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The Man from the Other Side
The true story of a teenager's experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, as he discovers his own heritage and finds himself caught up in the war through underground dealings.
186 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
17 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Uri Orlev
44 books37 followersUri Orlev (Hebrew: אורי אורלב; born Jerzy Henryk Orlowski in 1931) is an award-winning Israeli children's author and translator of Polish-Jewish origin. Born in Warsaw, Poland, he survived the war years in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp (where he was sent after his mother was shot by the Nazis). After the war he moved to Israel. He began writing children's literature in 1976 and has since published over 30 books, which are often biographical. His books have been translated from Hebrew into 25 languages, while he himself has also translated Polish literature into Hebrew. One of his most famous books, which was also adapted as a play and as a film, is the semi-autobiographical The Island on Bird Street.
In 1996 Orlev received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's literature.
In 1996 Orlev received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's literature.
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March 5, 2019Marek and his stepfather enter the sewers of Poland, in search of, finding money and food for Jews. It is revealed, to Marek that he is half Jewish after he is caught, by his mother, stealing money from a Jew in the ghetto. His whole world changes as this 14-year secret unfolds. He begins to question and distrust the people closest to him. Now that Marek no longer knows who to trust, he starts aiming his anger towards his Jewish biological father. Marek begins to grow weary with the possibility of his hidden secret being exposed. Marek understands the hardships of what being Jewish means. Therefore, wishes he could rid himself of his true identity. In life, a person may want to change attributes about themselves, but there are some aspects which are non-negotiable. Marek must come to an understanding that he is, who he is.
December 30, 2019
I got Uri Orlev's 'The Man from the Other Side' as a Christmas present from one of my favourite friends. I started reading it a couple of days and couldn't stop till I finished reading it in the wee hours of the morning today.
The story told in the book goes like this. Marek is a fourteen year old boy, who lives in Warsaw with his mother and stepdad. It is the time when the Second World War in on. His own father was captured by the government, years before the war, because he was a communist and was tortured and killed. Marek's stepdad Antony smuggles food and supplies to the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. He sometimes brings back babies which the Jewish people ask him to give up for adoption at the convent. Antony works as a Superintendent in the department of sanitation and so knows his way around the sewers and that is how he smuggles stuff into the ghetto. At some point Antony asks Marek to help him out in this. While this is happening and Marek gets to know more about Jewish people and their culture and their sufferings, he once discovers a Jewish man at the church. Jewish people are not allowed outside the ghetto and so it is clear that this man is hiding his identity. Marek decides to help him. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.
'The Man from the Other Side' is set during the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. The events of the story are woven around this historical happening. The book takes us to that period and makes history come alive. We see events unfolding through Marek's eyes and it is fascinating. Marek has a wonderful, original voice – he is at a stage in life when he is no longer a kid, but he is not yet an adult, and so he has a foot on both the camps. We get to see the important events of this age through the eyes of this fascinating narrator and hear the story through his unique voice. I loved most of the characters in the book, especially Marek, our narrator, Pan Jozek, the Jewish man he tries helping, Marek's grandmother, who is anti-Semitic, but who undergoes a big transformation through the story, Marek's mother who is a strong woman, and Marek's stepfather Antony. The relationship between Pan Jozek and Marek's grandmother, and Marek and his stepfather, are two of the most beautiful relationships depicted in the book. There is a chapter in the end called 'The Jews' Finest Hour'. It gave me goosebumps and it was heartbreaking and it made me cry.
'The Man from the Other Side' is a beautiful book. It is my last book of the year, and it is one of my favourites of the year. It is out-of-print right now. I hope it comes back in print. It deserves more readers. It is recommended reading for today's times.
I'll leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
"He asked me, "Have you ever been to the seashore?" I never had. It was a long way from Warsaw, although my mother had promised we would go there after the war. I tried to imagine the Wisla without its opposite bank, the way it was on a foggy day. Was that what the ocean looked like? I asked Pan Jozek. He said that it wasn't. I remember him saying, "A river is a river and an ocean is an ocean. Each has its own beauty, its own sound, its own smell. I love the ocean and I love the Wisla too."
"Sometimes he would become lucid again for only a few minutes, other times for hours at a time. It might even last a few days, as if there was nothing wrong with him. When that happened he was shocked by how much time he had lost, because he couldn't remember a thing since he had last lost track of himself. Everything in between was wiped out, whether it was a few days, a week, or several weeks. He would sit up and wonder what had happened to all that time and ask how the war was getting on."
