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The Child of Auschwitz
‘She touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short hair and a baby in her arms. She had one last story to tell. Theirs. And it began in hell on earth.’
It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier.
But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate, Sofie, is reaching out her hand...
As the days pass, the two women learn each other’s hopes and dreams – Eva’s is that she will find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie’s is that she will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if means befriending the enemy…
But when Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur. For they are determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to tell their story when they no longer can.
A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times. Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will fall in love with this beautiful novel.
Readers are captivated by Lily Graham’s writing:
‘Absolutely one of the best books I have read … Lily Graham has written one of the best books of the year in my honest opinion! If I could have given this a higher rating that 5 stars I would have done so… truly an unforgettable story!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Warning! This book will make you cry... The most moving story I’ve read in a long while… I have not wept so much in a while… I fell in love… by the end I was smiling and crying. I was an emotional mess all round really.’ The Book Trail, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I was hooked… a beautiful story… absolutely amazing!… truly beautiful… even though I did spend most of the time blubbering into my tissues!’ Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Hands down one of the best books I've read in a long time. This story hooks you immediately, one cannot put it down. I even dreamed about the book! Absolutely love it!’ 5 stars – Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Beautiful, just beautiful… one of my favourite books of all time. Just, wow.’ The Writing Garnet
‘Gorgeous; reminding me of a Kate Morton novel… I had a difficult time wanting to put down this book most nights; staying up into the wee hours of the morning… this stunning book was a perfect summer read, and I relished every page.
It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier.
But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate, Sofie, is reaching out her hand...
As the days pass, the two women learn each other’s hopes and dreams – Eva’s is that she will find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie’s is that she will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if means befriending the enemy…
But when Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur. For they are determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to tell their story when they no longer can.
A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times. Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will fall in love with this beautiful novel.
Readers are captivated by Lily Graham’s writing:
‘Absolutely one of the best books I have read … Lily Graham has written one of the best books of the year in my honest opinion! If I could have given this a higher rating that 5 stars I would have done so… truly an unforgettable story!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Warning! This book will make you cry... The most moving story I’ve read in a long while… I have not wept so much in a while… I fell in love… by the end I was smiling and crying. I was an emotional mess all round really.’ The Book Trail, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I was hooked… a beautiful story… absolutely amazing!… truly beautiful… even though I did spend most of the time blubbering into my tissues!’ Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Hands down one of the best books I've read in a long time. This story hooks you immediately, one cannot put it down. I even dreamed about the book! Absolutely love it!’ 5 stars – Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Beautiful, just beautiful… one of my favourite books of all time. Just, wow.’ The Writing Garnet
‘Gorgeous; reminding me of a Kate Morton novel… I had a difficult time wanting to put down this book most nights; staying up into the wee hours of the morning… this stunning book was a perfect summer read, and I relished every page.
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 8, 2019
2932 people are currently reading
7325 people want to read
About the author
Lily Graham
18 books425 followersLily Graham grew up in South Africa and is a former journalist.
As a child she dreamt of being an author, and had half-finished manuscripts bulging out of her desk drawers, but it wasn't until she reached her thirties that she finally finished one of them. Her first books were written for children, but when her mother was diagnosed with cancer she wrote a story to deal with the fear and pain she was going through - this became her first women's fiction novel, which was published by Bookouture (Hachette) in 2016.
Since then she has written six novels, covering many topics, her first four novels were a blend of light hearted women's fiction and drama, but in recent years she has found her niche in historical fiction, after she wrote The Island Villa - a story about a secret community of Jews, who some believed were living on the island of Formentera during the Inquisition. It is a story about love, betrayal, and courage.
It took getting to her mid-thirties for her to realise that these were the types of stories she truly wanted to write. Since then she has written two other historical fiction novels, including The Paris Secret, a story about a woman, a bookshop and a secret that goes back to the occupation, and most recently, her most daunting book to date - The Child of Auschwitz, which was a story she never meant to write, but found herself compelled to after reading a story about a woman who gave birth to a child after surviving a concentration camp.
As a child she dreamt of being an author, and had half-finished manuscripts bulging out of her desk drawers, but it wasn't until she reached her thirties that she finally finished one of them. Her first books were written for children, but when her mother was diagnosed with cancer she wrote a story to deal with the fear and pain she was going through - this became her first women's fiction novel, which was published by Bookouture (Hachette) in 2016.
Since then she has written six novels, covering many topics, her first four novels were a blend of light hearted women's fiction and drama, but in recent years she has found her niche in historical fiction, after she wrote The Island Villa - a story about a secret community of Jews, who some believed were living on the island of Formentera during the Inquisition. It is a story about love, betrayal, and courage.
It took getting to her mid-thirties for her to realise that these were the types of stories she truly wanted to write. Since then she has written two other historical fiction novels, including The Paris Secret, a story about a woman, a bookshop and a secret that goes back to the occupation, and most recently, her most daunting book to date - The Child of Auschwitz, which was a story she never meant to write, but found herself compelled to after reading a story about a woman who gave birth to a child after surviving a concentration camp.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 562 reviews
November 9, 2019
Could a baby be born in Auschwitz and survive? I know that babies were routinely killed at Auschwitz but I would never have imagined that one could be both born and survive. The Child of Auschwitz is the story of that miracle and is based on the life of Vera Bein who gave birth to a daughter in December of 1944 while in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
I was born into a world that had forbidden my existence.
The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history.
Lily Graham seamlessly interweaves the story of Eva Adami while in the camps and several years before being captured. While there are sections that explore the past, Eva also tells stories, including how she met her husband and their courtship, to a small group of other female prisoners to detract them from their hellish existence. We become acquainted with Eva’s family and learn how Eva met Michal, who becomes her husband. Eva voluntarily goes to Auschwitz from the Terezin Jewish ghetto in order to find her beloved Michal. Accompanying her is Sofie, her new friend who’s in search of her cousin who looked after her young son Tomas until she was captured. She needs to find out from the cousin where she hid her son so she can find him after the war. We witness the exceedingly close and remarkable friendship between Eva and Sofie, both of whom are completely devoted to one another and will do whatever it takes to both protect and save each other. It is a beautiful friendship that seemingly knows no bounds.
Eva shows incredible strength and resilience and we really get to know her and Sofie. It is a moving and emotional story that will hold the reader until the final pages.It was truly miraculous that a baby could born to a mother who is starving and stick thin. It was also a godsend that the baby was unable to cry, due to the tiny size of her lungs, and so could live undetected by the Nazis.
I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.
While the atrocities inflicted on fellow human beings described here are unimaginable and incomprehensible, this is also a story about hope, courage, a determination to survive, friendship and a Mother’s love for her child. The Child of Auschwitz is beautifully written and the character development is very well done. The ending felt rushed to me but this did not deter from my overall positive reading experience.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
I was born into a world that had forbidden my existence.
The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history.
Lily Graham seamlessly interweaves the story of Eva Adami while in the camps and several years before being captured. While there are sections that explore the past, Eva also tells stories, including how she met her husband and their courtship, to a small group of other female prisoners to detract them from their hellish existence. We become acquainted with Eva’s family and learn how Eva met Michal, who becomes her husband. Eva voluntarily goes to Auschwitz from the Terezin Jewish ghetto in order to find her beloved Michal. Accompanying her is Sofie, her new friend who’s in search of her cousin who looked after her young son Tomas until she was captured. She needs to find out from the cousin where she hid her son so she can find him after the war. We witness the exceedingly close and remarkable friendship between Eva and Sofie, both of whom are completely devoted to one another and will do whatever it takes to both protect and save each other. It is a beautiful friendship that seemingly knows no bounds.
