Book Review: Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Radium Girls by Kate Moore
ARC, e-Book, 496 pages
Sourcebooks
April 18, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Received via Netgalley for review

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...

As soon as I saw Radium Girls up on the Netgalley platform I knew I NEEDED to read it. While I had never done extensive reading on these girls I had heard of them in passing while reading various other non-fiction works, especially when taking a class on social reform and women’s rights. However, after having received the book, life happened and like so many other things, it quite literally was shelved for awhile. But I still knew I WANTED to read this. So when a weekend arrived where I wasn’t feeling great and was going to be spending my time on the couch, it was time, finally, to pick up the book! And I absolutely devoured the pages in the course of the weekend!

What immediately caught my attention in this book was the girls themselves. The author doesn’t focus on just one of two key players, but quite the handful of women who endured a lot at the expense of radium. These women were fleshed out and their reasons for working at the various radium dial painting factories and the effects of the radium on their lives and bodies were detailed in full. Each woman had different reasons and different ailments and this book gave the full picture. Not something you want to be reading while eating, it can be gross at times as the author pulls no punches, but it was very appreciated because I could truly identify with these women and the pain they endured even while fighting their battle legally.

Even the companies themselves, the author dug under the covers and we are treated to what they knew and the lengths they went to in order to hide what they knew about the effects of the radium. What shocked me was how these women underwent exams by the company doctors, but were not given access to the results and the company men already knew they were suffering from radium’s effects early on.

I also appreciated the legal process that the author took us through as the women struggled to find anyone that would be willing to go up against the industry or assist them with their case. These were women who suffered some horrible workplace injustices, but at the time the jobs they were doing were considered to be top of the heap and THE jobs to be had, which made for considerable backlash. This reminded me to some extent of some of the garment workers in NYC, how those jobs were better than many others that women could have and there was high competition for the jobs, and the only way that their workplace situations were improved was unfortunately through a major fire that killed many women (at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory).

Oh and let me not forget to mention, that although this is a non-fiction book, it certainly doesn’t read like one. While the material might be heavy in concept, the writing style is fluid and reads more like a novel, seamlessly moving from one thing to the next. An excellent book that I would highly recommend.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Flashlight Commentary
• Atomic Fangirl

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Kate Moore:

Felix the Railway Cat

Find Kate Moore: Website | Twitter

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: In Harm’s Way by Doug Stanton

In Harms Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stanton
Unabridged, 8 hr. 12 min.
Audible Studios
Mark Boyett (Narrator)
September 27, 2016
★★★★★

Genre: Non-Fiction, Military History

Source: Personal collection from Audible

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated three hundred men were killed upon impact; close to nine hundred sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they struggled to stay alive, battered by a savage sea and fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time help arrived—nearly four days and nights later—all but 317 men had died. How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And how did these 317 men manage to survive? Interweaving the stories of three survivors—the captain, the ship’s doctor, and a young marine—journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless.

The definitive account of this harrowing chapter of World War II history—already a bestseller in its hardcover and mass market editions—In Harm’s Way is a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.

I am not someone who is a huge military history buff, so the tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis was not something that had ever been on my radar before. And unlike apparently every reviewer on Goodreads, I have never seen the movie Jaws and therefore not heard the story of the Indianapolis in that film. So for me, a passing mention about it in the Pearl Harbor book I had read some months back piqued my interest to look into it a bit further and then I stumbled across In Harm’s Way. I am always drawn to stories of people in incredible situations because their bravery and ability to stare death in the face and survive absolutely inspire me and at the same time you often see some of society at its worst. These things keep me riveted time and again.

While this is a solid work of non-fiction it reads so quickly and will not for one moment lose your attention. Stanton interviewed survivors extensively and that is clear in how he brings life into the accounts of the different men in this book. While there are 3 main men whose circumstances are followed throughout the ordeal, we encounter many other men during their stories and are witnesses to how wildly different people handle traumatic events. Stanton seats you right there with the survivors, whether it is clinging to a raft while sharks circle or struggling to stave of dehydration and the draw to drink the salt water. There are LOTS of details, but they never feel overwhelming.

One thing that was clear to me while reading this book and so incredibly striking was just how many lives could have been spared horrible death at sea if a small handful of people had done their jobs to note if the U.S.S. Indianapolis had arrived in the port as expected or passed on the SOS message they had received from the ship. Instead, no one knew where they were or where they were even expected to be for DAYS until a pilot just happened to pass over their location. Then to put the whole thing on the Captain, the only one to have EVER been court martialed for their ship sinking during wartime was just unforgivable. These men survived a trying ordeal and their service let them down. This is a story that will stick with me for quite some time to come and I am very glad to have had the chance to read it.

★★★★★

There is good reason why this audiobook one a 2017 Audie Award for best history/biography audiobook. Mark Boyett competently handled the gravity of the situation as well as the human drama of it. He has an excellent cadence to his narration that gives the listener a perfect understanding of when a new thought is being brought forward, or just a pause in the moment. Boyett seems to typically narrate sci-fi/fantasy novels which probably helps him bring some of the figures from In Harm’s Way to life and pull at the heart-strings during the most dramatic of moments.