"Today, when I try to remember how much time all this took, I don't seem able to. The actual minutes spent shooting and throwing grenades couldn't have been that many, but each one passed so slowly that I can remember exactly what everyone around me was doing, whereas the long hours of waiting between one burst of action and the next have contracted to almost nothing in my memory."
Have you read 'The Man from the Other Side'? What do you think about it?
The story told in the book goes like this. Marek is a fourteen year old boy, who lives in Warsaw with his mother and stepdad. It is the time when the Second World War in on. His own father was captured by the government, years before the war, because he was a communist and was tortured and killed. Marek's stepdad Antony smuggles food and supplies to the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. He sometimes brings back babies which the Jewish people ask him to give up for adoption at the convent. Antony works as a Superintendent in the department of sanitation and so knows his way around the sewers and that is how he smuggles stuff into the ghetto. At some point Antony asks Marek to help him out in this. While this is happening and Marek gets to know more about Jewish people and their culture and their sufferings, he once discovers a Jewish man at the church. Jewish people are not allowed outside the ghetto and so it is clear that this man is hiding his identity. Marek decides to help him. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.
'The Man from the Other Side' is set during the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943. The events of the story are woven around this historical happening. The book takes us to that period and makes history come alive. We see events unfolding through Marek's eyes and it is fascinating. Marek has a wonderful, original voice – he is at a stage in life when he is no longer a kid, but he is not yet an adult, and so he has a foot on both the camps. We get to see the important events of this age through the eyes of this fascinating narrator and hear the story through his unique voice. I loved most of the characters in the book, especially Marek, our narrator, Pan Jozek, the Jewish man he tries helping, Marek's grandmother, who is anti-Semitic, but who undergoes a big transformation through the story, Marek's mother who is a strong woman, and Marek's stepfather Antony. The relationship between Pan Jozek and Marek's grandmother, and Marek and his stepfather, are two of the most beautiful relationships depicted in the book. There is a chapter in the end called 'The Jews' Finest Hour'. It gave me goosebumps and it was heartbreaking and it made me cry.
'The Man from the Other Side' is a beautiful book. It is my last book of the year, and it is one of my favourites of the year. It is out-of-print right now. I hope it comes back in print. It deserves more readers. It is recommended reading for today's times.
I'll leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
"He asked me, "Have you ever been to the seashore?" I never had. It was a long way from Warsaw, although my mother had promised we would go there after the war. I tried to imagine the Wisla without its opposite bank, the way it was on a foggy day. Was that what the ocean looked like? I asked Pan Jozek. He said that it wasn't. I remember him saying, "A river is a river and an ocean is an ocean. Each has its own beauty, its own sound, its own smell. I love the ocean and I love the Wisla too."
"Sometimes he would become lucid again for only a few minutes, other times for hours at a time. It might even last a few days, as if there was nothing wrong with him. When that happened he was shocked by how much time he had lost, because he couldn't remember a thing since he had last lost track of himself. Everything in between was wiped out, whether it was a few days, a week, or several weeks. He would sit up and wonder what had happened to all that time and ask how the war was getting on."
"Today, when I try to remember how much time all this took, I don't seem able to. The actual minutes spent shooting and throwing grenades couldn't have been that many, but each one passed so slowly that I can remember exactly what everyone around me was doing, whereas the long hours of waiting between one burst of action and the next have contracted to almost nothing in my memory."
Have you read 'The Man from the Other Side'? What do you think about it?
February 19, 2023
Todo ocurre en Varsovia, Polonia en el año 1942, donde un jovencito de 14 años llamado Marek vive de cerca la invasión de los alemanes y la persecución de estos a los judíos.
Marek toda la vida ha creído que los judíos son malas personas por lo que escucha de los mayores y sus amigos. Hasta que un día conoce al señor Yusek. Y decide ayudarlo a toda costa.
Este es un libro juvenil contado en primera persona por Marek. Por lo que vemos sus inseguridades y malas decisiones , producto de la edad. Pero vemos también el gran amor que le tiene a su madre y los principios que ésta le ha inculcado.
La narración del libro no es perfecta, no se si es por la traducción. Sin embargo, tiene un buen mensaje.
Marek toda la vida ha creído que los judíos son malas personas por lo que escucha de los mayores y sus amigos. Hasta que un día conoce al señor Yusek. Y decide ayudarlo a toda costa.