Eva shows incredible strength and resilience and we really get to know her and Sofie. It is a moving and emotional story that will hold the reader until the final pages.It was truly miraculous that a baby could born to a mother who is starving and stick thin. It was also a godsend that the baby was unable to cry, due to the tiny size of her lungs, and so could live undetected by the Nazis.
I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.
While the atrocities inflicted on fellow human beings described here are unimaginable and incomprehensible, this is also a story about hope, courage, a determination to survive, friendship and a Mother’s love for her child. The Child of Auschwitz is beautifully written and the character development is very well done. The ending felt rushed to me but this did not deter from my overall positive reading experience.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
November 8, 2019
Eva Adami had only been married for twelve months when they took her husband Michal away; sent him to the concentration camp at Terezin just north of Prague. When she and her parents followed a few months later, Eva was delighted to find Michal and although separated, she was able to see him frequently. But all too soon he was sent to Auschwitz – and Eva volunteered to be sent there; foolish or not, she needed to find Michal.
Not having had any idea what she was in for, Eva was shocked and horrified at what the Nazis were doing to her countrymen and women. Her friend Sofie, along with other women in the cold, dank barracks where they shivered and starved, kept Eva strong. They kept each other’s spirits up, but it was a difficult task. So many people died; were murdered or fell where they stood. Eva and Sofie were determined to survive this war; Sofie needed to find her son Tomas, Eva to find Michal. But when Michal was found, it wasn’t long before he was sent to another camp…
Would a pregnant Eva and a desperate Sofie survive the horrors of Auschwitz?
The Child of Auschwitz is my first by author Lily Graham, and I found it to be another beautifully written, well researched fictional account of the Holocaust and the dreadful atrocities which occurred during that horrific time in history. The story starts and ends in present day Prague; the bulk of the story centres around Eva and Sofie, characters I felt I knew. An excellent historical fiction novel which I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Not having had any idea what she was in for, Eva was shocked and horrified at what the Nazis were doing to her countrymen and women. Her friend Sofie, along with other women in the cold, dank barracks where they shivered and starved, kept Eva strong. They kept each other’s spirits up, but it was a difficult task. So many people died; were murdered or fell where they stood. Eva and Sofie were determined to survive this war; Sofie needed to find her son Tomas, Eva to find Michal. But when Michal was found, it wasn’t long before he was sent to another camp…
Would a pregnant Eva and a desperate Sofie survive the horrors of Auschwitz?
The Child of Auschwitz is my first by author Lily Graham, and I found it to be another beautifully written, well researched fictional account of the Holocaust and the dreadful atrocities which occurred during that horrific time in history. The story starts and ends in present day Prague; the bulk of the story centres around Eva and Sofie, characters I felt I knew. An excellent historical fiction novel which I highly recommend.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
July 10, 2021
In 1942 Prague. Eva Adami has endured two long days, standing up in a train she's tired, hungry, thirsty, dirty and in shock. For Eva and thousands of other Jewish people, nothing could ever prepare them for the horror of the concentration camp known as Auschwitz and it's nightmare. When the train finally arrives, the guards are yelling at them to get out, dogs are barking, the women are sorted into groups and led into a large hall. Here the frightened women are told to remove their clothes, their heads are shaved and it's a mad scramble to find anything to cover themselves from the pile of dirty clothes.
Eva and Sofie are on the train together, both have been separated from the people they love and they plan to find them in the camp. Eva has been separated from her new husband Michal, he received a letter telling him he was being sent to a work camp and Eva sure he's in Auschwitz? Sofie has been betrayed by her cousin Lotte, she informed the Germans that she was trying to flee the country and was separated from her baby son. Lotte might have taken Tomas to a orphanage in Austria, she was also sent to a concentration camp and is Lotte in Auschwitz?
Eva, Sofie and Helga share the same bunk in the awful accommodation block. Their days are spent standing in a line, being counted twice a day, standing in the freezing cold rain and sometimes it can take the guards hours to complete the count. They work sorting clothes and belongings taken from the new people who arrive at the camp everyday. Sofie is soon targeted by one of the guards called Meier and he uses any excuse to touch her. When Eva discovers Michal is in the camp hospital, Sofie makes the choice to give in to the guards demands and her friend Eva can spend half an hour with her husband.
Sofie's soon a target of a nasty guard, he hates her and she's forced to change jobs and is doing hard labor. Eva is being worked to death and she discovers that she's pregnant. Both women know that they can't last much longer living in the camp, the Germans are being defeated and both women need to hang on until the Russians arrive. Eva and Sofie make a promise to look after each other children, they will find Tomas and keep Eva's baby safe.
The Child Of Auschwitz is a story about two mothers love for their children and their devotion to each other. Sofie is on a mission to find her lost son Tomas and Eva needs to hide her pregnancy for as long as she can and give her baby a chance to be born. It's a story about love, hope, motherhood, human spirit and friendship.
I enjoyed reading: The Child Of Auschwitz, the opinions expressed in this review are my own and I gave the book four stars.
Eva and Sofie are on the train together, both have been separated from the people they love and they plan to find them in the camp. Eva has been separated from her new husband Michal, he received a letter telling him he was being sent to a work camp and Eva sure he's in Auschwitz? Sofie has been betrayed by her cousin Lotte, she informed the Germans that she was trying to flee the country and was separated from her baby son. Lotte might have taken Tomas to a orphanage in Austria, she was also sent to a concentration camp and is Lotte in Auschwitz?
Eva, Sofie and Helga share the same bunk in the awful accommodation block. Their days are spent standing in a line, being counted twice a day, standing in the freezing cold rain and sometimes it can take the guards hours to complete the count. They work sorting clothes and belongings taken from the new people who arrive at the camp everyday. Sofie is soon targeted by one of the guards called Meier and he uses any excuse to touch her. When Eva discovers Michal is in the camp hospital, Sofie makes the choice to give in to the guards demands and her friend Eva can spend half an hour with her husband.
Sofie's soon a target of a nasty guard, he hates her and she's forced to change jobs and is doing hard labor. Eva is being worked to death and she discovers that she's pregnant. Both women know that they can't last much longer living in the camp, the Germans are being defeated and both women need to hang on until the Russians arrive. Eva and Sofie make a promise to look after each other children, they will find Tomas and keep Eva's baby safe.
The Child Of Auschwitz is a story about two mothers love for their children and their devotion to each other. Sofie is on a mission to find her lost son Tomas and Eva needs to hide her pregnancy for as long as she can and give her baby a chance to be born. It's a story about love, hope, motherhood, human spirit and friendship.
I enjoyed reading: The Child Of Auschwitz, the opinions expressed in this review are my own and I gave the book four stars.
November 24, 2019
What a fantastic read,this book about survival of friends who stick together in hard times and a love story.even if we know about what happens in the camps you feel the hardships of the characters this book was heartbreaking but its shows strength to survive well written book.well worth reading.
November 18, 2019
This is such a heart-breaking story of survival, it’s haunting but at the same time uplifting to know that there can be hope against all odds.
Could you imagine a Jewish baby being born in Auschwitz and surviving? This is an amazing story of the miracle of life. The strength and hope that the women in this story held onto to survive despite the atrocities they encountered was incredible.
The story begins in Prague, Year 1938 where families were sceptical about the rumours of the Nazis invading Czechoslovakia. They felt the invasion wouldn’t reach Prague and by the time they realised how wrong they were it was too late to escape the country.
This is a very character driven story about friendships, survival and courage amongst the horrific conditions in the concentration camps the Jewish were taken to and had to endure. Most of their survival was dependent on luck and timing.
The story is centred around Eva Adami a young Jewish girl who is newly married to Michal a Jewish symphony violin player and Sofie Weis a young mother who becomes best friends with Eva at the concentration camp.
