sadiereadsagain's review
3.0
I'm always drawn in by accounts or stories of what people went through at the hands of the Nazi mindset. I appreciated this book because it discussed two sides I'd not really read anything on before. On one hand there were the survivors, those who managed to drag themselves through right to the end of the war & face the no doubt near impossible task of trying to move on. And then there was the side of those who fought for the Nazi side, & believed strongly in everything that side fought for. The writing itself was a bit flowery at points, & this didn't always work. But what I did appreciate was that the author didn't use the subject of the girl's work (as a prostitute for the Nazi army) as an excuse to be graphic. I far prefer reading things about sex which don't really describe the sex at all, even more so in contexts such as this one as the act itself has little to do with it, its a by-product of the power games & coldness of the whole thing. Overall, good book...I suppose it made me think more than I gave it credit for.
dogearedtatty's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book, as it started well - seeing how Skinny chose to lie about being Jewish, to stay alive (due to her red hair and green eyes meaning she didn’t look typically Jewish). But it wasn’t a particularly clear book - it started out as her at Auschwitz, then the field brothel, then talking to a rabbi in his house after the brothel finished, then in Prague I think with friends... then all of a sudden we’re back in the brothel. It wasn’t always clear who was speaking, and there was far too much philosophising going on - except it wasn’t even that, Stefan whatsisname wasn’t philosophical, he was random abstract waffling. I’ve read several really good and powerful books set in WW1 and WW2, so I’d hoped to like this, but didn’t. It was a real chore to finish, sadly.
david611's review
4.0
A well-written book, considering Holocaust Literature work of Fiction from a Czech Holocaust Survivor.
This one is about a minor Jewish girl who is able to keep herself from a Concentration Camp, and be a part of a brothel that has been established for the service of the German officers and soldiers who are fighting the Soviet Union on the eastern front during their retreating days of WW II.
It was a good book. Providing a different side and perspective, on the lives of the 'sisters' living in a brothel, who served the German soldiers. And one of them being a Jew in the hiding. The book revolves around the psychological stuff the girl passes through; the kinds of German officers who are there for their pleasures, and their treatment of the girls; sometimes the officers' good sides; the ethics and morals of the Germans according to themselves.
Although the book does not have too much of a depth to its contents, it is not shallow either. Some scenes are long, which are good and seemed necessary for their intended effect. Descriptions and dialogues are well balanced.
Translation seemed very well done, excepting a couple of possible grammatical errors here and there.
This one's a recommended read, to understand and know yet another side of the Holocaust and the Second World War.
This one is about a minor Jewish girl who is able to keep herself from a Concentration Camp, and be a part of a brothel that has been established for the service of the German officers and soldiers who are fighting the Soviet Union on the eastern front during their retreating days of WW II.
It was a good book. Providing a different side and perspective, on the lives of the 'sisters' living in a brothel, who served the German soldiers. And one of them being a Jew in the hiding. The book revolves around the psychological stuff the girl passes through; the kinds of German officers who are there for their pleasures, and their treatment of the girls; sometimes the officers' good sides; the ethics and morals of the Germans according to themselves.
Although the book does not have too much of a depth to its contents, it is not shallow either. Some scenes are long, which are good and seemed necessary for their intended effect. Descriptions and dialogues are well balanced.
Translation seemed very well done, excepting a couple of possible grammatical errors here and there.
This one's a recommended read, to understand and know yet another side of the Holocaust and the Second World War.
carbury13's review
2.0
I feel so guilty for not liking this book: because of the author’s origins, because of the subject matter. But I just didn’t like it. Although the book's plot spanned several years, not much ever happened in the storyline. The character's inner monologues lasted for several pages; conversations between characters lasted, without exaggeration, more than thirty pages.
When the story finally did shift scenes, it was confusing and hard to follow. Not all the characters are named it was often unclear who is speaking or narrating.
I still gave this novel 2 stars because it left me wanting more. I wanted more plot, more information, and it felt like there was potential left unfulfilled.
When the story finally did shift scenes, it was confusing and hard to follow. Not all the characters are named it was often unclear who is speaking or narrating.
I still gave this novel 2 stars because it left me wanting more. I wanted more plot, more information, and it felt like there was potential left unfulfilled.
denisec2021's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book much more than I did - I found the style of writing hard to engage with.
emmajaneski's review
2.0
I have read many a novel or memoir about the Holocaust, World War II and concentration camps, but this one I found quite upsetting. About a young Jewish woman forced to hide her identity and pretend to be a German prostitute for soldiers in order to avoid being killed. I do hope I get the chance to go back to it, because I do want to find out what happens to her. I just ran out of time on my library loan and I needed a break from it.
freshmowngrass's review against another edition
4.0
Visceral and evocative. This was hard to read at times, but never salacious. It resonates deeply with the pain of those who survived the Holocaust and saw their families killed before them. I think that, having absorbed so many Holocaust stories, I'd become slightly inured to the overwhelming horror of it, but this story cut right through that.
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