Este es un libro juvenil contado en primera persona por Marek. Por lo que vemos sus inseguridades y malas decisiones , producto de la edad. Pero vemos también el gran amor que le tiene a su madre y los principios que ésta le ha inculcado.
La narración del libro no es perfecta, no se si es por la traducción. Sin embargo, tiene un buen mensaje.
February 24, 2012
Step into the sewers of Poland where you will meet 14 year old Marek and his step father as they climb into a man hole and trudge through the underground pipes to bring food and munitions to Jewish prisoners in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Step into the life of Marek where you find a young man who accompanies his father in helping malnourished Jews -- not for the sake of resisting the Germans -- but for the love of the money provided.
Step into the Catholic church with Marek and his family as they pray every Sunday while living in a very anti-semitic society.
Step into the mean streets with Marek and his near-do-well friends as they rob a Jewish man who escaped the ghetto, taking his money and thereby eliminating his chance of survival.
Walk with Marek as his mother discovers his evil deed and encourages and enables Marek to make restitution by helping Pan Jozek, a Jewish man who desperately needs assistance.
Walk with Marek and Pan Jozek as together they form an unbreakable bond.
Observe that Marek discovers Jews are indeed wonderful, strong, courageous, sensitive, and very undeserving of hatred.
As Marek leads Pan Jozek back to the Warsaw ghetto via the route his step father taught him, go with them and then step out of the sewer gutters and into the Warsaw ghetto as the Jewish people fight back with every stick of ammunition and dignity they possess.
Watch as Marek learns that all people crave dignity, freedom, food, shelter and a belief system to sustain them in times of comfort and trouble.
Watch as Marek learns the men, the women and the children from the other side aren’t so different after all.
The recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 1996 Hans Christian Anderson award, The Batchelder Award and the 2006 Blalik Prize, Orlev draws from his own real life experience to write this YA book.
Highly recommended!
Step into the life of Marek where you find a young man who accompanies his father in helping malnourished Jews -- not for the sake of resisting the Germans -- but for the love of the money provided.
Step into the Catholic church with Marek and his family as they pray every Sunday while living in a very anti-semitic society.
Step into the mean streets with Marek and his near-do-well friends as they rob a Jewish man who escaped the ghetto, taking his money and thereby eliminating his chance of survival.
Walk with Marek as his mother discovers his evil deed and encourages and enables Marek to make restitution by helping Pan Jozek, a Jewish man who desperately needs assistance.
Walk with Marek and Pan Jozek as together they form an unbreakable bond.
Observe that Marek discovers Jews are indeed wonderful, strong, courageous, sensitive, and very undeserving of hatred.
As Marek leads Pan Jozek back to the Warsaw ghetto via the route his step father taught him, go with them and then step out of the sewer gutters and into the Warsaw ghetto as the Jewish people fight back with every stick of ammunition and dignity they possess.
Watch as Marek learns that all people crave dignity, freedom, food, shelter and a belief system to sustain them in times of comfort and trouble.
Watch as Marek learns the men, the women and the children from the other side aren’t so different after all.
The recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 1996 Hans Christian Anderson award, The Batchelder Award and the 2006 Blalik Prize, Orlev draws from his own real life experience to write this YA book.
Highly recommended!
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July 11, 2018נקרא לצרכי עבודה
October 30, 2013
I really enjoyed this book because it showed a how people during the time of the Jewish persecution felt. It really went in depth on showing how the Jews felt and what they were thinking during this time period. It also had many important life lessons and lots of symbolic topics.
The main character is Marek and he has an interesting heritage. His mother was a catholic, but his father was a Jew and a communist. Even though his father was those things he still respects his father because his mother taught him that the religion of a person does not matter. Marek never got to meet his father because his father died in a prison but he has created images of his father and he really looks up to him.
Someone he doesn't like to well is his stepfather because he doesn't see his real father in him. He gets treated like a kid by his stepfather and he wants to be taken seriously. One day though he learns what his father does for a living and he gets to help him. The task that his father does is smuggling things to the Jews that live in the ghetto. So one day his father takes him down into the sewer and brings him along the way to the ghetto.
He starts to understand his father more and he respects him more now that he sees what his father does to support his family. He continues to go with his father on the trips to the ghetto and he really enjoys it. One day though he and his friends come across a jew in the street and start to talk to him. They end up robbing the man and taking all of his money.
Eventually Marek tells his mother that he did this because he felt bad about it. His mother made him promise to do something good for a jew and give the person the money. Finally he meets a jew he can help but all the jew wants is to go to the ghetto to fight in the war that is going on in there.
