User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Jude Batalion is my latest World War II read.
This non-fiction book is told in chronological order shifting perspectives between the various female fighters, spotlighting one fighter in particular, Renia. During the Holocaust, Jewish factions, many of them led by women, fought the Nazis.
This novel focused on the female Jewish resistance in Poland. Women frequently transported forged documents and led others to safety. Many raised funds for weapons and hosted soup kitchens. They also helped to form some semblance of routine and normalcy for the children by organizing education in the midst of chaos and upheaval.
The Light of Days walks the reader through the events leading up to the ghettos, the resistance, and the fate of many of the fighters (which often included death and being forced to Auschwitz). During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, many women fought the Nazis with weapons. The Light of Days astounded me because there were Jewish women who were free of the ghettos and fought to get back in to help!
This book and I were destined for each other. I tried to request this book on NetGalley and was rejected. Then, I entered the GoodReads giveaway. When speaking to my underground book club, I was venting that I was not sure that GoodReads giveaways were even legit because I never won a single giveaway. And I entered hundreds of GoodReads giveaways.
Then, I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway! Woot! Woot!
The historical narrative for Jews in World War II is that the Nazis rounded them up against their will and were cast as helpless against monsters. This book aims to change that narrative. Some Jewish groups actively and forcibly resisted the Nazis and attacked them. They did not go quietly. Many risked their lives, and many did die. For that, I am grateful for reading this book.
This book changed my perception of World War II, and it gives voice to the females’ efforts and bravery during a horrific time of unimaginable cruelty.
However, the World War II literary space is very competitive with chilling first-hand accounts in The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Night by Elie Wiesel.
The Light of Days was written in the third-person perspective to its detriment. Why The Diary of Anne Frank and Night are so riveting is that it feels like Anne or Elie is sitting on the couch next to you, as a friend, recounting their experience and all of their feelings. The Light of Days is a bit light on dialogue, and it reads more like a research article.
The Light of Days also departs sharply from Night and The Diary of Anne Frank in that it rotated between the various female fighters. Again, it was to its detriment. Personally, I would have liked to see one section for each female fighter instead of rotating. Each rotation was really confusing, because there would be an entirely new set of characters, and I would forget where we left off from the previous section.
This book also needed an editor. There were multiple errors that I was surprised to find in a book from a traditional publishing company. For example, on Page 16, “What they would be without her?” Clearly, it is meant to be “What would they be without her?” There was also an instance (and I’m so sorry that I can’t direct quote it because I have a physical copy of the book and not the electronic version), but there was a paragraph where it said that a neighborhood was chasing someone when it clearly meant a neighbor.
As mentioned earlier, this book read more like a research article. The author clearly did her research and was quite passionate about the topic. However, storytelling is an art, and The Light of Days might have been better if Batalion teamed up with a ghost writer such as what Jennifer Robertson did with Stephen Kimber in Bitcoin Widow.
In my opinion, the ending of the book should have been stronger. The author ends the book with her personal experience crafting the book, and her journey researching, translating, traveling, and interviewing people. However, I think that the book should have ended much like a movie, with very short paragraphs about each of the women. Like a gut punch.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much, and it is important to change the historical narrative around the Holocaust. Strong, brave female subjects always earn extra points in my book. However, the changing perspectives are distracting, and The Light of Days is competing with some extremely compelling World War II literature.
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Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars rounded up.
We have to keep reading these books so we don’t forget . I say that every time I read a work of historical fiction about the Holocaust or a memoir of someone who survived it. Having read this non fiction account of courageous, strong Jewish women of the resistance in Poland, it should go without saying, but not only do I have to say it again - we just can’t forget - but I have to say how important it is to remember these women and pay tribute to them. I haven’t read much about organized Jewish resistance, about the Jewish youth movements and not much about the role of Jewish women in the resistance . I have not read about the harrowing acts of Jewish women carrying resistance documents or arms until now. I’ve read a lot about the horrific treatment of Jews during this time, but not some of the things that are related here, unrelenting truths of what happened. These accounts are so disturbing, and that’s exactly why I recommend that people read this book . We need to know and we need to remember. The real life stories of Renia Kukielka, Zivia Lubetkin, Frumka Plotnicka, Tosia Altman and others whose stories we find here represent so many women who carried documents, arms, and money in and out of the ghetto, conducted attacks on Nazis. How did they get their strength and determination and resilience? Maybe because:
“On another memorable evening, several buses of Gestapo forced Jews, half naked, barefoot in nightclothes, to go outside and run around the snow-filled market while the Gestapo chased them with rubber clubs, or told them to lie down in the snow for thirty minutes, or forced them to flog their fellow Jews with whips, or to lie on the ground and have a military vehicle run over them.”
