The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This isn't one of those titles that when someone asks "how is it" you want to answer "great" because it has roots in reality, and the topics/history covered is many shades less than something that should rank as incredible, or amazing, or anything with a positive connotation, and yet...I couldn't completely shy away from the use of that particular word "great" when conveying my thoughts in brief.

Once upon a time, the word wasn't as accepting, understanding, or inclusive as it should be...wait, okay so that's pretty much ANY time, but for the sake of this review, let's go with it, shall we? Once upon that time, people were persecuted for their heritage, for their beliefs, for their features, for the blood that ran through their veins...pretty much for everything that made them THEM and not "them". That time we're once upon-ing was filled with brutality you can't imagine, bloodshed like you'd never want to see, and lies held up as truths until the hidden cracks in their veneer finally wore through and the world could see them as they were. The thing is...this isn't a story so much about ALL THAT though it most definitely is there, but about all the things that went into making daily life livable to some degree.

It's a story about the hardships and terrors, but also about the friendships however tenuous, the relationships however distant, the hopes and dreams for the future....whether they would be there themselves to actually see it come to pass. It's about how one can survive something so atrocious, and still come out on the other side a different version of ones self, but still ones self. It's about the power of the written word to transport us from the most dire of straights to something more beautiful beyond. I admit, I was captivated by the work, and while yes, there is fiction with the facts, it was instilled just so, that it allows readers to fully immerse themselves in the time. This was not a title received for review, but a book I purchased for my personal library that I am slowly rebuilding after Hurricane Michael's destruction...and I doubt I could have chosen a better title to dive into at the time.

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