I think that this book shows a good job of how judging people based on their social situations is bad and that we should give people chances in life
The main character is Marek and he has an interesting heritage. His mother was a catholic, but his father was a Jew and a communist. Even though his father was those things he still respects his father because his mother taught him that the religion of a person does not matter. Marek never got to meet his father because his father died in a prison but he has created images of his father and he really looks up to him.
Someone he doesn't like to well is his stepfather because he doesn't see his real father in him. He gets treated like a kid by his stepfather and he wants to be taken seriously. One day though he learns what his father does for a living and he gets to help him. The task that his father does is smuggling things to the Jews that live in the ghetto. So one day his father takes him down into the sewer and brings him along the way to the ghetto.
He starts to understand his father more and he respects him more now that he sees what his father does to support his family. He continues to go with his father on the trips to the ghetto and he really enjoys it. One day though he and his friends come across a jew in the street and start to talk to him. They end up robbing the man and taking all of his money.
Eventually Marek tells his mother that he did this because he felt bad about it. His mother made him promise to do something good for a jew and give the person the money. Finally he meets a jew he can help but all the jew wants is to go to the ghetto to fight in the war that is going on in there.
I think that this book shows a good job of how judging people based on their social situations is bad and that we should give people chances in life
February 16, 2016
The Man on the Other Side was a very interesting story. It put a good picture in my head of how the smuggling worked during the holocaust. I would recommend this story to those interested in WWII
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June 5, 2019The book starts with a young boy named Marek living in Poland during WWII. His stepfather, Antony, smuggles food into the ghetto where the Jews are being held. He does this through the sewer. When Marek is old enough he starts to help his dad with smuggling and along the way he learns a lot about not just the Jews, the ghetto itself as well. While Marek is walking down the street he spots two kids who often cause trouble in school and in the neighbourhood. Marek is advised by his mother to stay away from the two kids but he does not listen. The two trouble makers convince Marek to mug a Jew who is trying to escape the ghetto for all his money so he does. Marek feels bad about it and tells his mother who says he should at least find another Jew to give the money to. While Marek is praying in church he notices a man who seems out of place to him. He later finds out that the strange man is a Jew who escaped the ghetto and his being hidden in the church. Marek makes friend Joseph, the Jew, and decides to give him the money and a place to stay. Marek and Joseph become extremely good friends while Joseph is staying with them. One day gunfire and explosions can be heard coming from the ghetto. The Jews in the ghetto are rebelling and Joseph wants to help his friends and family in their fight so he asks Marek to smuggle him back, Marek agrees. While travelling through the sewers to the ghetto, an explosion goes off above ground and blocks off the way back. Marek is stuck in the ghetto fighting for his life alongside the Jewish resistance. Mareks stepfather final comes to save Marek and successfully gets him out.
June 28, 2022
This is a restrained, marvelously crafted, multifarious, and altogether forceful novel.
Marek, a fourteen-year-old Polish Catholic boy, assists his stepfather smuggle goods into the Jewish ghetto during World War II.
Traveling through foul sewers, they engage in this business not to be philanthropic but to make handsome profits. Although Marek has absorbed the local anti-Semitism, his mother reveals that his father, now long dead, was indeed Jewish and was killed in prison because of his Communist politics.
Consequently Marek chooses to help a Jewish boy, which takes him into the ghetto during the height of the 1943 uprising.
A survivor of that ghetto and of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the Israeli writer Uri Orlev presents an astoundingly unprejudiced picture, neither venerating nor demonizing the diverse fighters and collaborators.
He based the character of Marek on a childhood friend, a Polish journalist who requested that his story be kept hushed during his lifetime.
Brusquely, after his demise, Orlev wrote The Man from the Other Side.
Marek, a fourteen-year-old Polish Catholic boy, assists his stepfather smuggle goods into the Jewish ghetto during World War II.
Traveling through foul sewers, they engage in this business not to be philanthropic but to make handsome profits. Although Marek has absorbed the local anti-Semitism, his mother reveals that his father, now long dead, was indeed Jewish and was killed in prison because of his Communist politics.
Consequently Marek chooses to help a Jewish boy, which takes him into the ghetto during the height of the 1943 uprising.
A survivor of that ghetto and of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the Israeli writer Uri Orlev presents an astoundingly unprejudiced picture, neither venerating nor demonizing the diverse fighters and collaborators.
He based the character of Marek on a childhood friend, a Polish journalist who requested that his story be kept hushed during his lifetime.