“Nazis had Jews dig their own graves and made them sing and dance in the pits until they shot them...Elderly Jews were also made to sing and dance, the Nazis plucking out their beard hairs one by one and slapping them until they spat out their teeth.”
“Through hysterical sobs, these starving women told her that their town had been surrounded. Gunshots flew in every direction. Their children had been playing outside and ran to their houses. but a Nazi caught them and beat the kids to death ,one by one.”
There are so many more of these vile and violent attacks on Jews told here, and some may choose not to read this because of the horror of it all. I have included these quotes here because if someone chooses not to read this book, they will at least know some of it, if they read this review. This fell a little short of 5 solid stars because I felt the narrative lacked cohesiveness and at times felt like it could have been better organized. BUT in spite of that, what is told here is just so important and it needs be read widely. I have to up it to 5 stars. I liked that the author lets us know the fates of these women in the last part of the book and in the moving epilogue and relates to us her personal connection as the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her extensive research efforts are notable, with pages of references and notes from documents written by some of these women and numerous other sources. Kudos to Judy Batalion for discovering and bringing to light the stories of these amazing women. If you think it can’t happen again, think about the neo Nazis who marched with torches in Charlottesville just a couple of years ago .
I received a copy of this book from William Morrow/Harper Collins through Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
For the most part, war histories have been written by men, and brave women have been given short shrift. Judy Batalion helps correct this by telling the stories of Jewish women in Poland who resisted the Nazis during World War II. These women served as couriers, caretakers, and fighters, especially in Będzin, Krakow, Warsaw and other cities that had relatively large Jewish communities.
Jews in Warsaw before World War IIAfter the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Jews in cities were relegated to cramped ghettos where living space, food, medicine, clothing, money, sanitation, work papers, etc. were in short supply.
Warsaw GhettoWomen smugglers who could pass for Polish Christians would sneak out, round up supplies, pass messages, and do what had to be done....with no thought to their own safety.
Some Jewish women in Poland could pass as Aryans A female memoirist describes the girls in a diary: 'Heroic girls; boldly they travel back and forth through the cities and towns of Poland. They are in mortal danger every day. They rely entirely on their Aryan faces and on the peasant kerchiefs that cover their heads. Without a murmur, without a second's hesitation, they accept and carry out the most dangerous missions. If someone needed to travel to Vilna, Białystok, Lemberg [or other cities], to smuggle in contraband such as illegal publications, goods, money, the girls volunteer as though it's the most natural thing in the world. If comrades have to be rescued, they undertake the mission. Nothing stands in their way. The missions are dangerous; the women are often arrested and searched. But they are indefatigable.'
Jewish women resistance fightersThe book, which is almost 600 pages long, contains the stories of many women - all of them memorable. To provide a feel for the narrative, I'll briefly summarize one woman's tale.
In 1942, Renia Kukielkher was a 17-year-old girl living in the Warsaw Ghetto with her family. Jews who made their way to the ghetto from outside told horrible tales. Renia heard the story of a German, foaming at the mouth who killed two infants by kicking them with spiked boots. The mother was ordered to watch, then dig them graves. The German finally crushed the mother's skull with the butt of his rifle.
On another day Renia saw a group of half-insane women - raggedy, pale, blue-lipped, and shaking - who told her that their town had been surrounded. Gunshots flew and the Nazis beat their children to death.
Nazis killed Jewish childrenOther women told stories of Poles adding to the persecution, blackmailing Jews for money and possessions, under threat of turning them in.
When the Nazis began liquidating the Warsaw Ghetto, and deporting Jews to work camps and concentration camps (extermination camps), Renia's family decided to leave.
Krakow`s Polish Jews arriving at German Auschwitz concentration campRenia made it to a Nazi-run Jewish labor camp, where the workers hoped to be safe from deportation.
Nazi-run Jewish labor campThe camp wasn't safe, however, and Renia left and began wandering around Poland. Renia was caught by police with dogs, but looked Aryan enough to pass for a Christian, and got away.
At a train station, Renia found a woman's purse with some money and a Polish passport, which was her ticket to travel.
