Book Review: Remembrance Part 1: A Time for War
Anna is running. She runs from the SS and she runs from her own memories and failures. After everyone in her village was brutally murdered as she watched from the woods, including her own family, she tries to seek refuge but the Germans always catch up to her. It seems like everyone she encounters is at risk or out to report her, and she isn’t sure how long she will survive.
Remembrance is book one of the Remembrance series and introduces Anna, a Jewish girl in Poland who isn’t so sure God is actually looking out for her. She has good reason to doubt her faith, since God didn’t seem to protect her family from being murdered by Nazis, and worse He didn’t give her the strength to protect them, not even her 4 year old brother, which will haunt her for the rest of her life. It seems obvious that eventually the Nazis will catch up to her, but what she will do in the mean time to survive will make everyone reading realize how comfortable and wealthy we are. Anna is hungry, cold, hiding in pits and walls, and never quite sure who she can trust, even fellow Jews. I am a big fan of historical fiction in general, and so far this seems well researched and engaging. Of course the Holocaust is undeniably fascinating, as you can’t help but put yourself in the shoes of both the attacked and attackers and wonder where you would stand. I think that is part of the appeal of Anna; while she has no choice due to her heritage, she still questions her own morality and if she really is any better than the Nazis as she tries to survive. I hope to see more of Anna’s story, and like everyone else hopes she survives long enough to tell her story.
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