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A review by awesomebrandi
The Sisters of Auschwitz: The True Story of Two Jewish Sisters' Resistance in the Heart of Nazi Territory by Roxane van Iperen
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a nonfiction account of the lives of Janny and Lien Brilleslijper, Jewish sisters from Amsterdam, during WWII. It also includes information on many of their friends and people they met in the resistance efforts. This book was originally written in Dutch, and translated to English in 2020.
This one is hard to rate. I think the stories of what happened during WWII to the Jewish population, and others, is so important to read about. This book does not hold out at all, it is pretty darn brutal, and rightfully so, as this is a brutal topic. The reason I rated it in the threes, is because the writing just felt very stiff and odd to my tastes, personally. I am not sure if it's just a rough translation, or what, but I struggled to get through parts of it, just due to the writing. Even in the first ten or fifteen percent, I was tempted to DNF due to the writing, but I felt the story was important. Despite the writing style, I am glad I finished it.
The sisters, their spouses and their friends were in the arts movement, and the resistance movement, helping fellow Jewish people escape the Nazi regime, when they could. I thought the elements about the High Nest were interesting, the way they came together to find a little peace while they could. They were incredibly brave women and men, who fought against a terrifying regime. A lot more of this book is based within the concentration camps than the blurb suggests, so just know, this is very intense and blunt, and if you have a sensitive heart, you might need to piece this one out a bit.
Honestly, the end notes and epilogue were some of the best parts, because you get to hear about why the author wrote this book. I would have really loved a book that included more info about her interviews with survivors, and how she found all the info presented in the book. I also thought it was cool that the author provided details on a lot of the people featured in the book, as far as what happened to them during and after the war, if they survived.
All in all, a valuable non-fiction book that gives another glimpse into lives disrupted by the Nazi regime. Not the smoothest writing style for me, personally, but YMMV.
This is a nonfiction account of the lives of Janny and Lien Brilleslijper, Jewish sisters from Amsterdam, during WWII. It also includes information on many of their friends and people they met in the resistance efforts. This book was originally written in Dutch, and translated to English in 2020.
This one is hard to rate. I think the stories of what happened during WWII to the Jewish population, and others, is so important to read about. This book does not hold out at all, it is pretty darn brutal, and rightfully so, as this is a brutal topic. The reason I rated it in the threes, is because the writing just felt very stiff and odd to my tastes, personally. I am not sure if it's just a rough translation, or what, but I struggled to get through parts of it, just due to the writing. Even in the first ten or fifteen percent, I was tempted to DNF due to the writing, but I felt the story was important. Despite the writing style, I am glad I finished it.
The sisters, their spouses and their friends were in the arts movement, and the resistance movement, helping fellow Jewish people escape the Nazi regime, when they could. I thought the elements about the High Nest were interesting, the way they came together to find a little peace while they could. They were incredibly brave women and men, who fought against a terrifying regime. A lot more of this book is based within the concentration camps than the blurb suggests, so just know, this is very intense and blunt, and if you have a sensitive heart, you might need to piece this one out a bit.
Honestly, the end notes and epilogue were some of the best parts, because you get to hear about why the author wrote this book. I would have really loved a book that included more info about her interviews with survivors, and how she found all the info presented in the book. I also thought it was cool that the author provided details on a lot of the people featured in the book, as far as what happened to them during and after the war, if they survived.
All in all, a valuable non-fiction book that gives another glimpse into lives disrupted by the Nazi regime. Not the smoothest writing style for me, personally, but YMMV.