You can listen to a sample from the audiobook below:

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• In the Wake
• Caroline Bookbinder

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Doug Stanton:

Horse Soldiers

Odyssey

Find Doug Stanton: Website | Facebook

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Becoming Mrs. Smith by Tanya E. Williams

Becoming Mrs. Smith (Volume 1) by Tanya E. Williams
ARC, e-Book, 110 pages
Rippling Effects Writing & Photography
October 10, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, Novella

Source: Received for review with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Not all of war’s destruction takes place on the battlefield.
Violet’s heart flutters from the scarlet fever she survived as a child, and it beats faster at the sight of John Smith, the man she plans to marry. America is entrenched in WWII, and when John enlists, Violet is certain she won’t ever forgive him for dashing their dreams. As the realities of war slowly overtake her life, Violet's days are filled with uncertainty and grief. She struggles to maintain her faith in John, as the world as she knows it, crumbles.

Becoming Mrs. Smith is the inspiring, and at times, heartbreaking story of a woman’s struggle to reclaim what she lost. War stole the man she loves, and childhood illness weakened her heart—perhaps beyond repair. While guns rage in Europe, the war Violet faces at home may be even more devastating.

For a short novella, Williams covers a lot of ground within those few pages and moves us quickly through the gamut of emotions to include anger, happiness, and sadness. You are rapidly sucked into the action and moved a lot with the events as they unfold. Violet ages from a young girl at home to a woman out in the world, working and falling in love. Each segment jumps oftentimes several months between events and sometimes even years. Whereas this would normally be a potential turnoff as I would feel compelled to ask “what happened in between”, I didn’t find myself having time to ask that as Williams moves us right into the next emotional beat. There was maybe a half a moment, before the last scene, where I felt if it was a novel it would have built up more, however, it was emotionally satisfying just the way it resulted.

This is most definitely a story of those left behind during war. Violet and her friends face the challenges of watching those they care about leave for the front and some not return. This affects them all in different ways and I appreciated seeing how they all reacted to traumatic events. It is not all stiff upper lip and carrying on for those abroad, which made it feel very real.

I was absolutely crying by the end of this novella. I’m not one who typically cries while reading; for that to happen within this short time span is a testament to how quickly Williams’ characters grew on me and how much I cared about their outcomes. If your heart isn’t just a little broken by the end of this I don’t know what will! I look forward to reading the next in this series.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Hopewell’s Public Library of Life
• Bookish Lifestyle

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Tanya E. Williams:

Breathe

Find Tanya E. Williams: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Blog

Tour-Wide Giveaway

During the Blog Tour there is an opportunity to enter a giveaway for an eBook of Becoming Mrs. Smith! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
• Only one entry per household.
• All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
• Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Becoming Mrs. Smith

Follow the Tour!

HFVBT Website or on Twitter #BecomingMrsSmithBlogTour

Monday, October 30
Feature at View from the Birdhouse
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Tuesday, October 31
Review at Hopewell’s Public Library of Life

Wednesday, November 1
Feature at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, November 2
Review at Bookish

Friday, November 3
Feature at Passages to the Past

Monday, November 6
Review at Once Upon A Book

Tuesday, November 7
Feature at The Reading Queen

Wednesday, November 8
Guest Post at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Thursday, November 9
Excerpt at Just One More Chapter

Friday, November 10
Feature at Jenn’s Book Vibes

Monday, November 13
Excerpt at What Cathy Read Next

Tuesday, November 14
Interview & Excerpt at Jorie Loves a Story

Wednesday, November 15
Feature at A Literary Vacation
Review at Singing Librarian Books

Thursday, November 16
Review at The Maiden’s Court

Friday, November 17
Review at Bookramblings
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Feature at Broken Teepee

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: The Jersey Brothers by Sally Mott Freeman

The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family’s Quest to Bring Him Home by Sally Mott Freeman
Unabridged, 18 hr. 41 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)
May 9, 2017
★★★★★

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Received download from the publisher for review

The extraordinary, real-life adventure of three brothers at the center of the most dramatic turning points of World War II and their mad race to change history—and save one of their own.

They are three brothers, all Navy men, who end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the war’s most crucial moments. Bill is picked by Roosevelt to run his first Map Room in Washington. Benny is the gunnery and anti-aircraft officer on the USS Enterprise, one of the only carriers to escape Pearl Harbor and by the end of 1942 the last one left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest and least distinguished of the three, is shuffled off to the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm’s way. But this protection plan backfires when Barton is sent to the Philippines and listed as missing-in-action after a Japanese attack. Now it is up to Bill and Benny to find and rescue him.

