Drzewo życia. Tom 2. Lata 1940-1942

The Tree of Life: A Trilogy of Life in the Lodz Ghetto #2

by Chava Rosenfarb, Magdalena Ruta (Translator), Marek Tuszewicki (Translator)

Drzewo zycia. Tom drugi, lata 1940-1942

Genres: Holocaust, Judaism, Fiction, Jewish, Historical Fiction

627 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Holocaust survivor and Jewish-Canadian author of Yiddish poetry and novels

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to start this book, knowing what will happen to the characters who were introduced in Volume One. The author writes so intensely that the reader feels that she is getting a true glimpse of the horrors (and joys) of life int he Lodz ghetto. Volume Three is waiting for me but I have to take a break before picking it up. The real people in the ghetto couldn't do that.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second in the trilogy. Finest story-telling I have read in years. Must read. Must tell all.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

These really are fantastic and it’s a crying shame they’re not better known.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most detailed account of life in the ghetto I've yet encountered. The details of swollen legs, decalcifying bones, and latrines make it real.

[Shoshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell into reading this book series because it was discussed in another book I'd read, People Love Dead Jews, and as a group of us from work discussed that book, someone suggested reading The Tree of Life for discussion as well. "From the Depths I Call You, 1940-1942" is the second book in the trilogy, and the two years cover the characters' time in the Lodz ghetto (the author was also a survivor of it). It took some time to re-familiarize myself with all the characters, but once I did I fell right back into their stories. I still had the same problem that I had with the first book in that there are so many characters that sometimes I would forget about those that disappeared for a while and then reappeared again. But I love so many of these characters, and Rosenfarb writes them with such interior detail. I also got a sense of life in the ghetto from many angles. There were some harrowing moments from mentally ill patients being deported as their family members looked on helplessly to a decree to get rid of all pets and one man's attempt to try to save his dog (it doesn't end well). I wanted to read this book this summer not just to continue with the trilogy but to look fascism in the face right now. It's still so difficult to believe that this actually happened and that there are people living in these conditions, or at least similar conditions, today. It was fascinating to see how life in the ghetto affected every character, how some played the politics, how some became better people and thrived, how some withered away. I was particularly intrigued by the Jewish police and also the school system. The teacher character, who in the first book began as a seemingly horrible person and then got more complex, in this book continued her journey of growth. A few romances that were sparked in the first book grew, only to fizzle. I wanted to say to these characters, "get together, you don't have that much time!" But then, not only do they not know that but also how can love grow when spirits are so completely depleted? The book was full of details about the wooden shoes they had to wear, how they had to cook and eat, the rations they received--how much and when. The book ends on New Year's Eve of 1942 right before there will be mass deportations to the camps. You can feel the sense of dread building in the later months. People know something is coming, but they don't know what's next and there's nothing they can do. As I said after I read the first book, while I know there won't be much hope of survival for any of these characters, I still feel I owe it to them to know them while they are alive.

[Artur Wilczynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a remarkably powerful second volume of the Tree of Life trilogy. The temperature in the Lodz Ghetto is increasing. Life increasingly precarious. The descent of the lives described is gut wrenching. While Rosenfarb’s book is fiction, it powerfully illustrates the lives and struggles in the ghetto. The detail and the stories are poetic. While the worst of the storm is yet to come, this book breathes life into the coming disaster.

[Chana Ceasar]

Prompt #18