This book was inspired by the true story of Vera Bein who gave birth to her daughter in the top bunk of camp C at Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944. The baby weighed just 1kg and was too weak to cry. Records show that at least 700 children were born in Auschwitz-Birkenau and to date only a handful of them are known to have survived.
A beautiful story, one of my favourite holocaust stories read this year, spellbinding reading! 4.5 Stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy
Could you imagine a Jewish baby being born in Auschwitz and surviving? This is an amazing story of the miracle of life. The strength and hope that the women in this story held onto to survive despite the atrocities they encountered was incredible.
The story begins in Prague, Year 1938 where families were sceptical about the rumours of the Nazis invading Czechoslovakia. They felt the invasion wouldn’t reach Prague and by the time they realised how wrong they were it was too late to escape the country.
This is a very character driven story about friendships, survival and courage amongst the horrific conditions in the concentration camps the Jewish were taken to and had to endure. Most of their survival was dependent on luck and timing.
The story is centred around Eva Adami a young Jewish girl who is newly married to Michal a Jewish symphony violin player and Sofie Weis a young mother who becomes best friends with Eva at the concentration camp.
This book was inspired by the true story of Vera Bein who gave birth to her daughter in the top bunk of camp C at Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944. The baby weighed just 1kg and was too weak to cry. Records show that at least 700 children were born in Auschwitz-Birkenau and to date only a handful of them are known to have survived.
A beautiful story, one of my favourite holocaust stories read this year, spellbinding reading! 4.5 Stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy
November 7, 2019
This story is about life in a concentration camp and The Holocaust. It follows the struggles of Eva and Sofie while they were prisoners in the Auschwitz Concentration camp. We learn of the events that's brought them together and we witness their struggle to survive.
The narrative is told is duel timelines. One is told in the present which is 1942 and the other I the past which is 1938. The book is set between a terrible atrocity. This is a beautifully written story. There are some genuine lovely characters but there is also some nasty spiteful lighters as well. The conditions in the concentration camps are described vividly. A story of death, despair, survival and hope. Younwill need the tissues beside you as this story will pull at your heartstrings.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and the author Lily Graham for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The narrative is told is duel timelines. One is told in the present which is 1942 and the other I the past which is 1938. The book is set between a terrible atrocity. This is a beautifully written story. There are some genuine lovely characters but there is also some nasty spiteful lighters as well. The conditions in the concentration camps are described vividly. A story of death, despair, survival and hope. Younwill need the tissues beside you as this story will pull at your heartstrings.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and the author Lily Graham for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2021
Αν είχα διαβάσει αυτό το βιβλίο λίγα χρόνια πριν, νομίζω πως θα μου άρεσε περισσότερο,. Τον τελευταίο καιρό όμως έχω την αίσθηση ότι έχουν κυκλοφορήσει πολλά βιβλία με θέμα τη ζωή στο Άουσβιτς (ή πιο σωστά με γενικότερο θέμα τη ζωή στα χρόνια του δευτέρου παγκοσμίου πολέμου) και έχω διαβάσει αρκετά από αυτά, οπότε δυστυχώς το συγκεκριμένο δεν με ενθουσίασε.
Οι περιγραφές της καθημερινότητας των κρατουμένων στο στρατόπεδο ήταν πολύ καλές, κατάφερε να μου δώσει μια ιδέα, αλλά έλειπε η ένταση, δεν κατάφερε να με κάνει να τους συναισθανθώ. Για παράδειγμα, ανέφερε πολλές φορές το πόσο πολύ κρύωναν ή πεινούσαν όλοι εκεί, αλλά δεν περιέγραφε τα συναισθήματα και τις σκέψεις των κρατουμένων ή το πώς ένιωθαν, έμενε στην επιφάνεια. Κάποιες λίγες στιγμές που εμβάθυνε στη θλίψη των γυναικών πάνω στις οποίες βασίζεται η ιστορία ήταν καλύτερο, δεν με συγκίνησε ιδιαίτερα όμως.
Στο βιβλίο ωστόσο εκτός από τις μέρες που πέρασαν στο στρατόπεδο περιγράφεται και η ζωή της Εύας και της Σόφι πριν τον πόλεμο και ο τρόπος που έφτασαν εκεί. Και οι δύο ιστορίες ήταν πολύ όμορφες, ειδικά της Σόφι μου άρεσε περισσότερο. Δεν ήταν ωστόσο μια ιστορία που θα μπορούσε να σταθεί από μόνη της σαν κοινωνικού περιεχομένου μυθιστόρημα, το βάρος του βιβλίου δίνεται στην ζωή στο Άουσβιτς.
Είναι πολύ καλογραμμένο, διαβάζεται γρήγορα και ευχάριστα, με απορρόφησε και δεν βαρέθηκα στιγμή. Δεν ήταν κάτι που θα μου μείνει αξέχαστο, χαίρομαι όμως που το διάβασα.
https://kiallovivlio.blogspot.com/
https://thematofylakes.gr/
Οι περιγραφές της καθημερινότητας των κρατουμένων στο στρατόπεδο ήταν πολύ καλές, κατάφερε να μου δώσει μια ιδέα, αλλά έλειπε η ένταση, δεν κατάφερε να με κάνει να τους συναισθανθώ. Για παράδειγμα, ανέφερε πολλές φορές το πόσο πολύ κρύωναν ή πεινούσαν όλοι εκεί, αλλά δεν περιέγραφε τα συναισθήματα και τις σκέψεις των κρατουμένων ή το πώς ένιωθαν, έμενε στην επιφάνεια. Κάποιες λίγες στιγμές που εμβάθυνε στη θλίψη των γυναικών πάνω στις οποίες βασίζεται η ιστορία ήταν καλύτερο, δεν με συγκίνησε ιδιαίτερα όμως.
Στο βιβλίο ωστόσο εκτός από τις μέρες που πέρασαν στο στρατόπεδο περιγράφεται και η ζωή της Εύας και της Σόφι πριν τον πόλεμο και ο τρόπος που έφτασαν εκεί. Και οι δύο ιστορίες ήταν πολύ όμορφες, ειδικά της Σόφι μου άρεσε περισσότερο. Δεν ήταν ωστόσο μια ιστορία που θα μπορούσε να σταθεί από μόνη της σαν κοινωνικού περιεχομένου μυθιστόρημα, το βάρος του βιβλίου δίνεται στην ζωή στο Άουσβιτς.
Είναι πολύ καλογραμμένο, διαβάζεται γρήγορα και ευχάριστα, με απορρόφησε και δεν βαρέθηκα στιγμή. Δεν ήταν κάτι που θα μου μείνει αξέχαστο, χαίρομαι όμως που το διάβασα.
https://kiallovivlio.blogspot.com/
https://thematofylakes.gr/
September 24, 2021
This is a rather tepid treatment of the real horrors of Auschwitz. Some scenarios were completely unrealistic as will be obvious to anyone who has read a great deal about the death camps.
Chapters written in Italics caused a disruption to the flow of the story. And the fact that the book is 230 pages there was little room to truly develop the characters or properly communicate the abhorrence of a death camp.
By no stretch of the imagination would a phrase such as “Eva waited for Sofie to get home” (Pg.134) occur to a woman in Auschwitz.
This could be a YA’s introduction to the WWII death camps.
2-stars because I believe the author had the best of intentions.
Chapters written in Italics caused a disruption to the flow of the story. And the fact that the book is 230 pages there was little room to truly develop the characters or properly communicate the abhorrence of a death camp.
By no stretch of the imagination would a phrase such as “Eva waited for Sofie to get home” (Pg.134) occur to a woman in Auschwitz.
