This is a two part story, the first one, as the name of the book suggests, is the story of the Nazis trying to control people’s beliefs via literature, punishment and spectacles of burning books symbolizing “wrong” ideology. The second part is the painstaking cataloging of millions of books, returning what can be returned (through notes, plates and other identifying marks).
The big twist in the book comes from the characters’ actions, not a major plot twist as in many novels
This is not a comprehensive book, and it is not meant to be one. It’s a quick primer for those interested in the subject and would give one a sense of what they would like to read next.
Adolfo Kaminsky helped save many lives by providing false identity papers to Jews and other people who were on the crosshairs of the Nazi killing machine
The lighthearted story of a bunch of rogues and misfits who did not fit in the regimented military, turns into a dark narrative as the book shifts into the European theatre and the end of World War II.
This is not an uplifting book, but it is a very interesting story and about a young boy, in his formative years living in the Warsaw Ghetto
Yitzhak Goldah survived a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, he moved to Savannah, GA to live with his relatives Pearl and Abe Jesler. The Jeslers are part of a vivacious Jewish community in Georgia which has been there since the founding of the state (colony at the time).
A very ambitious and well researched novel which tries to understand how good people simply roll over and help commit atrocities
The narrative moves fast and the storytelling is clear
The novel explores the Holocaust from an original point of view and does not shy from addressing issues which are easy to gloss over
