat's Wife, it's the story of Marta, a secondary character in this book. I've already got it on my wishlist, even though from the summaries I've read, many of the themes parallel this book's. We shall see...
In the meantime, don't miss this one. I'm actually giving it to my vet tech next week, or I'd do a giveaway with it. Truly, I loved this book.
Nineteen year-old Emma Bau has only been married for three weeks when the Nazis invade her native Poland. After her husband, Jacob, is forced to disappear underground as part of the resistance movement, Emma soon finds herself imprisoned in the ghetto with her parents. There she meets one of the resistance leaders and with his help, she is able to escape the ghetto and live under an assumed, non-Jewish identity.
Emma’s already precarious situation is complicated by her introduction to Kommandant Georg Richwalder, a high-ranking Nazi official who insists that Emma come to work for him as his assistant. In this position, Emma has the opportunity to provide information to the resistance movement and potentially help her still-imprisoned parents. To do so, however, she must become perilously close to the Kommandant, a troubled man with a dark secret whose romantic intentions are clear. Emma makes the difficult decision to become involved with the Kommandant and, as their relationship intensifies, she is forced to acknowledge her own undeniable feelings for him. Desperately, Emma wrestles with questions of loyalty and duty until at last she is able to locate information sought by the resistance movement regarding the Nazi liquidation of the ghetto. Spurred by this information, the resistance undertakes the fateful bombing of a Nazi café, unleashing a chain of events that will change Emma’s life, and the lives of those she loves, forever.
Based in part on actual events, The Kommandant's Girl is a compelling tale of love and courage in a dangerous and desperate time. Unique in voice and evocative in historical detail, the novel’s widespread appeal stems not only from its eternally popular subjects of World War II and the Holocaust, but also from its timeless themes of hope, struggle and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.
Okay, how do I even begin to tell you guys about this book? Here are some thought fragments:
Utterly impossible to put down
Compelling
The sort of book you get lost in
Impossible to keep from identifying with Emma/Anna
See a trend here? I'm writing this before tonight's meeting, but the members of the book club I've spoken with thus far have all spoken highly of this book. They've all agreed it's the good kind of fast read: the kind that sucks you in and you just want to read and read and read until it's over. And then, dammit, you want more.
Best of all, part of the central conflict of this book is one that leads to such great discussions: if you were Emma (or Jacob), what would you do? How would you view Emma's actions?
The ending is open. We don't get to find out what happens to Emma, although the story of Lukasz, the rabbi's son who the resistance passes off as Anna's cousin, would make for a compelling story in its own right. Again, this will also make great discussion at the meeting tonight.
I've mentioned before that my book club tends to veer away from the Holocaust; when you get a group of Jewish women together, you're bound to have someone whose ties cut a little too close to this period in history. But like A Thread of Grace, this is one book I'm glad we chose to read.
There is a follow-up that was just released in April. Called The Diplomat's Wife, it's the story of Marta, a secondary character in this book. I've already got it on my wishlist, even though from the summaries I've read, many of the themes parallel this book's. We shall see...
In the meantime, don't miss this one. I'm actually giving it to my vet tech next week, or I'd do a giveaway with it. Truly, I loved this book.
Labels: Pam Jenoff, Susan's Book Talk
Comments:
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High praise indeed. It sounds like a book with much to ponder. I think I'll add it to my list too.
Thanks for the well wishes. I cannot begin to tell you how awful I feel right now.
Thanks for the well wishes. I cannot begin to tell you how awful I feel right now.
Great review. This books sounds really good-the type I like reading. It's definitely going on the list.
I read a lot of Holocaust memoirs and near-memoirs when I was younger. Not so much now. This one sounds like one for my list. I love stories with moral dilemmas-- the trickier, the better.
Not to be a dissenter, but I just don't read those books anymore. I'm sure it's an excellent book, but those types of stories never seem to hold my interest anymore. I can't get into them. Actually, I can't get into anything right now. I'm in a non-reading cycle again. I must have ADD or something.
It sounds intense. I'm not in the mood for that at the moment, but I'll keep it in mind for when I am.
# posted by 
: August 21, 2008 11:53 AM
: August 21, 2008 11:53 AM
Excellent. I love ambiguous endings and all I can manage at the moment is a 'quick read.'
You made me quite determined to join the library mystery book club again in September [when people are back at school]
Best wishes
You made me quite determined to join the library mystery book club again in September [when people are back at school]
Best wishes
I'd heard about this book and wondered. It sounded fascinating. Interesting that it was published by Mira. I'll add it to my toppling TBR list.
Well, I'm not in your book club obviously, but it was fun to stop in and read this post. This book sounds exhilirating! So, hey long time no email or comments, huh. Soooo goood to see you yesterday (HA - I just looked and it was Sunday! Good grief, Charlie Brown) and appreciate you stopping by. It made me all warm and fuzzy. Hope your writing is taking off since you were over. Mine has really taken a turn for the good. I'm thrilled. I stopped visiting and blogging just because I was spending so much time reading posts and writing comments that I wasn't focusing on my own stuff.
Have a great weekend my friend. *smoochies*
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Have a great weekend my friend. *smoochies*
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