Polish train station during World War IIAfter a harrowing journey - during which Renia lived in constant fear of being exposed as a Jew - she got a job as a housekeeper in the home of a half-German family called the Hollanders. There Renia pretended to be Catholic, went to church with the family, was careful to speak like a Pole, etc....all the time fearful of being outed as a Jew, and suffering from anxiety and insomnia.
Polish Catholics attended church on SundaysRenia received letters from her sister, and learned that her family was living in the woods and suffering. Though it was very dangerous, Renia made up her mind to join them. Renia told the Hollanders her aunt was sick, and got permission to visit her. A smuggler helped Renia travel, with her Jewishness deeply buried. Renia finally made it to a Jewish enclave in Będzin, but all her relatives - except for one sister - was lost.
Będzin GhettoWanting to help the Jewish cause, Renia became a courier for the resistance. If caught by Germans, couriers were imprisoned in filthy conditions, raped, beaten, starved, and either transported to concentration camps or killed. But Renia survived to tell her story.
Other women have tales similar to Renia's, and some even took part in armed rebellions. Women fought during the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising, for example, and German soldiers were amazed to see women hand-to-hand fighting, shooting guns, and throwing grenades.
Warsaw Ghetto uprisingThe book is hard to read because the disgusting, vicious, stomach-churning atrocities committed by the Nazis and (many) Poles are described in detail. Still, the bravery of the featured women is uplifting and inspiring, and it's good to see their stories told.
Author Judy BatalionIn an afterward, Judy Batalion writes that she took 12 years to write the book, most of it spent researching diaries, memoirs, testimonies, books, and writings in a variety of languages, including English, Yiddish, German, Hebrew, Polish and Russian. Battalion also traveled around the world to meet the descendants of the featured women, sifted through photographs and letters, and learned how the ladies lived during the post-war phase of their lives. Many of the women suffered from survivor's guilt and/or mental illness, and some committed suicide.
The book tells an important story of remarkable women, and is well worth reading.
Thanks to Netgalley, Judy Battalion, and William Morrow Publishers for a copy of the book.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
Rating: really liked it
The Light of Days is the first book I have encountered that tells the stories of heroic young Jewish women in Poland who fought the oppression and subsequent Holocaust of their people with fervor and an undeniable braveness that I cannot imagine. It is immediately evident how well researched this book was by Judy Batalion and how important is was to her to tell these stories with as much respect and accuracy as possible. Her forward and authors notes were my most favourite parts of the book. I approached this read thinking it would be a semi-fictional "based on real stories and real women" story, a "The Secrets we Kept" style novel, but it really is a non-fiction piece almost reading like a research paper, with authors thoughts and the use of interjections like, "in one instance" and "it is reported that she said" woven through the accounts.
The audiobook was narrated by Mozhan Marno whose voice was very soothing yet strong and was the perfect compliment to tell these stories. It has quite a long running time at 16.25 hours. I am hopeful that, when released, Harper sets up an accessible webpage with a list of names, maps and photos to accompany the audiobook to round out the experience.
There are many young women featured here, all of whom sacrificed everything, even opportunities for personal freedom, to keep fighting in an attempt to secure those freedoms for others in the face of unspeakable brutality. I feel very well read on the atrocities of the Holocaust but had read very little about female freedom fighters in this time so was very interested to hear about these women. There were many tears shed listening to this, and many moments of thankfulness that my own life hasn't been subject to trials such as these women faced. Batalion does not shirk the atrocities here, the horrible sexual, depraved, barbaric, animalistic treatments are described in full.
There is a lot of information and full stories of each of the women's lives included. It was really a different read and at times changed it's mind as to whether it was telling a story or detailing an historical event but that didn't detract in my opinion as the author clearly felt both after committing so much of her life to tell the stories of these women. When I was done the book and hearing the author tell her own stories of traveling to the birth homes of these women in Poland and meeting with their present day families, I felt so emotional and connected and she made some really wonderful points about why some of these stories were never told, reasons both political and personal. She also remarked that none of these heroic women who lived and grew old were given assistance dealing with the fact that they survived and what that left them with to deal with, especially after the tortures they had endured and the loss of their young adult lives. I wished she had been comfortable with weaving her thoughts throughout the book as her voice was so welcomed at the end. I do feel that she wanted to respect these women's stories and wanted to give them a vessel and a voice and not overlay her own.
She did all of these women proud, they are portrayed with strength and compassion but still as women and although a dark and difficult read, I am grateful to Judy Batalion for telling their stories.
