Two Hands Full of Sunshine (Volume I): An Epic about Children Trapped in the Holocaust

by John Deaton

The Holocaust consisted of two phases. The second phase is best known, symbolized by Auschwitz. The earlier phase, the mass shootings of Jewish people in or near their villages, has drawn less attention, even though it accounted for a third of the six million who were murdered. Two Hands Full of Sunshine a meticulously researched novel that was two decades in the writing, attempts to tell the story of those living in the destroyed shtetls. Here we meet, in the shtetl of Canaan, the rabbi and his three daughters, Katerina, Debbie, and Mittie, as Volume 1 opens in the week before Passover of 1942. It is market Day and also the wedding day of Katerina to the love of her life, and the people are thrilled. When they learn that a Nazi killing squad is poised outside the shtetl, they bravely go on with their lives, and the Nazis, led by SS- Hauptsturmfuhrer Klaus Diethright, launch their attack during the wedding. Klaus is a self-described genius who is wavering over his duties in killing people. He is haunted by a love affair with Jewish girl and, upon seeing beautiful Katerina, is so smitten he tries to save her. Unexpectedly the Jews kill a score of his men, and after the villagers are slaughtered at the killing pits, fearing for his own life, Klaus rushes back to HQ as a tiny form emerges from the burial site.

548 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2009

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book that will help you understand what it was like to be Jewish, live in a shtetl, and endure the horrors of the beginning of the holocaust, this one is ok for that purpose. However, I found it too long in getting to the actual action and very difficult to read and understand the deeper meaning that I can tell the author intended. He uses lots of medical, linguistic, and musical terms as parts of metaphors, descriptions, musings, etc., some of which are common knowledge, but many are definitely not. There are very few books that I find myself stopping to figure out what a word means, but in this one it was a frequent occurrence. There was also a great deal of sexual innuendo and content, some of which was justified by the circumstances being conveyed, but most of which was not, in my opinion. The story certainly made me examine the horrors and results of prejudice of any kind.