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UNA
UNA, by Mary Elizabeth Raines, is one of the few serious novels that features an older woman as the main character. While not about the Holocaust per se, it takes place during that tragic time in history.
Una's pampered, insignificant life revolves around her husband, a retired film director in WWII Germany. When he is suddenly framed by the Nazis, she and her spoiled twelve-year-old granddaughter must flee to the woods. Stripped of everything that had formed her identity, Una is forced to start her life all over again in a tremendous and often brutal struggle for survival. Through a series of challenging ordeals, Una begins to transform from a weak and selfish female into a strong leader, a woman of genuine compassion, and a survivor.
As an added bonus to this work of historical fiction, the author has included suggestions for selections of music that can be downloaded to enhance the reading experience of UNA. (Purchases are available from Amazon and not included with either the book or the Kindle version, nor is the author affiliated in any way with the musicians or their distributors.)
Readers, please note: This work of fiction contains some highly symbolic but graphic passages. It is not a book recommended for children.
Una's pampered, insignificant life revolves around her husband, a retired film director in WWII Germany. When he is suddenly framed by the Nazis, she and her spoiled twelve-year-old granddaughter must flee to the woods. Stripped of everything that had formed her identity, Una is forced to start her life all over again in a tremendous and often brutal struggle for survival. Through a series of challenging ordeals, Una begins to transform from a weak and selfish female into a strong leader, a woman of genuine compassion, and a survivor.
As an added bonus to this work of historical fiction, the author has included suggestions for selections of music that can be downloaded to enhance the reading experience of UNA. (Purchases are available from Amazon and not included with either the book or the Kindle version, nor is the author affiliated in any way with the musicians or their distributors.)
Readers, please note: This work of fiction contains some highly symbolic but graphic passages. It is not a book recommended for children.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
23 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Mary Elizabeth Raines
32 books3 followersMARY ELIZABETH (LEACH) RAINES is an award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction who has a home in Sedona, Arizona.
Her fiction ranges from the serious and symbolic ("UNA") to contemporary fiction ("The Secret of Eating Raspberries"); from her unusual and entertaining collection of whimsical short stories ("The Man in the GPS and other stories") to her popular book on past-life regression ("The Laughing Cherub Guide to Past-Life Regression: A Handbook for Real People"). Her writing has won a number of awards on both regional and national levels, including two awards from Writer's Digest.
Mary Elizabeth's formal education was in piano performance at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and she spent several years in independent film studies at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. She still plays the piano, and occasionally directs or acts.
Her nonfiction is related to hypnosis. The founder of the Academy for Professional Hypnosis Training, Ms. Raines has been hypnotizing people for more than half a century, and has been teaching top hypnotherapists since the year 2000.
Ms. Raines has been a newspaper reporter and an editor, and is a regular contributor to professional hypnosis magazines and books about hypnosis. She is a columnist for "The Journal of Hypnotism." According to the National Guild of Hypnotists, Raines is "recognized as one of the leading practitioners of the art and science of hypnotism." An adjunct faculty member for the National Guild of Hypnotists, she developed and taught that organization's Guided Imagery Certification Course, and she has taught self-hypnosis and guided imagery for the Continuing Education Department of the University of Wisconsin, as well as presenting seminars and workshops at conventions across the country.
Her pastimes are as diverse as her books. She has an immense respect for the natural world, is an ardent environmentalist, and agrees with Marcus Aurelius Antoninus that "all things are interconnected." Raines loves history, and in particular has a passion for the 19th-century transcendentalists of Boston and Concord. In addition to writing and playing the piano, she paints, enjoys walking, is fond of classical music, jazz and early Broadway songs, gardens, creates professional fractal art on her computer, designs all her own book covers, and loves growing, cooking, and eating delicious vegetarian meals. She is happy to have Louisa May Alcott in her family tree as a distant cousin, and is also increasingly fond of the Oxford comma.
Her fiction ranges from the serious and symbolic ("UNA") to contemporary fiction ("The Secret of Eating Raspberries"); from her unusual and entertaining collection of whimsical short stories ("The Man in the GPS and other stories") to her popular book on past-life regression ("The Laughing Cherub Guide to Past-Life Regression: A Handbook for Real People"). Her writing has won a number of awards on both regional and national levels, including two awards from Writer's Digest.
Mary Elizabeth's formal education was in piano performance at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and she spent several years in independent film studies at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. She still plays the piano, and occasionally directs or acts.
Her nonfiction is related to hypnosis. The founder of the Academy for Professional Hypnosis Training, Ms. Raines has been hypnotizing people for more than half a century, and has been teaching top hypnotherapists since the year 2000.