I am thankful to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an Advanced Reader Copy of this Audiobook, it will be released in April 2021 and and has also already been optioned for movie production by Steven Spielberg.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook... read by Mozhan
Marno / synced with the ebook (own)
From 1941 on, no Jews or anyone living in Poland were allowed to leave, the ghetto.
“The Light of Days” is an unveiling of anonymous Jewish women who displayed acts of astonishing bravery.
We meet Renia Kukielka, not yet 20 years of age at the start — “neither an idealist or a revolutionary but a savvy middle-class girl who happened to find herself in a sudden and unrelenting nightmare. She rose to the occasion, fueled by an inner sense of justice and by anger”.
Renia and other Polish Jewish women ( her sister Sarah, too), joined foreign resistance units. Some of these women went underground and established rescue networks to help fellow Jews hide or escape.
They resisted morally, spiritually, and culturally by concealing their identities distributing Jewish books, setting up soup kitchens for orphans.
Author, Judy Batalion (love the *lion* in her name), did phenomenal research. Reading her notes are of great interest.
This book is filled with stories about dozens of unknown young Jews who fought in the resistance against the Nazis, mainly from the inside of the Polish ghettos.
The “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards....
“hid revolvers in loaves of bread, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with Nazis, bought them off with wine, whiskey, and pastry, and, with stealth, shot and killed them. They carried out espionage missions for Moscow, distributed fake IDs and underground flyers, and were bearers of the truth about what was happening to Jews. They helped the sick and taught the children; they bombed German train lines and blew up Vilna’s Electric supply. They dressed up as non-Jews, worked as maids on the Aryan Side of town, and helped Jews escape the ghettos through canals and chimneys, by digging holes in walls and crawling across rooftops. They bribed executioners, wrote underground radio bulletins, upheld group morale, negotiated with Polish landowners, tricked the Gestapo into carrying their luggage filled with weapons, initiated a group of anti-Nazi Nazis, and, of course, Took care of most of the underground administration”.
The imprisonment,
mass shootings, forced labor,
starvation, and sterilization.... set up in the ghetto in the second half of 1941, was liquidated in 1943. Those who survived, were deported to the Belzec extermination camps and the Janowska concentration camps.
Judy Batalion, herself, comes from a family of Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors.
Her Montreal Jewish community was composed a largely of Holocaust survivor families—both Judy’s family and neighbors—who were each lived with painful and suffering family stories.
In some ways reading this book felt like a thriller. Maybe that’s why Steven Spielberg knew this was not only important story....but would draw flocks of people to see this book adapted for the screen.
This is non-fiction’ book that reads like a thriller....stories we wish ‘were’ fiction.
The woman we learn about acted with so much ferocity, fortitude, and even
violence when necessary.
Several of them had a chance to escape yet did not, some even chose to return and battle.
Their rebellious acts
spanned the gamut— from simple acts to more -cautious- elaborate complex planning.
Journeys with fake documents... escaping... facing danger every step of the way.
For some Jewish women, the goal was to rescue Jews; for others, to die and leave a legacy of dignity.
I tried to imagine what I would’ve done in some of these ladies situation. Would I have stayed to fight? Or would I have escaped if I had a chance?
There were cases where children were being taken to the extermination camps, and their mothers—who didn’t want them to be alone— went along with them, killing themselves as well.
I can’t think of anything much more sad than that. And I wouldn’t fault a mother for whatever choice she made.
Writing, proved, like we’ve learned through history in war before, was a savior. These women wrote, documented, wrote and wrote and wrote, hoping that, maybe, one day their notes would be read. They made four copies, and hide them, under floorboards.
The stories in here are so phenomenal.
I don’t care how many Holocaust books you’ve read, this isn’t those.
I have a friend, Lani, who is reading this book, along side with me —🙂—
This is a type of book one reads, and you’re happy to have somebody to discuss it with afterwards.
Not an easy book to read as anyone can understand, but the women’s courageous resilience was mind-blowing extraordinary.
By the end I came to think of these Jewish women as professional spies and front line comrades.
There was devastating horror ... as anyone of us can imagine.... but while fighting, planning, and working with purpose (while physically weak), they also told jokes, celebrated Shabbat when they could, chanted songs, found ways to keep each other’s spirits up.
The ending & photos included are really moving.
It worked well for me too sync ‘read & listen’.
Both formats were gripping, and outstanding.
Both formats were relatively easy to easy to follow.
It never felt like a textbook in other words.
Personally - I recommend it....
Yeah even during a pandemic.
I’m not sure when the movie is coming out but I can already imagine it.
