A review by absolutive
After the War: From Auschwitz to Ambleside, by Violet Tobacco, Tom Palmer
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This a Young Adult novel, a fictionalisation of an incredible story that was unknown to me. For a brief period, 1945-1946, some 300 Jewish children, survivors of the Holocaust, lived in the English Lakes District. This novel follows the stories of three of these Polish boys and their interactions with survivors from other countries, staff at their estate, local people, and their own memories. Palmer vividly captures the fear and uncertainty, both physical and mental, that these boys face in this new, safe world. Every man in uniform, every time food will be served, every noise, every car, every new journey causes physiological responses and alarm. This is something I found very convincing but hadn't remembered from previous works (including of nonfiction).
The boys befriend a family in the Lakes District who have themselves become displaced after the bombing of Liverpool, and who have a family member missing from the war in Japan. This relationship is very moving, and it helps the boys and the family process their grief and trauma and heal.
I was frustrated that this novel does not explain why the boys stayed for such a short period of time in the Lakes District. There was some indication they could rejoin relatives, though almost no one was able to find a family member still living, even with the help of the Red Cross. The three central characters are 16-17 and they seemed to have a choice where to go--Poland, Leeds, Palestine--but why? They are minors. Who decides? Where did they go? Who is acting for and responsible for the refugees in this programme. I would like to learn more about this, and feel that the book, if not the novel, which includes some historical material in the endpages, should have engaged more with this story.
The boys befriend a family in the Lakes District who have themselves become displaced after the bombing of Liverpool, and who have a family member missing from the war in Japan. This relationship is very moving, and it helps the boys and the family process their grief and trauma and heal.
I was frustrated that this novel does not explain why the boys stayed for such a short period of time in the Lakes District. There was some indication they could rejoin relatives, though almost no one was able to find a family member still living, even with the help of the Red Cross. The three central characters are 16-17 and they seemed to have a choice where to go--Poland, Leeds, Palestine--but why? They are minors. Who decides? Where did they go? Who is acting for and responsible for the refugees in this programme. I would like to learn more about this, and feel that the book, if not the novel, which includes some historical material in the endpages, should have engaged more with this story.