A review by roksanalyasin
The Book of Aron, by Jim Shepard

2.0

After recently reading The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I was looking forward to this book and the story it offered. It follows the life of Aron, a young Polish Jew, and his experiences in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw during World War II. I was expecting it to be a difficult read due to the topic, but soon found the main hurdle was the writing - I simply didn't enjoy the stream of consciousness style and how it developed through the book. Despite having direct access to Aron's thoughts, I couldn't relate to him; the writing was too stagnant and, in the latter half, it was often difficult to follow. Perhaps this was designed to enhance the POV - Aron is, after all, a scared, starved boy/teenager - but mostly it made it frustrating. Even the inclusion of Janusz Korczak's story, which should certainly be acknowledged, felt awkward. I learnt very little and the style made it difficult to develop anything beyond a brief, shallow connection with a character apparently central to the narrative.