Rating: really liked it
Quick thoughts:
A Steven Spielberg movie? One of the most important stories of WWII? The strength of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters? Why have we not heard their stories before? This book gave me chills and inspired me in the best of ways.
It's a story of female friendship and bravery against all odds. I’m grateful Judy Batalion is shining a well-deserved spotlight on these remarkable women. I promise you, you will never, ever forget this true tale.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
I've read many holocaust books, which are always horrific. This one though was if possible even more so, but the bravery of these women left me without words. I had to keep.putting this book down, sometimes letting a day go by before picking it up again.
Hitler invades Poland and soon the News are forced into ghettoes. I never knew of these resistance movements by the news, how much many risked. Women were often sent on missions, as couriers, surveillance, retrieving weapons and forged papers. Men were suspect and it was easy to prove they were Jews by their circumcisions. Their are many names, though some of the women are paid more attention than others, so they became familiar as was their family stories.
The author spares the reader little. The murders in the ghettos, the cruelties of the camps, the sadistic guards, the killings of so many young children and infants, all graphically described. These women who did so much should be read about and remembered. Their bravery should be known.
ARC from Netgalley.
Rating: really liked it
What I expected was the story of these amazing, courageous, brave women. I was disappointed.
The author obviously did a great deal of research and she seems to have incorporated every bit of information she had at hand.
The story of the women became bogged down somewhere within the pages of Polish history. The book is top heavy with information that could have been another book entirely. It’s one of those books that makes it hard for the reader to follow. There was TMI that added nothing to the women’s stories.
Rating: really liked it
This book was a bit of an information dump. I'm really glad that she did this research and brought these young women's stories to light, but there were so many characters and events that it was hard to keep track of them. It ended up feeling to me like I was reading a string of separate anecdotes. They were all gripping, but not as much as if I had been able to get attached to any of the characters. I think others will likely use this book as source material to write something that feels more like a story.
Rating: really liked it
Everyone else seemed to love this book and I find that my negative review is in the minority. This was one of my most anticipated nonfiction reads of the year, especially when I found out that Spielberg has already optioned it.
This is a story that must be told, and my review is not based on the historical events and the astounding heroism of the Jewish Polish women in WWII - because this is a story that needs telling. Instead, my negative review has to do with Judy Batalion's writing and organization, which seemed all over the place. First, Batalion would have done better to focus on just a couple of these women resistors of WWII Poland. While the main character was Revia, there were at least a dozen others that I struggled to keep track of. Because of this, I was constantly trying to figure out who each woman was and their relationships to one another. I eventually gave up.
Adding to my frustration was the organization of the book. The chapters were constantly broken up with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Batalion would talk about Revia, then switch to some historical context, then go onto another woman, only to then return to Revia. This organization drove me crazy and I couldn't see any point to it. Is she trying to mimic the staccato nature of life during wartime? It seemed very ADD to me and kept me from connecting with the book.
It's clear that Batalion did a lot of research for this book. She's spent ten years doing research and she wants everything in the book. But it all doesn't need to be in this 450-page book. Exacerbating this: Batalion is repetitive. There might be different women, but many of them are doing similar things. For example, I had to read over and over again how one of the ways Jewish women were successful in the resistance is that they disguised themselves as non-Jews. The ways in which they did this was mentioned repeatedly. Again, better organization and editing would have been helpful.
I have a feeling that Spielberg's movie, if it is made, will be very good and probably only focus on Revia and one or two other women. It will be like HIDDEN FIGURES - a book I hated (again, because of the writing, not the content) and a movie I loved (focusing on the women's stories).
Rating: really liked it
This 461 page book is a huge, welcome accomplishment and a very important contribution to world history. I say world as opposed to Holocaust because it has even more import than for just that one horrific event. Batalion will hopefully be rewarded for her passionate and carefully researched book. I know a movie is forthcoming, but I hope there are some book awards, as well!
Rating: really liked it
I found the accounts of resistance efforts a little too scattered at the beginning of the book. The last third of the book was incredibly suspenseful and horrifyingly detailed. 4.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
The Light of Days is a nonfiction book about the Women Resistance Fighters during World War II, specifically Jewish women in Poland. Having read many books about the war, it never ceases to amaze me the sheer acts of heroism when fighting against evil. For various reasons their contributions have largely been untold or long forgotten, and I'm thankful this book gives them the recognition they deserve.
A tremendous amount of effort was put into the research and writing. It's impressive when you consider so many of their stories were essentially lost due to things like the passage of time and info not available because of the general chaos of war. The author did a great job piecing together what she could with limited resources.