Brusquely, after his demise, Orlev wrote The Man from the Other Side.
January 11, 2019
I liked the book because of the genre and how well it captivated me. I enjoyed the way the author kept me wanting to read more to see what happens and the style used, it just grabbed my attention so well that I found it hard to put down. I enjoy historical fiction and reading about the Holocaust, so this book was perfect for me. I found that the book was an easy read for me and found it very enjoyable. I just wish that the author included more action towards the ending then what was there, but overall the book was action packed from start to finish. The book has a hardship for the young boy Merak, who's father was killed and he was raised by his stepdad, Anton, which they don't get along very well, shows how Anton tries to be a father figure for the boy but the Merak doesn't want to recognize him as a "father". The ending was really good because they overcome their differences and Merak finally lets him adopt him.
March 6, 2020
I'm heartbroken and crying inside after reading this book. The descriptions of Jewish people's desperation while hiding in a bunker or committing suicide before perishing at the hands of the Germans send chills down my spine. I can only imagine the hell they went through and it's horrifying. It saddens me deeply.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2021
Not the kind of book I expected to read, but I'm glad I did. It was mixed in with the fantasy and sci-fi books, so the title, cover and blurb gave me a far different expectation than the sewers under German-occupied Warsaw leading into the Jewish ghetto.
A powerful tale of the pride and resistance in WWII.
A powerful tale of the pride and resistance in WWII.
June 13, 2018
I think I've exhausted the good books around this topic. This didn't bring anything new to the table, as many other books tell this through the eyes of a child as well. What am trying to say is, this book still has its worth, but I've read other better ones if that makes any sense.
September 14, 2017
Solid historical fiction.
September 30, 2009
The Man from the Other Side 0-395-53808-4
Uri Orieve 8 stars out of 10
$13.95 1989 copyright
The Domino Press 186 pages
For middle school to high school
Marek is just like any other Polish boy in Warsaw, 1942 during World War II. That is, of course, until his stepfather, Antony asks him into his underground business smuggling guns and food to the Jewish people in the ghetto. Later on when Mareks mother finds out that he stole money from a Jew, he was very upset and embarrassed with himself. When he meets Pan Jozek, a Jewish man, Marek feels inclined to help him. Marek is now on a journey that will test his loyalty and courage.
Uri Orieve shapes the plot and his characters beautifully. He shows what life was like during World War II and that individual courage has the power to change history. This book changed how I thought about people during World War II because it showed how one person could rise above a stereotype, and that you should never have preconceived notions about somebody. For people who want to learn more about the time
during World War II this is a book is for you. This may also be a book for more mature readers. Here is a mind-bending story that has changed my point of view, and will change yours.
P.S.
Uri Orieve 8 stars out of 10
$13.95 1989 copyright
The Domino Press 186 pages
For middle school to high school
Marek is just like any other Polish boy in Warsaw, 1942 during World War II. That is, of course, until his stepfather, Antony asks him into his underground business smuggling guns and food to the Jewish people in the ghetto. Later on when Mareks mother finds out that he stole money from a Jew, he was very upset and embarrassed with himself. When he meets Pan Jozek, a Jewish man, Marek feels inclined to help him. Marek is now on a journey that will test his loyalty and courage.
Uri Orieve shapes the plot and his characters beautifully. He shows what life was like during World War II and that individual courage has the power to change history. This book changed how I thought about people during World War II because it showed how one person could rise above a stereotype, and that you should never have preconceived notions about somebody. For people who want to learn more about the time
during World War II this is a book is for you. This may also be a book for more mature readers. Here is a mind-bending story that has changed my point of view, and will change yours.
P.S.
December 21, 2011
The Man from the other side is about a fourteen year old boy who is helping his dad smuggle food and guns into the ghettos through the sewage pipes. The problem is that this boy finds a jew on the run and decides to help him get back into the ghetto to help his people fight. This is taking place near the end of world war two. This story would not have made sense to have it in another time period. It took place in Germany near a ghetto in a small town and in the ghetto. The good guy or protagonist is Marek the fourteen year old boy who is rather large for his size with working hands and good strong muscles for carrying heavy things through the sewer. The bad guy or the Antagonist are the german soldiers who are attacking the ghetto. I didn't like this book as much as the others I have read because at the first it made no sense to me and I don't like being left in the dark. Luckily the book straightened itself out by the end and it explained the first of the book. One quote I liked from this book is " Marek." Grandfather said " Now stop this nonsense and give me back my teeth." That is one quote I liked from this book. The theme of this book is that when you know you are did something wrong try to fix the mistake in every possible way. This book was very confusing to me at first until my mother explained some of the book to me I would suggest that a older reading level than eighth grade would understand and like this book a lot better than I did.