This could be a YA’s introduction to the WWII death camps.
2-stars because I believe the author had the best of intentions.
September 4, 2021
This one hurt my heart, but it was also inspiring. The strength and hope is just beyond what I can imagine. A wonderful read. Have tissues ready!
November 8, 2019
My rating: 4.5 Stars
Eva Adami is in Prague. But then the story goes back to 1942. She survived a very long and grueling train ride, with the worst possible treatment imaginable, Eva is about to begin yet another tragic chapter in her life.
Eva is one of thousands of Jewish people being lined up for extermination. Dragged out of her home, her life, and the happiness she knew, her life will forever be changed. This story, and that last couple that I have read, have focused on what women suffered during that time. The Child of Auschwitz is one such story.
For readers of this genre, or about this time in history, there is no need to repeat the many horrors these women experienced. Another woman highlighted in this book is Sofie. The story goes back to her past life occasionally. We read of her falling in love, mothering a child, Tomas, then losing her husband and all contact with Tomas. Eva and Sofia become very close and offer a tremendous amount of support to one another during their horrific trials.
We meet other women who are forced to live together on the block. They did manage to become part of Kanada, a special camp, and thus were spared gassing. They had a lot of advantages, but were not spared much of the suffering and humiliation.
Before Eva was dragged off to the camps she met and married. Blessedly she finds her love again, and they even manage to create a life between them. Eva struggles to keep her child alive, all while Sofie hopes to see her son again. Both Eva and Sofie are forced to face even more brutal and tragic trials.
Despite the sadness... Despite the tragedy...This is a story of survival, of hope, of friendship, and of love. I cried more than once but I was left with a very full feeling in my heart at Eva's perseverance through it all. This was an amazing read, and as always, Lily Graham has done a stellar job.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Eva Adami is in Prague. But then the story goes back to 1942. She survived a very long and grueling train ride, with the worst possible treatment imaginable, Eva is about to begin yet another tragic chapter in her life.
Eva is one of thousands of Jewish people being lined up for extermination. Dragged out of her home, her life, and the happiness she knew, her life will forever be changed. This story, and that last couple that I have read, have focused on what women suffered during that time. The Child of Auschwitz is one such story.
For readers of this genre, or about this time in history, there is no need to repeat the many horrors these women experienced. Another woman highlighted in this book is Sofie. The story goes back to her past life occasionally. We read of her falling in love, mothering a child, Tomas, then losing her husband and all contact with Tomas. Eva and Sofia become very close and offer a tremendous amount of support to one another during their horrific trials.
We meet other women who are forced to live together on the block. They did manage to become part of Kanada, a special camp, and thus were spared gassing. They had a lot of advantages, but were not spared much of the suffering and humiliation.
Before Eva was dragged off to the camps she met and married. Blessedly she finds her love again, and they even manage to create a life between them. Eva struggles to keep her child alive, all while Sofie hopes to see her son again. Both Eva and Sofie are forced to face even more brutal and tragic trials.
Despite the sadness... Despite the tragedy...This is a story of survival, of hope, of friendship, and of love. I cried more than once but I was left with a very full feeling in my heart at Eva's perseverance through it all. This was an amazing read, and as always, Lily Graham has done a stellar job.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
December 6, 2019
"I was born into a world that had forbidden my existence.
The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history"
Could a baby been born in Auschwitz and survive? It seems impossible and yet it is true. Generally babies were routinely killed in the camps for they could do no work...in fact they kept their mothers from working. So to both be born and to survive is an incredible tale worth telling. Though fictionalised, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a heartbreaking yet brave story based on that of Vera Bein, who gave birth to her daughter Angela on the top bunk in her barracks at Auschwtiz in December 1944.
"I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.
You see, there were children born in Auschwitz.
And I was one of them."
The story begins in the present day in Prague. An elderly woman is sifting through letters written in another time, another place. Letters her mother had written, telling the story of a story that began long before she was born. It was time. She had put it off for far too long waiting for the right moment to tell this story - her mother's story.
"She put her glasses back on her nose, and turned over a fresh sheet of paper. Then she touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short dark hair and a baby in her arms.
She had one last story to tell.
Theirs.
And it began in hell on earth."
Prague, 1938. Eva was a young aspiring artist when she met Michal. She would listen to him play his violin each day and leave him a little something in return. He was a violinist in a symphony orchestra and one day he reciprocated the gift with two tickets to see him play. Michal affectionately called her "peach girl" because of the first gift she had left him was a peach.
It wasn't long before Eva knew she was in love and that they would be married. But there was unrest in Czechoslovakia in light of the Nazi occupation in Austria with Jews being stripped of their basic human rights. But Eva's uncle declared them to be safe and should it come to that they could make their escape.
Amidst all the unrest, Eva and Michal married, taking residence in his little flat, while he played in his symphony and she studied art. But then the Nazis came...and Jews were forbidden to attend school, to own a business, a house - anything.
Prague, 1942. Eva Adami had only been married for twelve months when the Nazis took Michal away. He was sent to Jewish ghetto Terezin, a concentration camp just north of Prague. A few short months later, Eva and her parents followed and she was delighted to be reunited with Michal, and although still separated they were able to see one another frequently. But it wasn't long before Michal was sent to Auschwitz...and Eva was devastated. So when the opportunity arose Eva volunteered to be sent there also...in order to find her husband.
For two days, Eva endured the long train journey with her new friend Sofie Weis, whom she met in Terezin, being treated like nothing short of an animal. She is tired, hungry, thirsty and in shock. For Eva, Sofie and thousands of Jews, nothing could prepare them for the horrors that await them at Auschwitz. They are sorted into groups - right to work, left to the gas chambers - then are told to remove their clothes, standing naked before the guards, their heads are shaved and numbers are tattooed on their arms. Like starving animals they then scramble through a pile of dirty clothing to cover themselves. The nightmare has begun.
Eva and Sofie find comfort in their friendship as life in Auschwitz begins. They have both been separated from loved ones with plans to find them...and they both came to Auschwitz for that purpose. Eva to find her beloved Michal, and Sofie to find her cousin Lotte who betrayed her when she informed the Germans that she and her family were feeling the country, therefore separating Sofie from her baby son Tomas. Lotte had placed Tomas somewhere safe while she was sent here to Auschwitz. And Sofie was determined to find her.
In Auschwitz, Eva and Sofie meet Helga and Vanda, sharing a bunk together in their awful accommodation, with their days spent being lined up and counted twice daily, standing in the freezing cold rain and snow. The guards are cruel, taking great pleasure in humiliating them, making them stand in the cold for hours. But like any prison, there are favours to be had and currency in the form of anything to gain them that favour. Even for the smallest request. Eva and Sofie soon learn the system and how to best take advantage of it to survive. Sofie has caught the eye of one of the guards, Meier, and she uses that to her advantage. So when Eva discovers Michal is in the camp hospital, after months of searching for him, Sofie makes a choice to succumb to Meier's demands so that Eva can spend half an hour with her husband.
Soon the target of an especially nasty guard, Hinterschloss, who takes enormous pleasure in humiliating her, Eva is forced to into doing hard labour on a railway which is a 3km walk away. She is being worked to death, is thin with starvation and malnutrition, and barely has the strength to remain standing. She is then told the distressing news that Michal has been moved to a factory camp where they build airplanes for the Nazis. While Eva would prefer him to be here with her, she knows he is much safer there. And then, not thinking that it was remotely possible, Eva soon discovers that she is pregnant. Eva knows she must hide her pregnancy from the guards, as killing pregnant women had been known to occur.
Then one night, in January 1945, after receiving the most devastating news, Eva goes into labour...and her baby daughter is born on the top bunk of their barracks, her existence hidden from the guards. But she is small, her lungs are under developed and they are sure she will not survive.
Eva and Sofie know that they cannot last much longer in Auschwitz. The conditions are appalling, the food inedible (what there is of it), and if the war doesn't end soon, the are sure they will die there if they cannot get out alive. The two women make a promise to each other that they WILL survive this together, and in the event that they don't that they look after each other's children - to find baby Tomas and to keep Eva's baby safe.
When I started THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ, I thought it was going to be primarily about a child growing up in Auschwitz but it was more about the friendships of the women there. Together, they helped each other survive the harsh conditions, offering comfort and words of encouragement. The friendship between Eva and Sofie is one of loyalty as they continually put their lives on the line for each other again and again. It is a story of love, of friendship, of selflessness, extending beyond the confines of the camp and its horrifying conditions.
Told in varying timelines, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a novel, not a memoir. Beginning in the present day, the story then unfolds in the dual time of 1938 and 1942 with heartbreaking realism. The flow between the timelines is seamless and is woven together magnificently with such precise detail.
THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a beautifully written, harrowing tale of unimaginable horrors and abuse that is both heartwrenching and touching. In the midst of the abhorrent conditions this is also a story of hope.
When I began THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it left me in tears as I read the final chapters.
A compelling read that is so beautifully written of a harrowing time, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is both heartbreaking and uplifting...and unforgettable. The best story of Auschwitz I have read and my first by Lily Graham.
I would like to thank #LilyGraham, #NetGalley and #Bookouture> for an ARC of #TheChildOfAuschwitz in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history"
Could a baby been born in Auschwitz and survive? It seems impossible and yet it is true. Generally babies were routinely killed in the camps for they could do no work...in fact they kept their mothers from working. So to both be born and to survive is an incredible tale worth telling. Though fictionalised, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a heartbreaking yet brave story based on that of Vera Bein, who gave birth to her daughter Angela on the top bunk in her barracks at Auschwtiz in December 1944.
"I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.
You see, there were children born in Auschwitz.
And I was one of them."
The story begins in the present day in Prague. An elderly woman is sifting through letters written in another time, another place. Letters her mother had written, telling the story of a story that began long before she was born. It was time. She had put it off for far too long waiting for the right moment to tell this story - her mother's story.
"She put her glasses back on her nose, and turned over a fresh sheet of paper. Then she touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short dark hair and a baby in her arms.
She had one last story to tell.
Theirs.
And it began in hell on earth."
Prague, 1938. Eva was a young aspiring artist when she met Michal. She would listen to him play his violin each day and leave him a little something in return. He was a violinist in a symphony orchestra and one day he reciprocated the gift with two tickets to see him play. Michal affectionately called her "peach girl" because of the first gift she had left him was a peach.
It wasn't long before Eva knew she was in love and that they would be married. But there was unrest in Czechoslovakia in light of the Nazi occupation in Austria with Jews being stripped of their basic human rights. But Eva's uncle declared them to be safe and should it come to that they could make their escape.
Amidst all the unrest, Eva and Michal married, taking residence in his little flat, while he played in his symphony and she studied art. But then the Nazis came...and Jews were forbidden to attend school, to own a business, a house - anything.
Prague, 1942. Eva Adami had only been married for twelve months when the Nazis took Michal away. He was sent to Jewish ghetto Terezin, a concentration camp just north of Prague. A few short months later, Eva and her parents followed and she was delighted to be reunited with Michal, and although still separated they were able to see one another frequently. But it wasn't long before Michal was sent to Auschwitz...and Eva was devastated. So when the opportunity arose Eva volunteered to be sent there also...in order to find her husband.
For two days, Eva endured the long train journey with her new friend Sofie Weis, whom she met in Terezin, being treated like nothing short of an animal. She is tired, hungry, thirsty and in shock. For Eva, Sofie and thousands of Jews, nothing could prepare them for the horrors that await them at Auschwitz. They are sorted into groups - right to work, left to the gas chambers - then are told to remove their clothes, standing naked before the guards, their heads are shaved and numbers are tattooed on their arms. Like starving animals they then scramble through a pile of dirty clothing to cover themselves. The nightmare has begun.
Eva and Sofie find comfort in their friendship as life in Auschwitz begins. They have both been separated from loved ones with plans to find them...and they both came to Auschwitz for that purpose. Eva to find her beloved Michal, and Sofie to find her cousin Lotte who betrayed her when she informed the Germans that she and her family were feeling the country, therefore separating Sofie from her baby son Tomas. Lotte had placed Tomas somewhere safe while she was sent here to Auschwitz. And Sofie was determined to find her.
In Auschwitz, Eva and Sofie meet Helga and Vanda, sharing a bunk together in their awful accommodation, with their days spent being lined up and counted twice daily, standing in the freezing cold rain and snow. The guards are cruel, taking great pleasure in humiliating them, making them stand in the cold for hours. But like any prison, there are favours to be had and currency in the form of anything to gain them that favour. Even for the smallest request. Eva and Sofie soon learn the system and how to best take advantage of it to survive. Sofie has caught the eye of one of the guards, Meier, and she uses that to her advantage. So when Eva discovers Michal is in the camp hospital, after months of searching for him, Sofie makes a choice to succumb to Meier's demands so that Eva can spend half an hour with her husband.
Soon the target of an especially nasty guard, Hinterschloss, who takes enormous pleasure in humiliating her, Eva is forced to into doing hard labour on a railway which is a 3km walk away. She is being worked to death, is thin with starvation and malnutrition, and barely has the strength to remain standing. She is then told the distressing news that Michal has been moved to a factory camp where they build airplanes for the Nazis. While Eva would prefer him to be here with her, she knows he is much safer there. And then, not thinking that it was remotely possible, Eva soon discovers that she is pregnant. Eva knows she must hide her pregnancy from the guards, as killing pregnant women had been known to occur.
Then one night, in January 1945, after receiving the most devastating news, Eva goes into labour...and her baby daughter is born on the top bunk of their barracks, her existence hidden from the guards. But she is small, her lungs are under developed and they are sure she will not survive.
Eva and Sofie know that they cannot last much longer in Auschwitz. The conditions are appalling, the food inedible (what there is of it), and if the war doesn't end soon, the are sure they will die there if they cannot get out alive. The two women make a promise to each other that they WILL survive this together, and in the event that they don't that they look after each other's children - to find baby Tomas and to keep Eva's baby safe.
When I started THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ, I thought it was going to be primarily about a child growing up in Auschwitz but it was more about the friendships of the women there. Together, they helped each other survive the harsh conditions, offering comfort and words of encouragement. The friendship between Eva and Sofie is one of loyalty as they continually put their lives on the line for each other again and again. It is a story of love, of friendship, of selflessness, extending beyond the confines of the camp and its horrifying conditions.
Told in varying timelines, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a novel, not a memoir. Beginning in the present day, the story then unfolds in the dual time of 1938 and 1942 with heartbreaking realism. The flow between the timelines is seamless and is woven together magnificently with such precise detail.
THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a beautifully written, harrowing tale of unimaginable horrors and abuse that is both heartwrenching and touching. In the midst of the abhorrent conditions this is also a story of hope.
When I began THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it left me in tears as I read the final chapters.
A compelling read that is so beautifully written of a harrowing time, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is both heartbreaking and uplifting...and unforgettable. The best story of Auschwitz I have read and my first by Lily Graham.
I would like to thank #LilyGraham, #NetGalley and #Bookouture> for an ARC of #TheChildOfAuschwitz in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
October 25, 2022
A heartbreaking story of life and loss. The atrocities that these poor people had to go through is just incomprehensible; such an awful part of history.
