Tag Archives: holocaust

Top 10 Books Dealing with Tough Subjects

Posted on by

21

This week, The Broke and Bookish decided to take a more sombre note for their weekly lists. We’ve all read more than our fair share of sad books, but here are my top 10 books that deal with subjects of death, disease, civil rights, etc. (in no particular order):

10) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. We all know his books to be tender, sad tales, but this was my first and only book I’ve read by him. Cancer is the scariest six-letter word out there, that can make even the strongest person wither. Add to that the connection between Hazel and Augustus, and you’ve got yourself a story that’s too difficult to bear.

9) The Help by Kathryn Stockett. What African Americans had to endure in the past, and what some of them are still enduring today, is painful. They weren’t even treated as humans, and had little to no rights. Racism takes centre stage in this novel, which made me cry. The movie was done well too.

8) Bridge to Terebethia by Katherine Paterson. My grade six teacher made us read this for class and I don’t remember ever being scarred by book that young. It was terrifying and for the longest time I thought everyone I loved was going to die.

7) Night by Elie Wiesel. Horrific. Jaw-dropping. True. Wiesel takes you back through his memories of the Holocaust as a young boy. No matter who you are, you cannot but be affected by this memoir.

6) Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. Almost all of Dessen’s novels revolve around some form of issue, but this one takes the cake. Sexual assualt, bullying and eating disorders all rolled up into one beautifully-spoken story.

5) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Another gripping Holocaust story. As you know, I love WWII stories, and although this is fiction, it’s one of the best stories based on that time. It will make you cry.

4) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. You all know how much I treasure this book. And although the romance aspect had a strong play there, I also loved this book because of the controversial topic it covered. Death is never easy, particularly assisted suicide. BAWL.

3) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Okay, I realize this is a children’s story that was probably read to you before bed. But take a moment and think about what this book is truly about: a young pig is taken from the only family he knows into an unknown place. He makes a couple of good friends (especially Charlotte the spider), finds a life for himself there, and then Charlotte dies. Dealing with death at a young age, even the death of a spider, is heartbreaking.

2) The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Sparks is good for those Hollywood-style, romantic, make-you-cry-your-heart-out books. The Last Song was the first and only book I’ve read of his, but it struck a cord with me. Any death is hard to bear, but losing your father…I don’t even want to think about that.

1) Forever by Judy Blume. It’s not your typical love story, which is why I like it. It was my first introduction to sex in grade 11, and boy did I get a bucketload of information. Loss of virginity, teenage pregnancy, realistic relationships (because hey, not everyone has a happy ending with their girl/guy). Pretty groundbreaking for the time it was published.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank: Book Review

Posted on by

1

Book Review #9: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank

Author: Nathan Englander

Genre: Short story collection, literary fiction

Days to read: 2 (short book, long plane ride)

Synopsis (as taken from Random House.com): These eight new stories from the celebrated novelist and short-story writer Nathan Englander display a gifted young author grappling with the great questions of modern life, with a command of language and the imagination that place Englander at the very forefront of contemporary American fiction.
The title story, inspired by Raymond Carver’s masterpiece, is a provocative portrait of two marriages in which the Holocaust is played out as a devastating parlor game. In the outlandishly dark “Camp Sundown” vigilante justice is undertaken by a group of geriatric campers in a bucolic summer enclave. “Free Fruit for Young Widows” is a small, sharp study in evil, lovingly told by a father to a son. “Sister Hills” chronicles the history of Israel’s settlements from the eve of the Yom Kippur War through the present, a political fable constructed around the tale of two mothers who strike a terrible bargain to save a child. Marking a return to two of Englander’s classic themes, “Peep Show” and “How We Avenged the Blums” wrestle with sexual longing and ingenuity in the face of adversity and peril. And “Everything I Know About My Family on My Mother’s Side” is suffused with an intimacy and tenderness that break new ground for a writer who seems constantly to be expanding the parameters of what he can achieve in the short form.
Beautiful and courageous, funny and achingly sad, Englander’s work is a revelation.

My thoughts: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank is well-curated short story collection bound together by the theme of Jewish (and mostly male) identity. Through these stories he thoughtfully explores topics such as intermarriage, the lingering psychic impact of the holocaust, cultural vs. religious Judaism, toughness in the face of bigotry, loneliness, guilt and shame. While the lens of the book is distinctly Jewish, many of the underlying tensions are universal. From what I know of Englander through his first collection and interviews, this collection seems more personal if not out-right autobiographical in certain respects. The title story, and arguably the best story,  feels extremely modern and accessible on certain levels, yet is also voyeuristic in the best possible way. Englander is a beautiful, but not overly flowery, writer and creates and inhabits vivid, though sometimes one dimensional characters. He is also an athletic story teller switching effortlessly from first person to third person from farce to dark comedy to even darker tragedy.  My one complaint is that he got a little lazy in one of his stories set in an elderly Jewish camp, by the second page I had guessed the story arc. I’ll save you the spoiler, though doubt you will be surprised. He is more than forgiven as there are plenty of surprises and interesting choices throughout the book (especially in “Sister Hills” and “Everything I Know About My Family on My Mother’s Side”). What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank is definitely worth reading, especially if you’re usually not inclined to read short stories- Englander does them far better than most. If you’re new to Englander’s work, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank is also a great introduction. I also highly recommend and have I recently finished Englander’s first short story collection, For Relief of Unbearable Urges you can find my short review here.

Rating: 4.5/5

*Amara from HomeSpiceLife once again wrote a beautiful review on a novel that she recently read. For those of you who are not already following her, go do it!*

**And if you ever would like to write a review for A Novel Place, please visit my “Author” page to contact me. I will credit the review to you and provide a link to your own blog or website.**

Top 5 Novels That Bring Out The Sap In Me

Posted on by

6

Admit it: We all love to tear up. Or cry. Or just outright sob hysterically.

To be honest, it doesn’t take much for my eyes to get misty — whether it’s a budding romance, a death, an accident, an illness or just a perfect ending, I will cry. So pretty much half of the books on my bookshelves bring me to tears.

But here are the top five novels that bring out the ultimate sap in me:

5.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book is heartbreaking. The ending had me crying fully for 30 minutes, and I had to go back to work with my eyes red and puffy. Warning: If you plan on reading this, make sure you finish it when you’re alone.

4.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This has got to be one of my favourite novels in the world. Just being immersed into a Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte world makes me smile, and this novel had me tearing up by the end from happiness. It’s one of the sweetest love stories I’ve read and always leaves me yearning for a Darcy of my own.

3.  The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

To be fair, this is the only Nicholas Sparks novel I’ve read, but it killed me. My friend gave it to me from his mom’s collection, knowing I’d fall in love with it, and that I did. It was a terribly sad novel and was beautifully written. I won’t spoil the ending, but let me just say I couldn’t help but cry for a long time afterwards. I’m not a big fan of Miley Cyrus, but I didn’t mind the movie version of it, either.

2.  Night by Elie Wiesel

This book was very difficult to go through. Each chapter brought on a new tragedy and it was hard to believe that this was a true story. But alas, it was. I cried a lot during it which gave me some awkward looks in class, where we were reading it. The Holocaust is one of my favourite subjects to read about, and this book was the best.

1.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Hands down, this novel produced the most tears. My eyes were working out hardcore from the first chapter on. And it got progressively worse as the pages continued — from Hedwig and Dobby’s deaths to the demises of Snape, Lupin, Tonks, Colin Creevey, and Fred (SOB). Not to mention that after growing up with these characters, the deaths of those I loved made it even harder.

What are your top 5 tear-inducing novels?

Challenge: Day 27

Posted on by

1

    

I’m sorry I missed yesterday’s daily challenge! I spent the entire day working on an essay and nursing a terrible migraine. Anyways, here is the challenge from yesterday.

This book challenge has given me the opportunity to remember all the books I’ve read in the past, and has reminded me that Harry Potter is not the only favourite book/series of mine. I can confidently say that Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter and The Book Thief are all on the top of my “favourite fiction books” list. Pride and Prejudice is a lovely romantic novel and it always makes me smile when I think about it. Harry Potter has been there with every step of growing up, and I have a lot to thank for this series. And The Book Thief is one of the saddest novels I’ve read, and I can’t but cry thinking of what all the characters went through over the course of the novel. These three literary works of art are some of the best written stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and I cannot recommend them enough.

What is your favourite fiction novel?

Challenge: Day 26

Posted on by

0

                 

I have always been fascinated by stories from World War II’s Holocaust. I read The Diary of a Young Girl in elementary school and Night in high school, and was absolutely entranced by both novels. They are heartbreaking and really made me think hard about what all those people had to go through during such a horrific time period. No one will ever forget the Holocaust, but reading stories such as these really helps put everything into perspective and humanizes the tragedy. All stories need a face (my years studying journalism have taught me that much) and both Anne Frank and Elie Weisel take us through their lives during WWII in such a way that it is impossible to ignore their suffering.

What is your favourite non-fiction book?

Challenge: Day 8

Posted on by

0

When I read Night in Grade 12, I was absolutely terrified. It is the one book that makes me cringe, cry, and altogether freak out because of its sheer honesty. It was like living in a nightmare — Elie’s nightmare. The images his words conjured up gave me the chills and I didn’t want to get to the ending, because how could the ending be good? The Holocaust was a terrible moment in our history, and having a first-hand account of it was just plain scary.

In the Garden of Beasts: Book Review

Posted on by

2

Image

Book Review #6 Book: In the Garden of Beasts

Author: Erik Larson

Genre: Non-fiction

Synopsis: (as taken from Chapters.Indigo.ca) A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance-and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition.

Days to read: 8

Rating: 4/5

My thoughts:  With In the Garden of Beasts, Larson explores Germany in the early Nazi era, where giddy exuberance coexisted with ominous horror. As someone who’s read a lot on the Holocaust, I appreciated Larson’s fresh perspective. His focus on the Dodd family, and in particular Martha Dodd, filtered these frightening times through both the lens of US-German diplomacy and the lens of a dishy 20-something sleeping her way through the Nazi scene. Larson is gifted at making historical non-fiction  read like a plot-driven novel. His style enhances the foreboding of the times with short chapters that end with foreshadowing cliffhangers. I found the book a fast, suspenseful read and I also learned new things about the history. My only complaint is that I wish he’d spent less time on the office politics of Dodd’s tenure as the German ambassador. Compared to the rest of the  book’s focus it was a small, insignificant canvas that occupied too much space. In its place, I would have enjoyed more focus on the Nazi opposition. Minor complaint for an otherwise great book. I would recommend In the Garden of Beasts as a very compelling and enjoyable read. If you liked Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, you’ll like In Garden of Beasts. If you haven’t read Devil in the White City, I suggest you get on that one as well.

**This review was written by Amara from HomeSpiceLife. Check out her blog, it’s really great!**

Sarah’s Key: Book Review

Posted on by

1

Book Review #1

Book: Sarah’s Key

Author: Tatiana de Rosnay

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: (as taken by Chapters.Indigo.ca)   Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.   Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jaramond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to to re-trace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel’ d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Days to read: 3

Rating: 4/5

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. While it wasn’t my first Holocaust novel that I’ve read, it was my first time reading it from a French perspective. Before this book, I wasn’t truly aware of the part France played in the war. From the first page, de Rosnay took me on a whirlwind emotional ride. Sarah was so innocent and believable that you couldn’t help but pity her with each page. The description of the Vel’ d’Hiv was unbearable to read, as was the process of moving the Jews to the camps. de Rosnay knows how to tug at the heartstrings. Julia Jaramond was another interesting character that was created with the utmost consideration. Even though she is much older than I am, I could still relate to her on another level.  She was a wonderful addition to the book, and made “Sarah’s Key” that much more enjoyable. de Rosnay’s decision to have two storylines in one book was a good choice because it made the book interesting to read. I love those types of books. One thing that bugged me was the ending, though. I agree that it makes the reader think and come up with their own “happy ever after”; but with this book, it bugged me that I didn’t exactly know what happened with the characters. I would recommend “Sarah’s Key” to everyone, because it gave just enough historical facts with modern situations to make the story relatable and entertaining to read. But be ready to cry at certain spots (especially if you’re a wuss like me) – so keep a Kleenex box near you!