Book Review: Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz

September 1, 2011

About:

“Displaced Persons” by Ghita Schwartz is a fictional book that follows a group of holocaust survivors from their liberation to the twilight of their life. This is a moving narrative of people with no country and no home.

The pub­lisher has made avail­able one (1) copy of “Displaced Persons” to be given out– enter at the end of the post.

Thoughts on: Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz
My rating for Displaced Persons4
Buy Displaced Persons from Amazon.com*
More Books by Ghita Schwarz*

Thoughts:

“Displaced Persons” by Ghita Schwartz (website) is a post World War II survival story. An evocative novel that follows holocaust survivors for decades after their liberation. The content of the story is very interesting and thought-provoking.

What I found most interesting is how, living through decades after being liberated, the world treats the survivors differently. The perspective is not only that of the survivors themselves but also of the society around them. That is the aspect of the book I liked the most, society has not treated the survivors generously as we might like to imagine. For many years they were seen as weaklings, walking to the gas chambers like sheep to the slaughter.

Ms. Schwartz follows the survivors and gets into their mindset; they have been through the worst mankind can throw at them and have persevered. They don’t complain, share or talk about the past; they simply grunt and take the punches life throws at them quietly and with dignity.

The characters in the book are strong, resilient, complex, and profound – even though there was no one I could identify with. They are three-dimensional, real, and face hardships and struggles like the rest of us, only with a huge amount of baggage.

At times, however, I found myself getting disconnected from the story. It might have been the writing style, even though the book is well written, or the sticky and emotional subject matter. This is not a quick read, but a deep, sometimes disturbing exploration of the long-term impact and injuries the holocaust created.

Synopsis:

Covering several decades, the book is divided into three sections beginning in 1945. At the Bergen-Belsen refugee camp, several people meet and become those that the book follows. Pavel, Fela, Chaim, Berel, Dvora and their daughter Sima all become “Displaced Persons” or DPs.

The novel follows their struggles and trials throughout their lives in Europe and eventually in the US.

Buy Displaced Persons from Amazon.com*
More Books by Ghita Schwarz*

Give­away

Rules:

  • Con­test is for one (1) new copy of “Displaced Persons”.
  • There will be ONE (1) WINNER
  • Must be a US/Canada mail­ing Address
  • Ends September 7, 2011
  • Win­ners will be cho­sen using Random.org
  • Win­ners will have 24 hours after my ini­tial con­tact to write back their mail­ing address, oth­er­wise alter­nate win­ners will be picked
  • Please con­sider join­ing the FACEBOOK BOOK GIVEAWAY group

Congratulations: {name is email}
TLC Book Tour for “Displaced Persons”:
Tuesday, August 23rd: Reviews from the Heart
Thursday, August 25th: Raging Bibliomania
Friday, August 26th: Books Like Breathing
Tuesday, August 30th: The House of the Seven Tails
Wednesday, August 31st: Rundpinne
Thursday, September 1st: Man of La Book
Friday, September 2nd: Diary of an Eccentric
Monday, September 5th: Life in the Thumb
Tuesday, September 6th: Crazy for Books
Thursday, September 8th: Life in Review
Friday, September 9th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Monday, September 12th: nomadreader

Zohar – Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free as part of the TLC Book Tour pro­mo­tion.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books
Article first published as Book Review: Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz on Blogcritics.

Enhanced by Zemanta

BOOK BLOGGERS – Have you read “Displaced Persons”? If so link up your review below:

--- Please like and follow ManOfLaBook.com ---
Summary
Review Date
Reviewed Item
Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz
Author Rating
51star1star1star1star1star
Product Name
Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz

Wrap Up

Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz

8 Comments

  • bookspersonallySeptember 1, 2011 at 8:56 am

    Sounds like a very moving read, would indeed be interesting to hear the author’s interpretation of how society treats survivors and how one goes about life after such a horrific experience and so much loss.

    • zoharSeptember 1, 2011 at 11:26 am

      It is a very moving read, not easy.
      Thanks for the comment.

  • AnnaSeptember 1, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I’m glad to see you liked the book. I’m finishing it right now, and I’m finding it quite powerful and unbelievably sad. You are right that the characters are complex. I’ll link to your review on War Through the Generations.

    • zoharSeptember 1, 2011 at 11:26 am

      Thanks Anna

  • Heather J. @ TLC Book ToursSeptember 1, 2011 at 11:59 am

    “soci­ety has not treated the sur­vivors gen­er­ously as we might like to imag­ine” – people can be so cruel, and we often like to overlook that fact because it makes us uncomfortable.

    This sounds like a powerful book. Thanks for sharing your thoughts for the tour.

  • HeatherSeptember 1, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    This sounds like a very interesting read.

  • unikornaSeptember 2, 2011 at 7:26 am

    This book has a very complex theme, very difficult to approach. If it kept you interested that means …the writer must be good..at least good :).

    • zoharSeptember 2, 2011 at 7:36 am

      Thanks for the comment (and the contest 🙂 ) – it was an interesting read but a difficult one.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

29 + = 33

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
RSS
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Post on X
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon