But then my imagination kicked in, scenes from other books I'd read, documentaries I'd seen kept reminding me of what it what really like, and filled in the bits where Clara failed.
She partly fails because she focuses on the good times the children had, flying kites, playing in the flooded ditches etc.
I decided that there was three reasons why Clara was unemotional about describing camp life.

The first, applies to many people who have survived the horrors of war, whether soldiers or civilians. They never talk about those experiences, ever. Yes, they may just brush the surface, casually mention they been to Italy/Burma/France or whereever, and joke about the food, but never any insights as to what it was really like.

The second reason is I think Clara relied on distant memory. She was between the ages of 4 and 8, and was probably too young too remember enough details and the chronological order of events that happened over those 4 years. The memoirs read as if a story has been made of a number of events and the result is the narrative is not always convincing. Perhaps its her way of dealing with the horror she went through, by taking a step back from those experiences, but to me it doesn't feel as if they happened to her, some of the emotion is missing.

The final reason is a tribute to Clara's Mother. This is the point that the book is trying to convey. She cannot be praised too highly for the way she did her utmost to shelter the children from the unshelterable; feed them enough to keep starvation at bay; nurse them enough to sustain the terrible regime. She achieved the impossible, and put herself as a barrier between her children and the deprivation and suffering that was the camp. I think its due totally to the fantastic way that Clara's mother coped, both mentally and physically that makes Clara appear to have come through the experience, more unscathed than most.

In contrast to the unemotional way Clara describes her 4 year internment, the love and deep attachement she feels for her mother shines through. The book leaves you in no doubt at all she was the most devoted mother. And this is was makes it a book worth reading. It's not really about the horrors of a concentration camp, but the epitome of what a mother's love is capable of, to ensure the mental and physcial survival of her family. Clara's mother suceeded admirably.