November 8, 2019
This is the first book I have read by Lily Graham, I feel it’s improper to say I enjoyed a book based on an appalling time in history, but I found it to be a compelling read. It’s exquisitely written, a bittersweet tale, which recounts the story of Eva, one of thousands of women held captive in the death camp Auschwitz. The story shifts between two timelines, when Eva and Michael first met, and the troubling times that led up to the war and persecution of Jews, and the second focuses on Eva’s time at Auschwitz, and her search for Michael, and the birth of their child. The Child Of Auschwitz is a remarkable tale of endurance, love and friendship, and the worse and best of humanity.
The novel is set against the harrowing backdrop of Auschwitz, personally I think any author who uses a concentration camp as a location hasn’t chosen an easy path. When ever I pick up a fictional book about this location, I always worry an author won’t be able to get the balance right, I generally find Auschwitz has been used as a setting to shock and sell books, and lack empathy for the real victims of Auschwitz, or the story overshadows just how horrifying these concentrations camps were. I think Lily Graham manages to get the balance right; she doesn’t shy away from describing the severe conditions or the cruel treatment of Eva and her fellow prisoners, but neither is this her primary focus, it’s very much a character driven novel about friendship, lost, survival and hope.
It was heartwarming to see the developing friendship between Eva and Sophie blossom, a friendship so deep that they willing forego their own moral compass to help each other through sickness and starvation. When Eva gave birth my heart broke, It’s almost impossible to imagine that babies were born in Auschwitz let alone survived, their mothers experienced a life of starvation, forced labour, and infectious diseases, which hardly gave these innocent infants the best start in life. I found this read incredibly sad as fact blended with fiction, at other times my heart lifted at the strength, determination and camaraderie between the prisoners shone through.
The Child Of Auschwitz is a reminder that even in the darkest of places its possible to find happiness, it may be only have been for a few seconds, before it crumbled to dust, but it was moments like this that gave prisoners hope and the will to survive. Whilst reading The Child Of Auschwitz I found it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, Eva’s story could be any number of women who had the misfortune to end up in Auschwitz in fact the story was inspired by Vera Bein who gave birth during her time in Auschwitz. The Child Of Auschwitz is a moving story that’s emotive, horrifying, and heartbreaking, you can’t help but think of the millions of prisoners who suffered, and died in the concentration camps. Highly recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction.
All my reviews can be found at www.thebookreviewcafe.com
The novel is set against the harrowing backdrop of Auschwitz, personally I think any author who uses a concentration camp as a location hasn’t chosen an easy path. When ever I pick up a fictional book about this location, I always worry an author won’t be able to get the balance right, I generally find Auschwitz has been used as a setting to shock and sell books, and lack empathy for the real victims of Auschwitz, or the story overshadows just how horrifying these concentrations camps were. I think Lily Graham manages to get the balance right; she doesn’t shy away from describing the severe conditions or the cruel treatment of Eva and her fellow prisoners, but neither is this her primary focus, it’s very much a character driven novel about friendship, lost, survival and hope.
It was heartwarming to see the developing friendship between Eva and Sophie blossom, a friendship so deep that they willing forego their own moral compass to help each other through sickness and starvation. When Eva gave birth my heart broke, It’s almost impossible to imagine that babies were born in Auschwitz let alone survived, their mothers experienced a life of starvation, forced labour, and infectious diseases, which hardly gave these innocent infants the best start in life. I found this read incredibly sad as fact blended with fiction, at other times my heart lifted at the strength, determination and camaraderie between the prisoners shone through.
The Child Of Auschwitz is a reminder that even in the darkest of places its possible to find happiness, it may be only have been for a few seconds, before it crumbled to dust, but it was moments like this that gave prisoners hope and the will to survive. Whilst reading The Child Of Auschwitz I found it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, Eva’s story could be any number of women who had the misfortune to end up in Auschwitz in fact the story was inspired by Vera Bein who gave birth during her time in Auschwitz. The Child Of Auschwitz is a moving story that’s emotive, horrifying, and heartbreaking, you can’t help but think of the millions of prisoners who suffered, and died in the concentration camps. Highly recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction.
All my reviews can be found at www.thebookreviewcafe.com
October 13, 2019
It feels bad to say how I love reading books about the Holocaust. It’s just something that has always interested me and I think they are also a great reminder and how we should be learning from that period of time.
A story that is set in the camps, is always going to be an emotional read. The atrocities that went on inside them is just horrific. Through Eva and Sofie’s story though, we also get a glimpse of the friendships that happened inside as well as the hope and the fighting spirit that some of the prisoners never lost sight of.
Eva and Sofie are in a way quite different but their quests are very similar. To a certain extent it’s their hope of being reunited with loved ones that keep them fighting to stay alive. Sofie was a character that I especially loved, she goes above and beyond more than a few times with huge risks to her own life. Her courage was just outstanding.
The Child of Auschwitz is an emotional roller coaster of a read. Parts were horrific, saddening, shocking, heart warming, I think I went though every emotion possible whilst reading it. Even though fiction, for me, the author gives a very real account of what life was like in the camps as well as what took place inside them. An absolute must read.
My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
A story that is set in the camps, is always going to be an emotional read. The atrocities that went on inside them is just horrific. Through Eva and Sofie’s story though, we also get a glimpse of the friendships that happened inside as well as the hope and the fighting spirit that some of the prisoners never lost sight of.
Eva and Sofie are in a way quite different but their quests are very similar. To a certain extent it’s their hope of being reunited with loved ones that keep them fighting to stay alive. Sofie was a character that I especially loved, she goes above and beyond more than a few times with huge risks to her own life. Her courage was just outstanding.
The Child of Auschwitz is an emotional roller coaster of a read. Parts were horrific, saddening, shocking, heart warming, I think I went though every emotion possible whilst reading it. Even though fiction, for me, the author gives a very real account of what life was like in the camps as well as what took place inside them. An absolute must read.
My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
November 7, 2019
I’ve always been interested in stories about Auschwitz and this one was great because it showed the strength of a group of women, against all the odds.
This is a story of friendship and love in a hideous place.
Eva is separated from her husband so tries to find him at Auschwitz but soon starts to lose hope due to the huge amount of men and women there.
There’s details in the book that will shock you if you’ve not read about Auschwitz before, but this was necessary to show the real battle for survival that Eva and the other women faced.
As with other books about the Holocaust there’s a sense of relief when the war ends but for the survivors this experience will never be forgotten.
A great read which has the strength of a group of women shining through.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
This is a story of friendship and love in a hideous place.
Eva is separated from her husband so tries to find him at Auschwitz but soon starts to lose hope due to the huge amount of men and women there.
There’s details in the book that will shock you if you’ve not read about Auschwitz before, but this was necessary to show the real battle for survival that Eva and the other women faced.
As with other books about the Holocaust there’s a sense of relief when the war ends but for the survivors this experience will never be forgotten.
A great read which has the strength of a group of women shining through.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
January 6, 2022
Evocative, tragic, and heartrending!
The Child of Auschwitz is an immersive, affecting tale set during WWII that takes you into the lives of two young Jewish women, Eva and Sofie, as they do whatever it takes to help each other survive life in the Auschwitz concentration camp in order to one day reunite with the people that have kept their fighting spirits alive, Eva’s husband Michal and Sofie’s son Tomas.
The prose is insightful and authentic. The characters are resilient, caring, and brave. And the plot is a poignant, memorable tale of life, loss, love, family, sacrifice, courage, survival, selflessness, the inconceivable horrors of war, and the special bonds of friendship.
Overall, The Child of Auschwitz is a harrowing, hopeful, moving tale by Graham inspired by true-life events that are a haunting reminder of a time in history when millions endured unimaginable cruelty and needlessly suffered and and yet still managed to have the capacity for compassion and love.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Child of Auschwitz is an immersive, affecting tale set during WWII that takes you into the lives of two young Jewish women, Eva and Sofie, as they do whatever it takes to help each other survive life in the Auschwitz concentration camp in order to one day reunite with the people that have kept their fighting spirits alive, Eva’s husband Michal and Sofie’s son Tomas.
The prose is insightful and authentic. The characters are resilient, caring, and brave. And the plot is a poignant, memorable tale of life, loss, love, family, sacrifice, courage, survival, selflessness, the inconceivable horrors of war, and the special bonds of friendship.
Overall, The Child of Auschwitz is a harrowing, hopeful, moving tale by Graham inspired by true-life events that are a haunting reminder of a time in history when millions endured unimaginable cruelty and needlessly suffered and and yet still managed to have the capacity for compassion and love.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2020
This book was inspired by the true story of Vera Bein who gave birth to her daughter in the top bunk of camp C at Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944. The baby weighed just 1kg and was too weak to cry. Records show that at least 700 children were born in Auschwitz-Birkenau and to date only a handful of them are known to have survived. While the atrocities inflicted on fellow human beings described here are unimaginable and incomprehensible, this is also a story about hope, courage, a determination to survive. The Child Of Auschwitz is an incredibly moving story that’s emotive, horrifying, and heartbreaking....you can’t help but think of the millions who suffered, and died in the concentration camps. I highly recommend this book to everyone to read, remember and pray so that nobody ever has to go through this again.
November 15, 2021
This book had me as soon as I saw it was inspired by a true story.
The Child Of Auschwitz is an absolutely heartbreaking story of friendship, love and survival. The friendship between Eva and Sofie was truly beautiful.
It's unbelievable to think a baby could be born and survive in such horrific conditions.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy!
The Child Of Auschwitz is an absolutely heartbreaking story of friendship, love and survival. The friendship between Eva and Sofie was truly beautiful.
It's unbelievable to think a baby could be born and survive in such horrific conditions.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy!
May 25, 2020
Autorka w podziękowaniach podsumowujących dzieło zamieściła zdanie, które wyrażało nadzieję, że czytelnicy wybaczą jej wszelkie nieścisłości zawarte w książce. Nie wybaczam. Zdania pokroju „Polacy w Auschwitz mieli najlepszą sytuację” lub „nie zaznali prawdziwej grozy wojny” po prostu są nie na miejscu. Nie mówiąc o tym już, że autorka kreując postać kapo wybrała Polkę, która w pewnym momencie powieści okazała „mniej serca” niż nazistowski esesman. Fikcja literacka ma też swoje granice.
November 5, 2019
I love World War II Historical Fiction and this book did not disappoint. This is the story of Eva Adami, her best friend Sofie Weis, Helga and Vanda who are all imprisoned in Auschwitz trying to survive the horrors of the concentration camp during World War II. It is told in a then and now format with then detailing Eva being a 21-year-old artist falling in love and eventually marrying Michal Adami, a concert violinist. This is a heartbreaking story that is a real page turner. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII Historical Fiction as it will not disappoint you.
October 11, 2021
4.5/5: υπέροχο το λάτρεψα!
January 29, 2021
Από τη μία η φρίκη των Ναζί και του Άουσβιτς και από την άλλη μία πολύ όμορφη και συγκινητική ιστορία αγάπης. Με αιχμαλώτισαν οι αντιθέσεις των εικόνων και το μεγαλείο των χαρακτήρων. Το γεγονός ότι πολλά είναι βασισμένα σε αληθινές ιστορίες γυναικών που επέζησαν από το Άουσβιτς, προσέδιδε μία επιπρόσθετη σημαντικότητα. Είναι εκπληκτικό το πόσες καινούργιες πτυχές των γεγονότων μαθαίνουμε συνεχώς, όψεις που ούτε καν τις είχαμε φανταστεί...
Για περισσότερα: https://www.thematofylakes.gr/to-paidi-tou-auschwitz-lily-graham/
Για περισσότερα: https://www.thematofylakes.gr/to-paidi-tou-auschwitz-lily-graham/
August 31, 2020
Wow. What an incredible story. I loved this 💓
January 29, 2024
This was a solid WW11 era novel.
Heart wrenching, full of hope and determination, and a few happy surprises along the way.
Books like these make me so extraordinarily grateful for ordinary happy days at home with my family, and burden my heart to pray for families who don’t have such luxuries. ❤️
Heart wrenching, full of hope and determination, and a few happy surprises along the way.
Books like these make me so extraordinarily grateful for ordinary happy days at home with my family, and burden my heart to pray for families who don’t have such luxuries. ❤️
November 6, 2019
The holocaust is a time in history I’ve always felt drawn to and I’ve read many books, both fact and fiction, about it. You know a book about this subject will always be emotional and this is no exception. Compelling, tender and poignant, this book swallowed me whole. I devoured it quickly, unable to put it down once I’d started reading. It is a story of strength and hope. Of finding light in the darkest times and the kindness that can be found in humanity even amongst the wretchedness and evil.
I hadn’t expected this to be a story mostly about the friendships between women in a death camp but it became my favourite aspect of the story. Seeing how they would help each other survive, offer comfort and words of encouragement was uplifting. Eva and Sofie had a true and loyal friendship and literally put their lives on the line for each other again and again. They were both someone I’d have wanted by my side in that situation and all the women in this book were strong, brave and inspirational. The author uses a past narrative to show us Eva and Sofie’s lives before the camp and show that they were just normal women living their lives until they were caught up in something unimaginable. The love story between Eva and Michal and the pain of Sofie’s separation from her son were vividly described in the flashbacks and made me root for them both to survive and be reunited with their loved ones. As I read I could never be completely sure which of the two women would become pregnant or how and when it would happen. I wondered how a child could possibly survive pregnancy inside a starving mother’s body, let alone the dangers of the camp, and was filled with dread even though we know from the opening pages that the child survives.
This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author but it won’t be the last as her writing was exquisit. I felt like I was transported to hell along with the characters via the author’s visceral and immersive prose that told the unvarnished truth of the holocaust. And though it made for difficult reading at times, it is told with sensitivity, with strands of hope woven through every page as we witness the endurance and resilience of the human spirit and how the miracle of a new life illuminates the darkness and despair.
All the characters in the book are well written and soon got under my skin. The author has a talent for evoking strong emotions towards the characters - be it love, sympathy, joy, despair, heartbreak or hatred. There were some formidable male characters, especially in Auschwitz, and the guards were the essence of the darkness, brutality and evil that lurks in the shadowy corners of humanity.
The Child of Auschwitz is a beautifully written, harrowing but hopeful story that I would highly recommend, especially if you’re someone who enjoys historical fiction.
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I hadn’t expected this to be a story mostly about the friendships between women in a death camp but it became my favourite aspect of the story. Seeing how they would help each other survive, offer comfort and words of encouragement was uplifting. Eva and Sofie had a true and loyal friendship and literally put their lives on the line for each other again and again. They were both someone I’d have wanted by my side in that situation and all the women in this book were strong, brave and inspirational. The author uses a past narrative to show us Eva and Sofie’s lives before the camp and show that they were just normal women living their lives until they were caught up in something unimaginable. The love story between Eva and Michal and the pain of Sofie’s separation from her son were vividly described in the flashbacks and made me root for them both to survive and be reunited with their loved ones. As I read I could never be completely sure which of the two women would become pregnant or how and when it would happen. I wondered how a child could possibly survive pregnancy inside a starving mother’s body, let alone the dangers of the camp, and was filled with dread even though we know from the opening pages that the child survives.
