Book Review: My Mother’s Secret : Based on a True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick

Article first published as Book Review: My Mother’s Secret by J.L. Witterick on Blogcritics. About: My Mother’s Secret : Based on a True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick is a fictionalized account of an actual woman who hid 15 Jews (and a German soldier) in her small house, located in a small Polish town, during the Nazi invasion of World War II. While the lines in the book between fact and fiction are blurred, it is still a fascinating read. 208 pages Publisher: iUniverse (March 25, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1475962576 My rating for My Mother’s Secret – 5 Buy this book from Amazon.com More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: My Mother’s Secret by J.L. Witterick (website | Facebook)tells the story of Franciszka Halamajowa and her daughter Helena, two women with enough guts and street smarts to last several lifetimes. While the subject might sound depressing, this book (which targets towards the lower end of the YA crowd) is an uplifting testament to the acts of one woman and her family. The book is told in a very sparring manner (and hence a very quick read), the author writes in a matter-of-fact manner using short sentences, paragraphs…

Book Review: My Ántonia by Willa Cather
5 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / May 1, 2013

About: My Ántonia by Willa Cather was written in 1918 and is considered the last in the “Prairie Trilogy” following O Pioneers! (review) And The Song of the Lark. This book is considered one of the greatest novels written by an American. 176 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Language: English ISBN-10: 0486282406 My rat­ing for My Ántonia — 4 Buy this book in paper or FREE in elec­tronic format More Books by Willa Cather Thoughts: My Ántonia by Willa Cather is a story within a story. The narrator is a friend of Jim who is stuck in a loveless marriage. Jim is consumed by a fantasy girl, Ántonia, who he remembers from childhood. The characters in the book well written, realistic but form a strange group, Ms. Cather does an amazing job writing a book from the perspective of a young man. To be honest, if I knew that this would be the case I probably won’t have read the book to begin with. I’m always weary of stories written from a perspective which the author can never perceive. Even though a man tells the story, this is not how a man would tell a story. The narrative might be in the voice of a man, but it is a woman writing as…

Book Review: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani
5 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / April 25, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani on Blogcritics. About: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani is mystery novel taking place in Holon, Israel. The book has been translated from Hebrew and is one of the few police mysteries / procedural written in Israel. 304 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0062195379 My rat­ing for The Missing File — 5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format Thoughts: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani (Facebook | Goodreads) caught me unprepared, I was expecting a good book but what I found was exceptional. The structure is fascinating and I could not find any glaring plot holes in the narrative. The book is not only a mystery, but a fascinating glimpse into day-to-day Israeli life and culture without the preaching or propaganda. Mr. Mishani does not underestimate his readers and wrote an intelligent, well built novel. The protagonist of the book, police Detective Avraham Avraham, is not your typical hero. He is a grey man living in a grey world. Avraham is a good, solid police officer who smokes too much , drinks occasionally, visits his parents but keeps them at a distance, a bit disorganized…

Book Review: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / April 22, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan on Blogcritics. About: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan is a fictional story taking place in present day Florida. Mr. Sheehan works at Stetson University in Tampa, FL and teaches trail law. 416 pages Publisher: Center Street Language: English ISBN-10: 1455508667 My rat­ing for The Lawyer’s Lawyer — 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by James Sheehan Thoughts: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan (website | Facebook | @James_Sheehan_) was a delight to read. I got this book a few months ago, but just picked it up and finished it in about two days. While there are several directions the book pulls the reader towards, the real strength lays in the courtroom drama which Mr. Sheehan so eloquently brings to life. I’ll even go further and say that the sidebars the lawyers had while approaching the bench were some of the most interesting, fascinating conversation I’ve read in this genre. The author did a great job telling the story while staying away from many technical terms (“legalese”) and if used, explaining them almost immediately. The narrative is smooth and eloquent which makes for an easy read despite the setting. The protagonist of the…

Giveaway & Book Review: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / April 18, 2013