October 7, 2016
Do you ever wonder what life was like during World War II. Well, for the main character in this book, Marek., his life was rough. He had to go through thick and thin to get where he is today. I enjoyed this book, and if you read it, which you should, you'll enjoy it just as much, if not more. The setting of this book takes place during World War II, in Warsaw Poland. The characters in this book are, Marke's mom, his stepdad, Wacek and Janek. Wacek and Janek were the antagonists in this book, because they would get Marek in trouble.
Some rising events are, when Marek starts hanging out with Wacek and Janek. Another is, he gets associated and starts seeing them more often. The conflict in the book is when Marek, Wacek, and Janek steal money from a Jew. This is a man vs. man conflict. The climax in the story was when Marek stole the money from a Jew. The resolution was that Marek got scolded by his mother and then she told him to get out of the house. He did this and went to his church to pray and the he found a Jew to give the money back to. The theme of this book was "brotherly love." I believe this is the theme because he gives the money back to a Jew and his inner Jew comes out in him. This was the book I read and how I interpreted this wonderful story of a boy who found his way through life.
Some rising events are, when Marek starts hanging out with Wacek and Janek. Another is, he gets associated and starts seeing them more often. The conflict in the book is when Marek, Wacek, and Janek steal money from a Jew. This is a man vs. man conflict. The climax in the story was when Marek stole the money from a Jew. The resolution was that Marek got scolded by his mother and then she told him to get out of the house. He did this and went to his church to pray and the he found a Jew to give the money back to. The theme of this book was "brotherly love." I believe this is the theme because he gives the money back to a Jew and his inner Jew comes out in him. This was the book I read and how I interpreted this wonderful story of a boy who found his way through life.
July 17, 2022
DNF- review is on part that I read and reasons for not finishing
I spied a copy of this in the storage closet where my library keeps books either donated or no longer circulating. The title and the summary interested me, so I was disappointed when I had to stop at chapter four.
First off, I was annoyed from page one. The author told the person whom this book is based on that he wouldn't write his story after the person requested he didn't for understandable reasons. The author goes ahead and writes it anyway after the person dies. I have the same annoyance for other situations when authors, celebrities, etc. make requests and the requests are not honored once they die.
Secondly, I personally find the writing too blunt for the targeted audience (10 years+). The boy is living in a rough time surrounded by some bad influences, but young readers do not need all the details.
I am sure the book is interesting from a historical viewpoint, but sadly, I found the writing too crude to continue.
I spied a copy of this in the storage closet where my library keeps books either donated or no longer circulating. The title and the summary interested me, so I was disappointed when I had to stop at chapter four.
First off, I was annoyed from page one. The author told the person whom this book is based on that he wouldn't write his story after the person requested he didn't for understandable reasons. The author goes ahead and writes it anyway after the person dies. I have the same annoyance for other situations when authors, celebrities, etc. make requests and the requests are not honored once they die.
Secondly, I personally find the writing too blunt for the targeted audience (10 years+). The boy is living in a rough time surrounded by some bad influences, but young readers do not need all the details.
I am sure the book is interesting from a historical viewpoint, but sadly, I found the writing too crude to continue.
April 13, 2009
The Man from the Other Side
Uri Orlev
Puffin Books, January 1995, 192 pages
Multicultural, Holocaust
0140370889
Marek is a devout 13-year-old Catholic in anti-Semitic society who comes to champion the Jews walled in near his home. With stepfather Antony, Marek knows the ghetto having traveled through sewers, taking food to sell at high prices, often returning with a baby to hide with nuns. Marek is casually anti-Semitic until he robs a Jewish escapee and is caught by his mother, who reveals his own heritage. Marek sets out to make amends. He befriends a man crossing himself the wrong way and leads him back, underground, during the heroic ghetto uprising. Orlev's characters are sobering, believable blends. This is a story of individual bravery and national shame that highlights the hopeless fate of Warsaw Jews as they fought alone against the Nazis. I would use this book for a firsthand look at the Holocaust. I think this would be a nice alternative to just studying from a textbook.
