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l1dka's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting story about Jews in Belarus during WWII. The reason I could not enjoy this book was primarily the author's views. Not saying that she didn't have good things to say, but she is prejudiced against Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians. Guess what, I combine those in a three-in-one package. So, of course, when she talks about them you're like, I don't agree with you at all. And that's totally fine, she can have her own views. I just couldn't get involved in the book because of that. But otherwise, it was really interesting to see how an otriad functioned and how the partisan system was set up.
cailmank's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
ayushinayak's review
4.0
This one was hard to read but every ounce of energy I had put into reading the book was reciprocated back with interest.
We read a lot about heroes, soldiers but little do we take notice of common men who turn into real heroes when the need arises. Defiance is one such story.
Though the movie based on it was good enough for Daniel Craig (The Bond) to be a part of it, it was nowhere as good as the book.
Indeed, a goodread!
We read a lot about heroes, soldiers but little do we take notice of common men who turn into real heroes when the need arises. Defiance is one such story.
Though the movie based on it was good enough for Daniel Craig (The Bond) to be a part of it, it was nowhere as good as the book.
Indeed, a goodread!
rachaelreads92's review
4.0
**4 stars**
A very informative read!
Let me preface this by saving, I added this to my TBR back in 2012 after rewatching the film Defiance which was based on this book. I loved the film, and I think that I had somehow expected the book to be like the film, where it follows mainly the lives of the brother, this was not the case.
This is a novel that explores the stories of the Bielski Partisans, particularly, how they came to join the otriad. As previously mentioned, this is not what I had expected. I had expected a story that was more about the Bielski brothers and not so much about the other partisans. However, when I started getting into the book, it makes sense why it was not done this way. Firstly, the author was only able to interview Tuvia Bielski for approximately two hours before he passed away. Therefore, most of her interviews came from the wives of the brothers and surviving partisans.
The stories of the partisans are very moving and insightful. It is incredibly moving to hear their stories of strength, bravery, courage and sacrifice. It is also amazing to see how over 1,000 people were able to create an almost fully sustainable community in the middle of the forest.
Furthermore, another interesting element of this book was reading about the Soviet Otriads and reading about their interesting makeup.
Would recommend as a read, I will probably continue. to explore the lives of the Bielski partisans.
A very informative read!
Let me preface this by saving, I added this to my TBR back in 2012 after rewatching the film Defiance which was based on this book. I loved the film, and I think that I had somehow expected the book to be like the film, where it follows mainly the lives of the brother, this was not the case.
This is a novel that explores the stories of the Bielski Partisans, particularly, how they came to join the otriad. As previously mentioned, this is not what I had expected. I had expected a story that was more about the Bielski brothers and not so much about the other partisans. However, when I started getting into the book, it makes sense why it was not done this way. Firstly, the author was only able to interview Tuvia Bielski for approximately two hours before he passed away. Therefore, most of her interviews came from the wives of the brothers and surviving partisans.
The stories of the partisans are very moving and insightful. It is incredibly moving to hear their stories of strength, bravery, courage and sacrifice. It is also amazing to see how over 1,000 people were able to create an almost fully sustainable community in the middle of the forest.
Furthermore, another interesting element of this book was reading about the Soviet Otriads and reading about their interesting makeup.
Would recommend as a read, I will probably continue. to explore the lives of the Bielski partisans.
tanyarobinson's review
4.0
Tec's prose is not the smoothest, and the book's organization often feels circular, but despite these flaws "Defiance" stands out among the plethora of books out there. The memorable story of the Bielski ostriad, a group of 1200 Jews who survived World War II in the Belorussian forests, is told through the reminiscences of scores of partisans, painstakingly interviewed by the author over a period of years. Tec states that her purpose is to show that Jews were not just victims, but also played the part of active rescuers. Because of this unique perspective, "Defiance" adds something new to the massive corpus of Holocaust literature.
christythelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis:
Defiance, also known as Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, describes how the leadership of Tuvia Bielski and his brothers helped save 1200 Jews in Nazi-occupied Belorussia. Unwilling to be taken to the ghetto by the Germans, the Jewish brothers escaped to the forest, which they knew well. They were joined by family and friends there, though they also lost some of their loved ones. Their partisan community – the Bielski Otriad – continued to grow in numbers as others escaped to the forest from the ghettos and death. All Jews were welcomed, an anomaly among other partisan fighter groups who were often anti-Semitic and also saw the elderly, infirm, women and children as burdens.