About: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson is a mystery novel taking place in 1936. This is the fourth book in a series starring author Josephine Tey. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 432 pages Publisher: Faber & Faber Language: English ISBN-10: 0571246281 My rat­ing for Fear in the Sunlight — 3 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by Nicola Upson Thoughts: The reason I chose to read Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson (website | Facebook) was because Alfred Hitchcock was in the story, I had no idea it was part of a series and probably wouldn’t have noticed either until I read it somewhere. I was looking forward to read a good mystery which was somewhat involved in Hitchcock’s movies. However the famed director is a character in this novel much like anyone else. Granted, not everyone has his insecurities and eccentricities but there is no Hitchcock specific take on the story. The story was very slow to start but once it got going it held my interest until the end, but the large cast of characters kept me confused and I…

Book Review: Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer

About: Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer is a historical fiction book taking place in Denmark during World War II. The book is well researched and an enthralling read. 335 pages Publisher: Abingdon Press Language: English ISBN-10: 1426701926 My rat­ing for Wildflowers of Terezin — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Robert Elmer More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer (website) was an interesting read. I originally got this book due to my great interest in World War II and was delighted to find out that it takes place in Denmark because I have yet to read any WWII stories from that region. The book held my interest throughout, part history, part fiction and part religious it manages to show the best and worst of men and women when life deals them a losing hand. I have heard many books, both fiction and non-fiction about the Jews of World War II, and in comparison their treatment wasn’t as bad as the rest of Europe – but that is of course speaking as someone living in a free country 50 years later who never had to drop everything and flee for his life. Upon finishing…

Book Review: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Fiction , Latest Posts / April 13, 2013

About: The Call of the Wild by Jack London is a classic short story written in 1903. Originally no one wanted to publish the book, however, Macmillan agreed to take a chance on the unknown writer and payed him $2,000 with no royalties. Even though the publishers and editors didn’t like the title London stuck with it. Seven years later an editor wrote: “I’ll be damned if that very muchly-rejected title didn’t become a phrase in the English language. This is only one of many experiences concerning titles, wherein editors, booksellers, and publishers absolutely missed.” 64 pages Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover Thrift Edition Language: English ISBN-10: 0486264726 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Jack London Thoughts: I purposely avoided The Call of the Wild by Jack London as a teenager, the novel simply didn’t appeal to me. I’m glad I avoided it because upon reading this classic story as an adult, I believe I would have hated it as a teen. There is some violence and cruelty in the book, but I believe the language is what would have done me in. Not to knock down any teenage bibliophiles, but I believe that the vocabulary would have been a bit too much…

Book Review: House of Rocamora by Donald Michael Platt

About: House of Rocamora by Donald Michael Platt is a historical fiction book taking place in Amsterdam. This is a sequel to the well received Rocamaora: Man of Masks which I wrote about last month. 346 pages Publisher: Raven’s Wing Books (November 19, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1618070916 My rat­ing for House of Rocamora — 5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Don­ald Michael Platt Thoughts: House of Rocamora by Donald Michael Platt (web­site) might not be as exciting as its predecessor (meaning there is no castle intrigue or daring escapes from under the Inquisition’s nose) however the account of the daily life of Isaac (previously Vicente de Rocamora) is just as an engrossing read. The book creates a vivid picture of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. It was very interesting to read how the Jews lived and interacted with each other and the Dutch people at the time. The protagonist has become Jewish but not an observant Jew and the community somewhat resents him for that, add that to the fact that he was a priest and even considered for the post of head of the Spanish Inquisition and you can understand their mistrust. This is an excellent companion to Rocamora: Man of Masks, however…

Book Review: Dubliners by James Joyce
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / April 8, 2013

About: Dubliners by James Joyce is a collection of short stories published in 1914. The stories are loosely tied together and are considered a classic collection in world literature. 152 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Language: English ISBN-10: 0486268705 My rating for Dubliners – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by James Joyce Thoughts: I read Dubliners by James Joyce as an attempt to read out of my comfort zone as well as to read some well known “must read” books which I somehow (and by “somehow” I mean purposely) skipped over. I generally don’t read short stories, but I’ve heard so much about Dubliners that I decided to try it out. The first reaction I had to the book was not a positive one, it seemed to me that Joyce wrote the book begging for it to be analyzed and dug into ad nauseaum. I don’t like those type of books, I like thinking more deeply into a book and trying to read what the author meant, not necessarily what is written in black and white. However, when an author takes unnecessarily steps to make their work purposely difficult to comprehend, and then only by…

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