Photos are included of many of the people featured and I completely teared up when I got to the last photo of one of the survivors in her later years pictured with her granddaughter. I couldn't help but realize that it perfectly illustrated what she fought for so many years ago. She was fighting not just for her future, but for the next generation, and the generation after that.
Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with a copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
I have a lot of thoughts and my first one is that I HATE the way this book was written, but I don’t want to dissuade other people from reading it because they definitely should. The author told the stories of different Jewish women who were in Polish ghettos and worked as resistance fighters. There were a few main characters that were followed throughout the story but many side stories about other women were placed randomly in the middle of chapters that completely interrupted the flow of the story and my train of thought. There were A LOT of names to remember and it was especially confusing because they were going between different locations so often. There were also a few very repetitive parts and the book could have been shorter. I think it would have been way more effective if the author either focused on the same two or three girls or dedicated a chapter to the story of a different woman. There were a few instances when the author would include a really interesting story and then abruptly moved on and I would be like wait that’s it?! There were also a few pages towards the middle of the book that explained what a courier was in more detail and why women made such good couriers and it would have been helpful for the author to include this information at the beginning of the book considering courier girls and other resistance fighters are literally the entire premise of the book. As inspiring as some of the included stories are, obviously Holocaust books are not meant to be entertaining but there is something to be said for engaging your readers and writing in an easy to follow way. I was and still am extremely frustrated with the structure of the book but the content was the most important part.
Next, there were several extremely horrific and disturbing details that made me have to put down the book for a while to calm down. As upsetting as it is, I think it is very very important for people to be reminded of how bad the Holocaust was because we often forget and take our own safety and comfort for granted.
I did learn a lot from this book and despite having a Jewish education, and learning a considerable amount about the Holocaust, I had never learnt about the events talked about in this book (like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) and it baffles me that we don’t talk about Jewish women resistance fighters more often. There were stories about teenagers and early women in their twenties waking in to Gestapo houses/ offices and shooting officers in the face and then walking back out again, women making homemade bombs and blowing up Nazis, saving other Jews, and enduring the worst suffering imaginable, etc AND NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT. The author also gave explanations at the end of the book about why so many women’s stories were forgotten about.
Even though I despise the way this book was written I still 100% recommend that everyone should read it but you need to have patience. Maybe the April break would be a good time to read it.
Especially now that antisemitism is on the rise and more and more people have never heard about the Holocaust, education is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING and telling these kinds of stories is crucial so we never forget.
Rating: really liked it
[Thank you to William Morrow/HarperCollins for the free Advance Reader's Edition]
I am a strong believer in reading any and everything documenting the Holocaust. As we move farther away from the years during which these atrocities took place, survivors are almost gone or will have passed soon. A distressing rise in social conservatism and far right beliefs means Holocaust deniers are continuing to spread their lies. So I will start this book review by saying, it is worth reading.
At the same time, however, I will say that it is a difficult book to get through. Painstakingly researched over (I believe) more than a decade, there is a lot. It is page after page of violence, pain, suffering to which we must all continue to bear witness. At the same time, the writing itself was uneven, vacillating between the melodrama that can come with recounting people's personal stories, particularly after having survived such horrors, and straightforward history. My preference is for the latter; historical fiction is its own genre, and not every writer can pull it off. The melodrama in these stories of incredible courage, stamina and survival is unnecessary -- they are compelling on face value.
This is the story of the Polish girls and women who made up the Resistance during World War II. Their stories must be told. If anything, I appreciated how much this book centered their lives and experiences -- as opposed to so many books focusing on the horrors of what the Nazis did to Jews and those who tried to help them, this book focused on those who fought back. And in this case, the girls and women, whose stories have consistently taken a back seat. There are many accounts of how girls and women were particularly brutalized during these times -- and Ms. Batalion offers stories of those who, with unimaginable strength, devised strategic plans, took great risks to help others, and ended up fighting and killing along with men. The sexism of the generation has not allowed for anywhere nearly enough of their stories to be told.
The first time I began to plow through it was Chapter 30, when Ms. Batalion's writing switches and becomes straightforward. The earlier chapters needed far better editing (words were occasionally missing, and perhaps that can be resolved in the final publication), not only for general editing purposes, but also to fix the circuity of the chapters and stories to make it easier to follow.
All that written, I will say again that it's worth a read, although it is a book you may need to put down and pick up again.
