Don’t judge a book by its cover! Also, just because a book is a best seller’s doesn’t mean you are going to enjoy it. Some people like to be disturbed, scared, or depressed. I’m not one of those people. I don’t require that a book end with weddings and rainbows, but I want to know whatever narrative torture I went through was worth the journey. In the case of Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, I don’t know if it was.
When you see the cover of Lilac Girls, it is a picture of three women, walking together wearing long jackets of the style worn during World War II. The book is about three women. You might think this cover depicts these three women, giving insight to their relationship or role in the book. You would be wrong.
The book is actually about a German doctor who tortured and killed women and children in a concentration camp, a Polish girl who survived cruel surgical experiments done by the doctor and others at the camp, and an American socialite who, after the war, helped Polish survivors of the German experiments. The first half of the book give the back story of each character so the reader can fully understand what kind of person they were before the atrocities of war. I could have lived without knowing.
The author is a talented writer. Her descriptions are engaging and I kept reading because I wanted to know what would happen to the characters. The book is based on true events and real people which also made it a compelling story. However, I felt nothing but sad, especially sad for Poland. That country cannot get a break. It makes me angry that kids used to tell “Polack” jokes. I didn’t even know what that term meant as a kid but Polish people do not deserve to be the butt of anyone’s joke. Between this book and The Zookeeper’s Wife, also set in Poland during World War II, I have a new appreciation for that country and its people. They deserve our respect and support.
Things You Don't Forget 