We Live, We Learn, We Remember... DOUBLE Review!

Hello again!

Welcome back to another exciting day here on Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Some of you are frequent visitors (I'm hugging you right now!), some not so frequent (high fives all around!), and others still simply stumbled across my site looking for something in the world wide web 🌐 ... mad props to all of you reading this from the bottom of my heart! We live, we learn, we remember...a curious post title, but most appropriate for today's feature because we have two Historical works on deck, however one takes its place on fiction, the other is specifically non. So, if you're ready to add to your must read piles, read on my friend, read on...

The War Pianist

by

Mandy Robotham

9780008564308

Avon Books

Presented to you in the order in which I read them, this first title is the work of Fiction. We go behind the lines and into the life of Marnie Fern. 

She's no soldier, but she's about to have a big impact on the war effort, as will the people she's in contact with both near and far. Speaking of far, the Pianist part of the title is referring to a talented radio operator, as in a person that would take the risk to help transmit messages across the wires in order to move the war forward, aid the resistance, and find peace amongst the rubble their lives were turned into. In this case, Marnie after she takes up the mantle of someone that came before her, someone she cared for deeply, trusted implicitly, and misses like no other. That well worn connection serves her well in her darkest hours, as does the new relationship she has with Willem. 

It's not what you think; it's a relationship built around secrets, ultimate trust, and genuine need, that serves the greater good.  Through everything they encounter, they never lose heart... and eventually their efforts show results, but it's not without heartache, and loss along the way. You truly feel for them both, as well as their cohorts, as this story unfolds. There was so much danger, so many times that turning a blind eye would have been easier, moments when giving in was certainly the simpler option, but the strength of character they showed, the morals they stuck to, and the backbone they shared with those that needed their fair share, made them people you'd want to know. 

Speaking of people you'd want to know, that brings us to our second book...

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The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz

by

Sara Leibovits & Eti Elboim

9780008600280

One More Chapter 

This title is the Nonfiction book. This tale shares in story format the recollections of Sara Leibovits, as well as the impact the events had on her life, both during the imprisonment and after. We also get an insider's view of the far reaching impact these atrocities had on the life of her daughter, Eti Elboim, a second generation survivor... and beyond. 

It's not that they choose to live in the past, unwilling to move forward, but rather they choose to remember and share all that transpired as a means of never forgetting those that were lost, nor the hatred that generated enough momentum to try and destroy a people. This work is yet another triumph over those times, proof that the people at the target center of all that rage are still here, making memories, building lives, creating futures that someone tried to tell them they were not entitled to. No one has that right. No one should ever have that right. 

Stepping between these pages was often difficult, but experiencing the events in person seems impossible... surviving them, even more so... and yet, she did, as did others, and as remarkable as that seems, it's still a crime against humanity that should have never occurred. The best way to prevent it from happening again... awareness, remembrance, open minds, and open hearts. 

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Special thanks to both the publishers listed, and their fabulous publicists for the copies for review. (THANKS!) For more information on these titles, the authors, or the publishers, feel free to click through the links provided above. Both titles are now available, so make a plan to visit your local brick and mortar or click on over to your favorite online retailer!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!