marianne253's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
l1nds's review
3.0
A remarkable story, adequately told. I wanted to love this (as much as one can when the full horrors of Nazism are on display) but it was just lacking a certain something. Depth I think. The narrative jumps impede the flow of the story, and the imagined conversations are really jarring and should have been scrapped. Overall I'm glad I read it (it's a gripping story and obviously moving), but I'm equally glad it was a bargain!
stacey29's review
3.0
This true life story follows the lives of 9 incredibly brave young women doing what they can for their country, whilst suffering a horrible ordeal. The story tells us how 9 women came to escape Nazi Germany, from concentration camps to the nightmares of remembering the war for a lifetime. Friendship and laughter kept the women’s spirits high and was much needed in such a dark and distressing time.
An audience captivating story, from the yellow flowers and laughter to the torture this story shows us a lot of emotion from an awful period of time. It is not an easy one to read, I frequently had to stop and take a break before continuing. The nine is a slow read but one that is packed full of information, a story to us is a memory for many. History tells us a lot about the war, but this true story gives us an insight to what it was really like for women back then, how it felt to be miles away from your loved ones, fighting each day just to survive another torturous day, no one knew when the war was going to be over but they lived in hope that it would be any day now, the more days they survived the closer they got to being reunited with family. The book has pictures and maps included which gives the audience visuals of the route the nine took and what they looked like.
This book is a slow burner and hard to read as it is very wordy, it’s not a style you can get used to. It is a very interesting story written by the great- niece of one of the nine. The cover of the book is eye catching and very fitting to the story. This story would be perfect for any historian.
An audience captivating story, from the yellow flowers and laughter to the torture this story shows us a lot of emotion from an awful period of time. It is not an easy one to read, I frequently had to stop and take a break before continuing. The nine is a slow read but one that is packed full of information, a story to us is a memory for many. History tells us a lot about the war, but this true story gives us an insight to what it was really like for women back then, how it felt to be miles away from your loved ones, fighting each day just to survive another torturous day, no one knew when the war was going to be over but they lived in hope that it would be any day now, the more days they survived the closer they got to being reunited with family. The book has pictures and maps included which gives the audience visuals of the route the nine took and what they looked like.
This book is a slow burner and hard to read as it is very wordy, it’s not a style you can get used to. It is a very interesting story written by the great- niece of one of the nine. The cover of the book is eye catching and very fitting to the story. This story would be perfect for any historian.
rachelkanga's review
4.0
This is an historical story based on the memoirs of 9 exceptional women who were all political prisoners in Ravensbruck during World War II due to their involvement with the resistance. The book is written by the relative of one of these women. The author interviewed other relatives of the women, spoke directly with her great aunt, read memoirs written at the time to be able to transport the reader to a time of such atrocities, torture, murder, extermination and brutality that is hard to believe one human could do this to another.
Telling the story of how they escaped the death march at the end of
World War II, about their support for one another, their friendships and their determination to survive despite injury, deprivation, starvation and neglect. They had support along the way from soldiers on both sides. The Germans accepting that the end was near and offering shelter, food and warm water to wash in, although only days earlier the women had been their prisoners and then leading them to the river to gain their freedom.
This is a very moving, and in places uncomfortable book but well worth a read.
Telling the story of how they escaped the death march at the end of
World War II, about their support for one another, their friendships and their determination to survive despite injury, deprivation, starvation and neglect. They had support along the way from soldiers on both sides. The Germans accepting that the end was near and offering shelter, food and warm water to wash in, although only days earlier the women had been their prisoners and then leading them to the river to gain their freedom.
This is a very moving, and in places uncomfortable book but well worth a read.
martyna777's review
2.0
DNF at 33 pages.
This is such a fantastic and eye opening idea for a story - especially if it is a true story. However, this book did fall a little bit flat for me. There is a massive lack of dialogue which makes the story a bit painful to read. Pages and pages of just prose is not my cup of tea. The lack of dialogue does not give us much of an insight into the characters and their individual personalities. The author herself acknowledges that she has gaps in her writing due to the ladies not giving a full account which the author has filled with facts known by all. This leaves the account feeling quite clinical and I found myself glazing over most of the accounts. There is too much detail about the non-important parts of the story which could have been an opportunity for dialogue or for an insight into the different personalities.
This book is a brilliant idea, but the execution was not there.
This is such a fantastic and eye opening idea for a story - especially if it is a true story. However, this book did fall a little bit flat for me. There is a massive lack of dialogue which makes the story a bit painful to read. Pages and pages of just prose is not my cup of tea. The lack of dialogue does not give us much of an insight into the characters and their individual personalities. The author herself acknowledges that she has gaps in her writing due to the ladies not giving a full account which the author has filled with facts known by all. This leaves the account feeling quite clinical and I found myself glazing over most of the accounts. There is too much detail about the non-important parts of the story which could have been an opportunity for dialogue or for an insight into the different personalities.
This book is a brilliant idea, but the execution was not there.
laurahastoomanywips's review
5.0
This story of nine resistance women, told by one of their great-nieces (using interviews and memoirs) was an incredible read for me. I have read other books wrote about survivors of the camps but this one has been one of the most informative and effective I have read.
It tells the story of the nine, of their escape whilst on an infamous death march and during the telling of this, it flashes back to what each did in the resistance, their capture and their time in the camps before the march. It also tells of their life after they returned home.
This was a very harrowing read (the sections on their capture & time as prisoners) but it was told in such away that got the facts out, you could imagine each woman and the events as they happened.
Although it went backwards and forwards in time it was easy to follow and flowed well.
Thanks to the Pigeonhole and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Highly recommended.
It tells the story of the nine, of their escape whilst on an infamous death march and during the telling of this, it flashes back to what each did in the resistance, their capture and their time in the camps before the march. It also tells of their life after they returned home.
This was a very harrowing read (the sections on their capture & time as prisoners) but it was told in such away that got the facts out, you could imagine each woman and the events as they happened.
Although it went backwards and forwards in time it was easy to follow and flowed well.
Thanks to the Pigeonhole and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Highly recommended.
mstep7's review
2.0
DNF at 33 pages.
This is such a fantastic and eye opening idea for a story - especially if it is a true story. However, this book did fall a little bit flat for me. There is a massive lack of dialogue which makes the story a bit painful to read. Pages and pages of just prose is not my cup of tea. The lack of dialogue does not give us much of an insight into the characters and their individual personalities. The author herself acknowledges that she has gaps in her writing due to the ladies not giving a full account which the author has filled with facts known by all. This leaves the account feeling quite clinical and I found myself glazing over most of the accounts. There is too much detail about the non-important parts of the story which could have been an opportunity for dialogue or for an insight into the different personalities.
This book is a brilliant idea, but the execution was not there.
This is such a fantastic and eye opening idea for a story - especially if it is a true story. However, this book did fall a little bit flat for me. There is a massive lack of dialogue which makes the story a bit painful to read. Pages and pages of just prose is not my cup of tea. The lack of dialogue does not give us much of an insight into the characters and their individual personalities. The author herself acknowledges that she has gaps in her writing due to the ladies not giving a full account which the author has filled with facts known by all. This leaves the account feeling quite clinical and I found myself glazing over most of the accounts. There is too much detail about the non-important parts of the story which could have been an opportunity for dialogue or for an insight into the different personalities.
This book is a brilliant idea, but the execution was not there.
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