Ms. Raines has been a newspaper reporter and an editor, and is a regular contributor to professional hypnosis magazines and books about hypnosis. She is a columnist for "The Journal of Hypnotism." According to the National Guild of Hypnotists, Raines is "recognized as one of the leading practitioners of the art and science of hypnotism." An adjunct faculty member for the National Guild of Hypnotists, she developed and taught that organization's Guided Imagery Certification Course, and she has taught self-hypnosis and guided imagery for the Continuing Education Department of the University of Wisconsin, as well as presenting seminars and workshops at conventions across the country.
Her pastimes are as diverse as her books. She has an immense respect for the natural world, is an ardent environmentalist, and agrees with Marcus Aurelius Antoninus that "all things are interconnected." Raines loves history, and in particular has a passion for the 19th-century transcendentalists of Boston and Concord. In addition to writing and playing the piano, she paints, enjoys walking, is fond of classical music, jazz and early Broadway songs, gardens, creates professional fractal art on her computer, designs all her own book covers, and loves growing, cooking, and eating delicious vegetarian meals. She is happy to have Louisa May Alcott in her family tree as a distant cousin, and is also increasingly fond of the Oxford comma.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 31, 2012
After a couple months of reading just "so so" books I was so happy to start
reading "Una" and could hardly put it down. Una is a grandmother, she is wealthy, nice home, servants, wonderful husband, just a sweet sweet woman.
Suddenly all of this is taken from her and she is left to fend for herself
and her granddaughter Kitty who is 11 years old. They have no home, no money, no food and must go into hiding. This is interesting because the main
character is an older woman (well our age). It shows the strength of women.
Great read.
reading "Una" and could hardly put it down. Una is a grandmother, she is wealthy, nice home, servants, wonderful husband, just a sweet sweet woman.
Suddenly all of this is taken from her and she is left to fend for herself
and her granddaughter Kitty who is 11 years old. They have no home, no money, no food and must go into hiding. This is interesting because the main
character is an older woman (well our age). It shows the strength of women.
Great read.
April 17, 2013
“Landmark moments— times of immense change— often take place in the blink of an eye, and so it was for Una. Hers was simply the conscious choice to be strong rather than weak.”
This was a hard book to read, not because of the way it’s written, but because of the subject matter. Realistic fiction of such brutality can be difficult to digest. What made this story different than other holocaust stories was the fact that Una and her family were not Jewish, and under different circumstances they may have just ignored the persecutions going on around them. Una is papered and very naïve for a woman of her age. You would expect someone with that kind of upbring and character to crumble under the immense pressure. I spent a good portion of the book agitated with her selfish behavior. In the end I was impressed, and maybe even inspired by her strength and her ability to keep her humanity, despite the terror that she and her family endured.
“You can’t get people not to kill by killing! That’s insane. Someone’s got to be the first to stop.”
This was a hard book to read, not because of the way it’s written, but because of the subject matter. Realistic fiction of such brutality can be difficult to digest. What made this story different than other holocaust stories was the fact that Una and her family were not Jewish, and under different circumstances they may have just ignored the persecutions going on around them. Una is papered and very naïve for a woman of her age. You would expect someone with that kind of upbring and character to crumble under the immense pressure. I spent a good portion of the book agitated with her selfish behavior. In the end I was impressed, and maybe even inspired by her strength and her ability to keep her humanity, despite the terror that she and her family endured.
“You can’t get people not to kill by killing! That’s insane. Someone’s got to be the first to stop.”
March 17, 2013
Well, I lost my first review. Una is the fictional story of a pampered child, who becomes a pampered wife. She has servants to clean and cook for her. She knows how to bake pastries, and how to make jam. Her husband is a famous German film director, who gets preferred treatment during the first years of the war. He collects expensive paintings, and other objects. He is the one who has friends. They have two grandchildren living with them, since their parents can't get back across the ocean, due to the war.
Life changes drastically, and Una has to muster her strength to survive, after her husband and grandson are shot within her view. She must learn how to start a fire, cook, clean, etc. The first year they live in the family cabin, way in the back woods. Later she must learn to survive in the woods: to build shelters, find food, etc. Una becomes a different more confident person.
Life changes drastically, and Una has to muster her strength to survive, after her husband and grandson are shot within her view. She must learn how to start a fire, cook, clean, etc. The first year they live in the family cabin, way in the back woods. Later she must learn to survive in the woods: to build shelters, find food, etc. Una becomes a different more confident person.
March 9, 2018
Thrillingly interesting.