This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author but it won’t be the last as her writing was exquisit. I felt like I was transported to hell along with the characters via the author’s visceral and immersive prose that told the unvarnished truth of the holocaust. And though it made for difficult reading at times, it is told with sensitivity, with strands of hope woven through every page as we witness the endurance and resilience of the human spirit and how the miracle of a new life illuminates the darkness and despair.
All the characters in the book are well written and soon got under my skin. The author has a talent for evoking strong emotions towards the characters - be it love, sympathy, joy, despair, heartbreak or hatred. There were some formidable male characters, especially in Auschwitz, and the guards were the essence of the darkness, brutality and evil that lurks in the shadowy corners of humanity.
The Child of Auschwitz is a beautifully written, harrowing but hopeful story that I would highly recommend, especially if you’re someone who enjoys historical fiction.
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 3, 2019
Hope and Promises in the most dire circumstances
During the Nazi occupation the Jewish people were subjected to great hardship and injustice simply because they were Jewish. They were rounded up and sent to camps, families were separated and many were burned in the gas chambers or perished because of the deplorable conditions in camps such as Auschwitz. Few survived and even fewer were the children.
This is the story of a child that was born in Auschwitz and survived. It is the story of Eve and Michael and her family and the story of her friend Sophie.
The story is of Eve's time in Auschwitz, her friends Sophie, Helga and the others also in this camp. Through a man named Herman Eve was able to find her husband Michael, and spend a few hours with him before he was sent away to work in a factory. Later she learned she was pregnant. The child was born in Auschwitz. Her friends helped her hide the baby and Sophie gave her life to save Eve and the baby.
When the camp was liberated Helga went with Eve as her family was gone. They returned to Eve's home.
The rest of the story is contained within the pages of this book. I don't know how they survived the camp and the conditions. Such cruelty is so hard to understand.
I think during this time God must have been crying for these people. What a horrible dark time in the existence of the human race. We must read and remember lest we forget. This must never happen again.
What a tragic and realistic story this has been. Through all the evil there was hope, friendship and love.
I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to Bookouture, Lily Graham, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book
During the Nazi occupation the Jewish people were subjected to great hardship and injustice simply because they were Jewish. They were rounded up and sent to camps, families were separated and many were burned in the gas chambers or perished because of the deplorable conditions in camps such as Auschwitz. Few survived and even fewer were the children.
This is the story of a child that was born in Auschwitz and survived. It is the story of Eve and Michael and her family and the story of her friend Sophie.
The story is of Eve's time in Auschwitz, her friends Sophie, Helga and the others also in this camp. Through a man named Herman Eve was able to find her husband Michael, and spend a few hours with him before he was sent away to work in a factory. Later she learned she was pregnant. The child was born in Auschwitz. Her friends helped her hide the baby and Sophie gave her life to save Eve and the baby.
When the camp was liberated Helga went with Eve as her family was gone. They returned to Eve's home.
The rest of the story is contained within the pages of this book. I don't know how they survived the camp and the conditions. Such cruelty is so hard to understand.
I think during this time God must have been crying for these people. What a horrible dark time in the existence of the human race. We must read and remember lest we forget. This must never happen again.
What a tragic and realistic story this has been. Through all the evil there was hope, friendship and love.
I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to Bookouture, Lily Graham, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book
January 7, 2022
Baseado na história verídica de Vera Bein que teve a sua filha Angela em Auschwitz em 1944, este não é mais um livro sobre o Holocausto e sim um livro, sobre resiliência, amor e amizade
July 14, 2020
" Sofie, o an ufacık şeylerin ne kadar büyük bir fark yaratabileceğini anladı. Sola değil de sağa gitmek gibi ufacık kararların ... Yaşam ve ölüm arasındaki çizgi işte bu kadar kısaydı. "
Selam 🌿 Gerçek olaylardan kurgulanmış bir kitap bitirdim #karadüşenayışığı. Baştan kitabı çok sevdiğimi söylemeliyim . Yazar #demagoji yapmadan , duygularla oynamadan olayları gerçekçi ve objektif bir bakış açısı ile anlatmış. Böyle olunca kitabı okumak daha rahat oluyor.
Sevdikleriniz için yaptığınız fedakarlığın bir sınırı olabilir mi ?? Onlar için ne kadar ileri gidersiniz 🤔 Onları bulmak , belki bir kere daha görebilmek için #auschwitz kampına gitmeye gönüllü olur muydunuz? Eva eşinin peşinden gönüllü olarak , tarihe adını kanla ve ızdırapla yazdıran bu kampa gider. Yakın arkadaşı Sophie ile birlikte hem hayatta kalmaya çalışırlar hem de hedeflerine ulaşmaya. Eva'nın hedefi kocasını bulabilmek, Sophie 'nin ise oğlu Tommy 'nın yerini bilen kuzenini bulmak. Her zorluğa rağmen umudunu kaybetmeyen , dayanabilmek için umuda tutunan Eva etrafına da bir nebze olsun umut vermektedir. Soğuk , açlık ve aşağılanmanın peşlerini bırakmadığı insanlar birbirlerine bile güvenememektedir. Bir de perde arkası vardır. Hastanede yapılanlar ... Peki bu kampta hamile olmak ve bunu gizlemeye çalışmak ne kadar zordur ...
Bu kitapla da Auschwitz’in farklı bir yüzünü okudum. Olayların gerçek olması ise satırların daha da acıtmasını sağlıdı. Tarihin büyük bir ayıbı yapılanlar. Her ne koşulda yaşıyor olsak da aldığımız nefesin kıymetini bilmek gerekir diyorum, o günlerde ve o şartlarda yaşamadığımız için ...
Selam 🌿 Gerçek olaylardan kurgulanmış bir kitap bitirdim #karadüşenayışığı. Baştan kitabı çok sevdiğimi söylemeliyim . Yazar #demagoji yapmadan , duygularla oynamadan olayları gerçekçi ve objektif bir bakış açısı ile anlatmış. Böyle olunca kitabı okumak daha rahat oluyor.
Sevdikleriniz için yaptığınız fedakarlığın bir sınırı olabilir mi ?? Onlar için ne kadar ileri gidersiniz 🤔 Onları bulmak , belki bir kere daha görebilmek için #auschwitz kampına gitmeye gönüllü olur muydunuz? Eva eşinin peşinden gönüllü olarak , tarihe adını kanla ve ızdırapla yazdıran bu kampa gider. Yakın arkadaşı Sophie ile birlikte hem hayatta kalmaya çalışırlar hem de hedeflerine ulaşmaya. Eva'nın hedefi kocasını bulabilmek, Sophie 'nin ise oğlu Tommy 'nın yerini bilen kuzenini bulmak. Her zorluğa rağmen umudunu kaybetmeyen , dayanabilmek için umuda tutunan Eva etrafına da bir nebze olsun umut vermektedir. Soğuk , açlık ve aşağılanmanın peşlerini bırakmadığı insanlar birbirlerine bile güvenememektedir. Bir de perde arkası vardır. Hastanede yapılanlar ... Peki bu kampta hamile olmak ve bunu gizlemeye çalışmak ne kadar zordur ...
Bu kitapla da Auschwitz’in farklı bir yüzünü okudum. Olayların gerçek olması ise satırların daha da acıtmasını sağlıdı. Tarihin büyük bir ayıbı yapılanlar. Her ne koşulda yaşıyor olsak da aldığımız nefesin kıymetini bilmek gerekir diyorum, o günlerde ve o şartlarda yaşamadığımız için ...
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