Uri Orlev
Puffin Books, January 1995, 192 pages
Multicultural, Holocaust
0140370889
Marek is a devout 13-year-old Catholic in anti-Semitic society who comes to champion the Jews walled in near his home. With stepfather Antony, Marek knows the ghetto having traveled through sewers, taking food to sell at high prices, often returning with a baby to hide with nuns. Marek is casually anti-Semitic until he robs a Jewish escapee and is caught by his mother, who reveals his own heritage. Marek sets out to make amends. He befriends a man crossing himself the wrong way and leads him back, underground, during the heroic ghetto uprising. Orlev's characters are sobering, believable blends. This is a story of individual bravery and national shame that highlights the hopeless fate of Warsaw Jews as they fought alone against the Nazis. I would use this book for a firsthand look at the Holocaust. I think this would be a nice alternative to just studying from a textbook.
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March 7, 2016Uri Orlev always does a great job explaining the detail and emotion in his books. The book I like the most of his is The Man from the Other Side. Uri Orlev did a great job at making me feel like it was right in front of me. When i read The Man from the Other Side i felt like i was inside the book.
When he explains the Germans attacking the ghetto he really points out the fact that everyone is surprised the Jews are fighting back. When Marek gets to go down in the sewers with Antony, his stepfather, he explains how much that means to Marek. When Antony stabbed Pan Krol I felt like i was Marek that just watched him get stabbed. Marek was really shocked that his stepfather would do such a thing.
I really liked this book because it was fun to learn about Warsaw and the war. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Warsaw or people who like books about wars. This was a really easy book for me to read. This book seems like it is a non-fiction but surprisingly it is a fictional book.
When he explains the Germans attacking the ghetto he really points out the fact that everyone is surprised the Jews are fighting back. When Marek gets to go down in the sewers with Antony, his stepfather, he explains how much that means to Marek. When Antony stabbed Pan Krol I felt like i was Marek that just watched him get stabbed. Marek was really shocked that his stepfather would do such a thing.
I really liked this book because it was fun to learn about Warsaw and the war. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Warsaw or people who like books about wars. This was a really easy book for me to read. This book seems like it is a non-fiction but surprisingly it is a fictional book.
February 20, 2015
gr 9+ 186pgs
WWII, Warsaw, Poland. 14 year old Marek witnesses the harsh living conditions the Jewish people living in the Warsaw ghetto are forced to endure when he and his stepfather sneak in to sell smuggled goods. But Marek and most of the characters have a complete lack of empathy for the Polish Jews, even the ones who are helping Jewish people hide. Marek only gets involved with helping Jozek, a Polish Jew, hide because his mother is upset that Marek stole money and a note that would've helped a Jewish person escape the ghetto.
I found this book slow moving and didn't like Marek at all. The story became a little more interesting when Marek became involved in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, but Marek seemed more interested in not getting left out than protecting anyone. Based on a true story.
WWII, Warsaw, Poland. 14 year old Marek witnesses the harsh living conditions the Jewish people living in the Warsaw ghetto are forced to endure when he and his stepfather sneak in to sell smuggled goods. But Marek and most of the characters have a complete lack of empathy for the Polish Jews, even the ones who are helping Jewish people hide. Marek only gets involved with helping Jozek, a Polish Jew, hide because his mother is upset that Marek stole money and a note that would've helped a Jewish person escape the ghetto.
I found this book slow moving and didn't like Marek at all. The story became a little more interesting when Marek became involved in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, but Marek seemed more interested in not getting left out than protecting anyone. Based on a true story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 12, 2012The Man from the Other Side
Historical fiction World War II, courage
Orlev, Uri. The Man from the Other Side. Puffin, 1991, 192, secondary.
In The Man from the Other Side, a Polish boy named Marek begins assisting his step-father in a money making scheme to provide goods to Jews that are in hiding, but it soon catches up to him when people find out. The text is narrated in first person by Marek and the use of the narration creates a style that is informative and always the reader to be reflective throughout.
Activity: Prior to the text have a discussion about World War II and follow that up by reading the text. Then discuss with students how the text related to what they had already learned.
Historical fiction World War II, courage
Orlev, Uri. The Man from the Other Side. Puffin, 1991, 192, secondary.
In The Man from the Other Side, a Polish boy named Marek begins assisting his step-father in a money making scheme to provide goods to Jews that are in hiding, but it soon catches up to him when people find out. The text is narrated in first person by Marek and the use of the narration creates a style that is informative and always the reader to be reflective throughout.
Activity: Prior to the text have a discussion about World War II and follow that up by reading the text. Then discuss with students how the text related to what they had already learned.
