Heartrending read
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If you are interested in Holocaust history then this book is a must. Your heart goes out to Alicia right from the start.
It sends a clear picture of what the Nazis were like and what horrors they were capable of, the book is very well written and it is very difficult to put down because all you want is for the family to survive.
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Unbelievable - but true
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I haven't even finished reading this book, but felt I must let other people know how fantastic it is. An amazing true story of courage and hope and each page is more gripping than the last. This book has given me more of an insight into what happened to the Polish Jews than anything else I have seen or read. If you're interested in this period of history then buy this book now.
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Remarkable story from a remarkable woman
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I am a huge reader of holocaust literature. There's something really inspiring in the way that people such as Alica survive the very worst of deprevations, and somehow manage to emerge out the other side not just as survivors but as trully remarkable human beings.
Alicia's story really is heart rending. How she didn't herself go under when she saw one member of her family after another lose their life we can only wonder at.
Although this work is biographical, it really has the feel of a novel to it, and so is a very fluent read. The only criticism I would make was that the end of the book was a little abrupt. I really felt I could have done with one final chapter on how Alica rebuilt her life in Israel and America.
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Emotive, admirable, humbling and vastly educational
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The only reason I bought this book was because we both share the name Alicia; I was originally sceptical that I would find the book boring and tedious yet once I had started reading I found it impossible to stop!
Alicia enables you to catch a glimpse of life for a Jew in Nazi occupied Poland; she speaks of the prejudice from all sides, loss of loved ones, the struggle to find work and food, and her eventual journey from a life of hate to one of love. It is an extremely emotional book that had my crying at many points.
I am currently 16 (roughly the same age as Alicia for most of the book) and can truly admire the courage and loyalty she shows when faced with danger; I do not believe I could have acted in such an admirable way and am humbled.
As I read the book I realized that the tale was so drastic and horrific that, if it was a story I would have found it overdone and too dramatic; the fact that this is a true story with no exagerations (the only changes were to names)I find it hard to believe that life wa so cruel for people like Alicia.
I recommend this book to everyone! If you are interested in real life under the Nazis rather than just facts and figures then this is the book to read. If the topic does not interest you then I still recommend the book as I believe everyone should be aware of the horrors that come from blind belief in the wrong things.
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courageous
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Once I started reading this book I could not put it down, it is well written and also a real page turner. Alicias' story has stayed with me, and whilst reading this book I often was overcome with emotion - incredulous at how cruel people could be to one another. Some scenes of how SS men treated the families and young children were horrific, and worse was how they derived pleasure at doing truly inhumane things to innocent people. It was interesting to read about the general weakness and greed of many of the Polish and Ukraine collaberaters who even after the war, went on to murder some of the jewish survivors who returned to reclaim their old homes or businesses. Many times I found myself in tears for Alicias' plight andfor the millions of jews wiped out- she is a heroine and so brave. What struck me most that despite living through a hellish existence was how her heart did not turn black with hate, but the book overall has an incredible feeling of how love and courage can conquer, even as a child struggling to survive day by day she does not let the evil around her destroy her. An inspirational book and a reminder to us all and future generations -we should not forget-
Sonia
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