I had a lot of fun reading this book ~ I love the story, the exposition, the characters, everything. Great book, unique setting, style and topic. Very good.
I had a lot of fun reading this book ~ I love the story, the exposition, the characters, everything. Great book, unique setting, style and topic. Very good.
April 16, 2020
The book was wonderful
From the beginning to the end I could not stop reading this book. You always wonder what was going to happen next. And I read a lot of WWII books and this was the best I have ever read.
From the beginning to the end I could not stop reading this book. You always wonder what was going to happen next. And I read a lot of WWII books and this was the best I have ever read.
March 23, 2024
A unique book with a middle aged woman protagonist (!!!) who has an amazing transformation.
October 29, 2012
At first, I felt that this book was inexpertly written. Some of the early instances of foreshadowing were painfully obvious, and the heroine's helplessness seemed over the top.
Once I got into it, however, I got hooked. The book raises fascinating questions. What happens to a person when their unquestioned sense of entitlement is stripped away? What is left of one's character when society's trappings are stripped away? What will a pampered, highly civilized person do to survive?
The plot has lots sf surprising twists and turns. In parts, it reminded me of the apocalypse novel, "Into the Forest," and at other times of Nadine Gordimer's "July's People," about South Africa after race wars. There was a bit of "Lord of the Flies," too. But then the novel also contained moments of spiritual epiphany which left me totally uplifted. So all in all, reading this was a fascinating experience.
Once I got into it, however, I got hooked. The book raises fascinating questions. What happens to a person when their unquestioned sense of entitlement is stripped away? What is left of one's character when society's trappings are stripped away? What will a pampered, highly civilized person do to survive?
The plot has lots sf surprising twists and turns. In parts, it reminded me of the apocalypse novel, "Into the Forest," and at other times of Nadine Gordimer's "July's People," about South Africa after race wars. There was a bit of "Lord of the Flies," too. But then the novel also contained moments of spiritual epiphany which left me totally uplifted. So all in all, reading this was a fascinating experience.
November 7, 2012
This book was hard to put down. It was compelling and very good. The main character, Una, was very frustrating in the beginning. It was interesting how she was able to recover and make it through all the things age did. Kitty never became like able. I didn't understand how she could be 12/13 years old and so unhelpful. It was hard to sympathize with her and when she died, she wasn't missed (it was almost a relief). I didn't like the abrupt ending. I would have liked to know what she did after the war and how her son reacted to his children's and father's deaths.
April 15, 2016
Amazing!! That's the only word to grade this book! Because it is about the indomitable spirit of human being against all odds, especially against all odds.
Una had led the most protected and pampered life till her husband is taken away by the Nazis with some concocted reasons. The life falls apart as she fled her comfortable home with her young and spoilt granddaughter. The hardships and events that she faces are difficult to face even by the strongest and the book narrates how she fights it, finds her own identity and emerges as a strong and confident person.
Read it!
Una had led the most protected and pampered life till her husband is taken away by the Nazis with some concocted reasons. The life falls apart as she fled her comfortable home with her young and spoilt granddaughter. The hardships and events that she faces are difficult to face even by the strongest and the book narrates how she fights it, finds her own identity and emerges as a strong and confident person.
Read it!
July 6, 2012
A very compelling read. I think of what my Opa had to endure and I can only begin to comprehend in small wisps. I'm glad for another Holocaust story told from a different perspective. This is a must read.
March 20, 2013
This was a 99cent special, so I didn't expect much, but found it to be a real page turner. Not especially well-written, but a gripping tale of a woman driven to survive against incredible odds. Not great literature, but not a bad read at all.
June 6, 2012
This is an amazing book about transformation and survival, and exciting enough that I read it nearly straight through. One of those books you don't want to put down.
November 11, 2017
A bit graphic at times for my taste...
March 7, 2013
Starts out a story you can believe in but about mid way takes a turn towards the unrealistic.
April 1, 2013
Tedious. Poorly written. I literally had to fight my way through to finish this book- and then realized I would never get that time back :(
December 9, 2014
Unique kept my interest!
Worth reading as a surprise! A very different view of what if caught in Germany very graphic story telling! Rough!
Worth reading as a surprise! A very different view of what if caught in Germany very graphic story telling! Rough!
September 5, 2016
Uma is about a 60-plus year old pampered woman in WWII Germany who has to learn to survive on her own when her "world" suddenly collapses. A great story and very believable.
April 3, 2017
Full of rich symbolism, this is a book of transformation and survival against horrible odds. I love the fact that the main character is a grandmother!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews