Vicky’s Reviews > The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World > Status Update

I also really dislike the title. Why must non fiction and fiction about the holocaust always have such sensationalised titles; is the pure horror and drama of this mass genocide not enough?

I have so much to say about this book and I haven’t even finished it. People read historical books like these and readily soak up everything being presented to them because the author knows more on the subject. Yet history can and often is misrepresented or told through the opinions of the author (of which Freedland has many that get in the way of him accurately telling the story). Which is fine if that author is doing their best to accurately describe what happened but I can’t stand the way Freedland makes assumptions on Vrba’s character. I am often asking myself “how can you know that” when Freedland was unable to speak to Vrba himself. Whilst he had access to a wide array of Vrba’s personal information and papers and interviewed his ex-wife I feel it would be much more productive to just read Vrba’s own book (which I will be doing after this one)!! I am eager to see how Freedland navigates the fall out of Vrba’s report and the inaction of Jewish and non Jewish authority’s alike. I have gained a lot of knowledge and detail from this book, it’s been useful. BUT I definitely regret not just reading Vrba’s book “I cannot forgive”, however I hate dnf’ing books so will be continuing.

*would like to say the book isn’t necessarily bad, I’m glad it’s accessible and it tells an important story it’s just not done in the most effective way possible!!