Review:
When trying to describe the writing style of Defiance, the word I came up with was “transparent.” In some non-fiction books, the author never refers directly to his or her sources. Nechama Tec directly quotes from the people she interviewed and sometimes comments on the interview itself. In this, Defiance is like a journalistic account or a scholarly work. I use the word “transparent” because Nechama Tec really lets the story shine through her writing. This is an amazing piece of history and she uses her craft to get us close to the first-person accounts while providing organization, insight and explanation.
Though Defiance is the story of the entire Bielski Otriad, it is also a portrait of its charismatic leader, Tuvia Bielski. The author managed to conduct a short interview with him in 1987, two weeks before he died. Most of her knowledge of his story was then culled from interviews with his family and from people who lived in the Bielski Otriad. Throughout the book, Tec adds to her portrait of Tuvia, trying to figure out what made him tick, what kind of leader was he, what were his flaws, and how did he succeed?
Other aspects of the book explore the survival of the Otriad. How did these Jewish people, devastated by loss of family and homes, make a community in the forest? Nechama Tec is matter-of-fact here. Though all were welcome to the community, there was a hierarchy of sorts. Those with guns, who could fight, were at the top. Those who had no skills to provide were at the bottom. Everyone was guaranteed food and a place, but some found ways to get more or better.
Tec spends an entire chapter on the fate of women during this time and in that region, and then specifically focuses on their role in the Bielski Otriad. I really appreciate that she included that chapter. She also effectively sketches out the community’s precarious situation. Not only was the group hiding from the Germans, but they were uneasy allies with the Soviets and other partisan fighting groups. Still, they survived even in this. Thus Defiance is a story of hope in the context of immense tragedy.
Defiance, also known as Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, describes how the leadership of Tuvia Bielski and his brothers helped save 1200 Jews in Nazi-occupied Belorussia. Unwilling to be taken to the ghetto by the Germans, the Jewish brothers escaped to the forest, which they knew well. They were joined by family and friends there, though they also lost some of their loved ones. Their partisan community – the Bielski Otriad – continued to grow in numbers as others escaped to the forest from the ghettos and death. All Jews were welcomed, an anomaly among other partisan fighter groups who were often anti-Semitic and also saw the elderly, infirm, women and children as burdens.
Review:
When trying to describe the writing style of Defiance, the word I came up with was “transparent.” In some non-fiction books, the author never refers directly to his or her sources. Nechama Tec directly quotes from the people she interviewed and sometimes comments on the interview itself. In this, Defiance is like a journalistic account or a scholarly work. I use the word “transparent” because Nechama Tec really lets the story shine through her writing. This is an amazing piece of history and she uses her craft to get us close to the first-person accounts while providing organization, insight and explanation.
Though Defiance is the story of the entire Bielski Otriad, it is also a portrait of its charismatic leader, Tuvia Bielski. The author managed to conduct a short interview with him in 1987, two weeks before he died. Most of her knowledge of his story was then culled from interviews with his family and from people who lived in the Bielski Otriad. Throughout the book, Tec adds to her portrait of Tuvia, trying to figure out what made him tick, what kind of leader was he, what were his flaws, and how did he succeed?
Other aspects of the book explore the survival of the Otriad. How did these Jewish people, devastated by loss of family and homes, make a community in the forest? Nechama Tec is matter-of-fact here. Though all were welcome to the community, there was a hierarchy of sorts. Those with guns, who could fight, were at the top. Those who had no skills to provide were at the bottom. Everyone was guaranteed food and a place, but some found ways to get more or better.
Tec spends an entire chapter on the fate of women during this time and in that region, and then specifically focuses on their role in the Bielski Otriad. I really appreciate that she included that chapter. She also effectively sketches out the community’s precarious situation. Not only was the group hiding from the Germans, but they were uneasy allies with the Soviets and other partisan fighting groups. Still, they survived even in this. Thus Defiance is a story of hope in the context of immense tragedy.
