jenmat1197's review against another edition
3.0
This is the story of Jacob Weisz. He flees Germany to join the underground resistance during WWII. In the process of trying to help prisoners on a train escape, he gets locked in and finds himself on his way to Auschwitz. Because he isn't accounted for, a man on the train gives him his son's name, so that when he gets to the camp, he won't be shot immediately.
While at Auschwitz, Jacob is pulled into a group of prisoners who are planning an escape to tell the outside world what is going on in the camps. He becomes friends with a man name Jean-Luc Leclerc who is a Christian who was imprisoned helping Jews. They become a team when escaping Aushwitz, and are on a mission to tell the West what is happening in Poland.
This was a really good book on a lot of levels. For one - it has an amazing quote. One of the best I have ever seen:
"If you ask me, the question shouldn't be 'Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?' The real question is...'Why aren't all the Christians here?'"
The story, as always, it heart wrenching. What was witnessed inside these camps, and how the outside world was lead to believe that nothing was happening inside these camps but hard labor, is almost hard to imagine.
But - on the other hand.....this book was a bit preachy. It geared a bit more toward the religious differences between Jews and Christians and Bible passages that it took away from what I believe was the real story - the horrors of Auschwitz. I think this book could have been a couple hundred pages shorter and still been excellent if you take out the unnecessary religious spin.
It was worth the read. And you can always skim the heavy religious sections to get to the more detailed story. You can tell the author did his research regarding the camps. So it might be something you don't want to miss.
While at Auschwitz, Jacob is pulled into a group of prisoners who are planning an escape to tell the outside world what is going on in the camps. He becomes friends with a man name Jean-Luc Leclerc who is a Christian who was imprisoned helping Jews. They become a team when escaping Aushwitz, and are on a mission to tell the West what is happening in Poland.
This was a really good book on a lot of levels. For one - it has an amazing quote. One of the best I have ever seen:
"If you ask me, the question shouldn't be 'Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?' The real question is...'Why aren't all the Christians here?'"
The story, as always, it heart wrenching. What was witnessed inside these camps, and how the outside world was lead to believe that nothing was happening inside these camps but hard labor, is almost hard to imagine.
But - on the other hand.....this book was a bit preachy. It geared a bit more toward the religious differences between Jews and Christians and Bible passages that it took away from what I believe was the real story - the horrors of Auschwitz. I think this book could have been a couple hundred pages shorter and still been excellent if you take out the unnecessary religious spin.
It was worth the read. And you can always skim the heavy religious sections to get to the more detailed story. You can tell the author did his research regarding the camps. So it might be something you don't want to miss.
jacobthebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
In a time of darkness...when all seems lost... a ray of hope remains.
Wow...this book was great. It was hard to read at times solely because of the horrors described in this book. This book follows Jacob Weisz and journey through Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland. this book begins with Jean-Luc Leclerc, a French pastor and Jewish sympathizer. The focus then shifts to the main character Jacob Weisz. Jacob is 17 years old at the beginning of this book. He has a strong bond with his uncle Avi. Jacob and his family are all Jewish, which makes living in Berlin, Germany nearly impossible at the time of this book. Avi constantly warns Jacob's parents of the incoming threat of Nazi invasions and tries to convince them to flee. This is as much I will tell you without spoiling what happens in this book.
Not only does Jacob have a journey while trying to figure out a way out of Auschwitz, he also has a Spiritual debate on if God is real or not. Growing up, Jacob and his family, although Jewish, are not very Spiritual. This causes Jacob to doubt the existence of God. This book asks the questions, "is God real?", "What have I done to deserve this?", "Why do bad things happen to good people?", and many others.
While Jacob and Jean-Luc are fictional characters, their stories are true. This makes the reading this book difficult. This book gives readers insight into the activities of a Nazi death camp disguised as a Nazi labor camp. I highly recommend this book!
Wow...this book was great. It was hard to read at times solely because of the horrors described in this book. This book follows Jacob Weisz and journey through Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland. this book begins with Jean-Luc Leclerc, a French pastor and Jewish sympathizer. The focus then shifts to the main character Jacob Weisz. Jacob is 17 years old at the beginning of this book. He has a strong bond with his uncle Avi. Jacob and his family are all Jewish, which makes living in Berlin, Germany nearly impossible at the time of this book. Avi constantly warns Jacob's parents of the incoming threat of Nazi invasions and tries to convince them to flee. This is as much I will tell you without spoiling what happens in this book.
Not only does Jacob have a journey while trying to figure out a way out of Auschwitz, he also has a Spiritual debate on if God is real or not. Growing up, Jacob and his family, although Jewish, are not very Spiritual. This causes Jacob to doubt the existence of God. This book asks the questions, "is God real?", "What have I done to deserve this?", "Why do bad things happen to good people?", and many others.
While Jacob and Jean-Luc are fictional characters, their stories are true. This makes the reading this book difficult. This book gives readers insight into the activities of a Nazi death camp disguised as a Nazi labor camp. I highly recommend this book!
mandyb_75's review against another edition
4.0
Heartbreaking yet heartwarming.
I really enjoyed this book. I won't lie, it was hard to read the violence and complete disregard for human life that was inflicted on innocent people. While it is a work of fiction, after reading the after thoughts by the author, I realized that there were in fact men who had escaped Auschwitz. A story of survival and redemption.
I really enjoyed this book. I won't lie, it was hard to read the violence and complete disregard for human life that was inflicted on innocent people. While it is a work of fiction, after reading the after thoughts by the author, I realized that there were in fact men who had escaped Auschwitz. A story of survival and redemption.
helen_nguyen_812's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
At first, I was hooked, but the story develops too fast for my taste. All of the emotional and sad scenes were illustrated in short and not in-depth. Overall, I enjoyed it.
thereadingknitter's review
2.0
Let me start by saying I find the Holocaust really interesting and usually am sucked right into a book about it. But goodness this book took me forever to get into and then I felt like it dragged on and on. I decided to finish it only because I wanted to know what happened to all the characters, otherwise I would have stopped reading it. It was however the best and most interesting at about 60-80% of the book.
margaretmouw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
the writing wasn’t great and it had a bit too much religious content for my liking.
hannahzello's review against another edition
3.0
I ended up liking much of this book-- the setting and handling of the Holocaust was well done. The audiobook reading was superb. On the negative side, I found the narration a bit jarring, and Jacob kept asking naive questions. X) The presentation of the Gospel was one of the most interesting elements. As a Christian, here are my full thoughts on this book and its message: https://hannahphora.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/jesus-and-the-holocaust-the-auschwitz-escape-review-audiobook/
bookgirl_71's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0