December 17, 2014
This is the story of a young boy named Marek. He is living during the Second World War in a polish neighborhood. One day when he gets old enough, he helps his dad deliver supplies to the neighboring Jewish neighborhood. Doing so more and more, he learns more about the Jews and meets one in his neighborhood. Being in the wrong place he tries to help the Jewish guy by giving him food and a place to hide.
I hated this book. I only read it for a historical novel and regular book for school. It was very boring, there was no climax there was no intrigue there was nothing at all. I would not suggest this to anyone and I didn't even learn anything about WW2. If I were to rate it I would give it the smallest score possible.
I hated this book. I only read it for a historical novel and regular book for school. It was very boring, there was no climax there was no intrigue there was nothing at all. I would not suggest this to anyone and I didn't even learn anything about WW2. If I were to rate it I would give it the smallest score possible.
December 23, 2015
Featuring a boy named Marek/Marian from Poland, this book gives a chilling picture of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising from both the inside and the outside. Marek is not Jewish and lives with his mother and anti-Semitic step-father believing that there are too many Jews in Poland. However, when he starts smuggling food into the ghetto with his step-father, his views begin to change.
The story helps to understand what it would have been like from the perspective of outsiders. So much Holocaust literature today is from the perspective of the persecuted peoples, so much so that it becomes hard to understand how these events could possibly have happened. The Man from the Other Side helps to glimpse part of the answer to that question.
The story helps to understand what it would have been like from the perspective of outsiders. So much Holocaust literature today is from the perspective of the persecuted peoples, so much so that it becomes hard to understand how these events could possibly have happened. The Man from the Other Side helps to glimpse part of the answer to that question.
December 24, 2015
14-year old Marek lives with his mother and stepfather on the outskirts of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. He helps his stepfather, a sanitation worker, to sneak through the sewers to sell food and guns on the Jewish side of the wall, a risky but lucrative side business. When he meets a Jewish man on the run from the Germans, he decides to help him, and in doing so, becomes more intimately involved with the Warsaw ghetto uprising than he ever could have imagined. This book is based on a true story told to Israeli author Yuri Orlev by a survivor of the war, and is a riveting account of a small sliver of Holocaust history. Although written for young readers, it is an excellent novel for adults as well who want to understand what was happening in Poland at that time.
March 8, 2019
I think the man from the other side is a great book for people who want a calm book with a good story basis. it has a lot of details and explains the plot of the story very well.
I like how the author writes because it really flows with my style of thinking and makes it easier to read.
The story is based in the sewers where they are trying to smuggle food to the ghetto without being caught, and I really like how when I was reading there weren't very many dead parts if at all where there wasn't much happening and it kept the story alive
Overall I enjoy the book I haven't finished it quite yet but I'm excited to finish it.
I like how the author writes because it really flows with my style of thinking and makes it easier to read.
The story is based in the sewers where they are trying to smuggle food to the ghetto without being caught, and I really like how when I was reading there weren't very many dead parts if at all where there wasn't much happening and it kept the story alive
Overall I enjoy the book I haven't finished it quite yet but I'm excited to finish it.
December 16, 2013
Uri Orlev's work came to my attention when he won the Batchelder Award for Run, Boy, Run. The award is given by the American Library Association for the best work in translation for young people. The Man From the Other Side is another Holocaust related work from Orlev. It is based on a true story told to him by a friend, Marek, a Polish journalist and the voice and protagonist of the tale. The place is the city of Warsaw leading up to and including the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto. It was a gripping and quick read about smuggling supplies and people through the sewers under Warsaw.
May 29, 2014
This book isn't one of my favorite books I have read. It is mainly about the holocaust and how theres these two people that go under these tunnels and go to the ghettos and supply them with food. My favorite character is marek which is the main character of the book. One thing i liked about marek is that he kept on going under grounds even though it was against the law to do it.One other thing i didnt like about was there was no big main parts it just kinda was the same thing over and over agian.
One other thing is that i liked the dad in the story because he was just like his son marek.
One other thing is that i liked the dad in the story because he was just like his son marek.
May 6, 2016
I gave this book 4 stars, i enjoyed reading this book because it tells about a boy what has to face some very extreme opticals that tested his bravery and his courage which i found out was hard for him to do because back in his time the jews were treated real bad and he wants to help them. My favorite part of the book it when Marek and his mother were arguing and he was crying and she just held him to me that was very heartwarming and touching. I recommend this book to people who like to read books that are about our history and that are into books that have some violence
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