sarah1984's review against another edition
3.0
16/11 - Finally finished. This was a difficult book to read. It was too dense to really hold my attention and all those footnotes broke up the flow of the reading, making it even harder. I had trouble taking in the information I was reading. Whenever I took a break in order to sleep or because other books took precedence due to library due dates or simple lack of interest I found that when I went back to the book I couldn't remember what had been happening except in the vaguest way - WWII was happening, the Nazis were massacring Jews and confining them to ghettos, the Bielskis were saving Jews and hiding them in the forest. Other than those basic facts, facts which I knew already from other sources, I don't feel like I learned all that much about what the Bielskis did for those they saved. What stuck in my head most was the revelation that Tuvia (the oldest brother, played by Daniel Craig in the movie, pictured on the front cover of the edition I read) wasn't perfect (not that that's all that much of a revelation as real heroes are never perfect). He had some serious faults that his wife had to turn a blind eye to in order to stay with him, faults that most of us these days couldn't imagine putting up with (I certainly wouldn't, but maybe in a situation like what the Bielski otriad suffered through I would make a different decision). The information was interesting, it's just a shame Tec couldn't have portrayed it in a way that made her book more compelling.
vermidian's review
5.0
To those that know me, the fact that I picked up something historical at all will probably surprise them. I tend to stick to fiction and avoid history because, often, I find historians love the history but the voice they put across when writing about it is dry and impossible for me to read. The very topic of this book and the writing skills of the author made this book a fantastic, though ultimately sobering, read.
This book was about a specific group of Jews fleeing the Nazi's before and during World War II in Poland. More specifically, it follows a group called the Bielski Otriad, which was a group of anti-Germans hiding in the woods for their own safety while Nazis were a threat. While it's very difficult to sum it all up, the story and the way these people survived and saved one another was an amazing read.
While I found the parts about the Aktions in the ghettos to be particularly horrifying (essentially when the Nazis rounded up those in the ghettos deemed disposable and shot them), I think stories like this are important to how we view the world. For instance, as an American child, we spent a semester in College studying the literature and the history of WWII. I also recall doing a project in sixth or seventh grade, I believe, where I had to write a multiple page paper on the treatment of Jews in concentration camps. In case you don't know much about what the Nazis did to the Jews in Concentration camps like Dachau and Auschwitz, trust me, it isn't something your preteen is ready to read about, let alone write a paper about. So, needless to say, I got a little bit more than the standard education on the topic, but not by much. I mean, I read the typical stories like "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Night" and "Number the Stars", but I had never heard of the Otriads of Belorussia. All of the stories I had read were of Jews being smuggled and hidden and waiting for salvation, generally by sympathetic white people. As a white American, I suppose that's probably the generalized norm.
So to learn about and read about this group of Jews who took matters into their own hands, saved, and took care of their own was amazing. I went into this book not knowing what to expect and, as much as I am still horrified and saddened that something like this could ever have happened at all, it was so valuable for me to read about another perspective of the war and to learn about what these people did to thrive even under the hardest times imaginable.
I would recommend this to others, but I would definitely warn others that there are descriptions of the Aktions and the deaths of many people. While it doesn't go into graphic detail, the numbers and the situations are disheartening and horrifying and something that must never happen again to anyone of any race.
This book was about a specific group of Jews fleeing the Nazi's before and during World War II in Poland. More specifically, it follows a group called the Bielski Otriad, which was a group of anti-Germans hiding in the woods for their own safety while Nazis were a threat. While it's very difficult to sum it all up, the story and the way these people survived and saved one another was an amazing read.
While I found the parts about the Aktions in the ghettos to be particularly horrifying (essentially when the Nazis rounded up those in the ghettos deemed disposable and shot them), I think stories like this are important to how we view the world. For instance, as an American child, we spent a semester in College studying the literature and the history of WWII. I also recall doing a project in sixth or seventh grade, I believe, where I had to write a multiple page paper on the treatment of Jews in concentration camps. In case you don't know much about what the Nazis did to the Jews in Concentration camps like Dachau and Auschwitz, trust me, it isn't something your preteen is ready to read about, let alone write a paper about. So, needless to say, I got a little bit more than the standard education on the topic, but not by much. I mean, I read the typical stories like "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Night" and "Number the Stars", but I had never heard of the Otriads of Belorussia. All of the stories I had read were of Jews being smuggled and hidden and waiting for salvation, generally by sympathetic white people. As a white American, I suppose that's probably the generalized norm.
So to learn about and read about this group of Jews who took matters into their own hands, saved, and took care of their own was amazing. I went into this book not knowing what to expect and, as much as I am still horrified and saddened that something like this could ever have happened at all, it was so valuable for me to read about another perspective of the war and to learn about what these people did to thrive even under the hardest times imaginable.
I would recommend this to others, but I would definitely warn others that there are descriptions of the Aktions and the deaths of many people. While it doesn't go into graphic detail, the numbers and the situations are disheartening and horrifying and something that must never happen again to anyone of any race.