Based on ten years of research drawn from archives around the world, interviews with fellow shipmates and POWs, and primary sources including diaries, unpublished memoirs, and letters half-forgotten in basements, The Jersey Brothers is a remarkable story of agony and triumph—from the home front to Roosevelt’s White House, and Pearl Harbor to Midway and Bataan. It is the story, written with intimate, novelistic detail, of an ordinary young man who shows extraordinary courage as the Japanese do everything short of killing him. And it is, above all, a story of brotherly love: of three men finding their loyalty to each other tested under the tortures of war—and knowing that their success or failure to save their youngest brother will shape their family forever.

The war in the Pacific during WWII is something of a new area for me in non-fiction (or fiction for that matter); I have read more widely on the European front of this war. To be honest, I found it harder to connect to because I didn’t know anything about the locations and pretty much only knew about Pearl Harbor. However, when I saw this book, I knew I had to dive into this one. Not only is the cover hauntingly fabulous, but the story of these three brothers encapsulates so many elements of the war that I felt it would give me a thorough indoctrination into the Pacific side of the war. At the same time it is memoir-like in my mind as it was written by the daughter of one of the three brothers from the book. Oh and I forgot to mention that it is narrated by one fabulous narrator who I LOVE – but more on that later!

Throughout The Jersey Brothers we follow Benny, Bill, and Barton through their WWII travails. Bill begins his war time as an aid to President Roosevelt in his Map Room while brings us into the political machination of the war and then later he serves aboard several ships in the Pacific and physically searches for Barton in the Philippines. Benny serves primarily aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, which was involved in MANY major battles in the Pacific arena, and his story brings us right into the heart of an ocean battlefield. Then we have the story of Barton, who was captured as a Prisoner of War when the Philippines fell to the Japanese early in the war. Benny and Bill try everything they can think of to try to find and rescue Barton and their quest gives a physical face to the quest of the many families who sought information about their sons/husbands/relatives that were taken captive in the Pacific field of war.

It is very clear from the earliest pages of the book that either something terrible happens to Barton or that he doesn’t come home; the author discusses how her quest to write this book spun from an overheard family dispute about her uncle Barton. Although I knew that this book would not result in a positive outcome, I kept hoping and hoping that the result would somehow be different. The author made me feel so much for these three brothers and their families. Although this is a story personal to the author it was also able to keep enough distance from the subjects to feel impartial, but still imbue it with heart and passion in every word.

I couldn’t get enough of this book and thoroughly absorbed every word of it.

★★★★★

Cassandra Campbell is a narrator that you should look for when perusing the lists for new audiobooks. I have had the opportunity to listen to her read both fiction and non-fiction titles and she has done it brilliantly each time, although very different. In this circumstance, her voice lends a soothing and respectful tone to the severity of the events transpiring. Another thing that blew me away was her pronunciation of the foreign words and names that are fast and furious in this book; while I may not know if they are correct, they sounded well practiced and added to my impressions of the book. Stellar narration.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Let’s Take a Shelfie

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

You can preview a sample of this audiobook below:

Find Sally Mott Freeman: Publisher’s Website | Facebook

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
E-Book, 528 pages
William Morrow
June 6, 2017
★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Personal Collection

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.

1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth ...no matter where it leads.

I have been a HUGE fan of Kate Quinn’s throughout her writing career having read almost all of her works (still trying to find time to finish Empress of the Seven Hills and start The Lion and the Rose). Her heroines always have this spunk and sass to them, that comes through when you meet the author as well, that instantly draws me to them. I’ve been a bigger fan of her novels set in the ancient world and had hesitantly taken interest in The Alice Network only because it is SO far removed from the era that I think Quinn excels in. The time period between and surrounding the World Wars hasn’t traditionally been my thing and I haven’t openly embraced it despite the shift in interest of the publishing houses to this arena lately. However, after hearing from successive bookish friends and bloggers just how much they loved The Alice Network, and finding myself with a big gaping hole in my reviewing schedule, I jumped at the opportunity to pick up a copy and get to it!

Each chapter alternates between the WWI period told from the perspective of Eve and the immediate post WWII period told from that of Charlie. There are parallels that can be drawn here between these ladies who are similarly aged but seemingly so different for so much of the book, however deep down, they are more alike than they realize. For awhile I was much more into the Charlie chapters. While I loved the behind-the-lines, spy storyline of Eve’s, I felt that Charlie’s internal narrative was more of a personal struggle and I loved watching her grow over the story. I also loved that Charlie’s narrative is where the pieces start to come together and resolve.

The characters were all fabulous. Eve is so unusual a heroine, but that would be why she was so effective a spy: she was easy to overlook, but she had so much going on under the hood and she was passionate and daring. She gave up so much of herself for something so much bigger than herself. Charlie is a girl in trouble, but also a girl on a mission. She is trying to redeem herself and escape from the shadow of her parents expectations and money. This makes her and Eve such a hilarious foil of each other. And throw Finn into the mix and they are one interesting road trippin’ trio. Really, I found Finn to be one of the only truly likable male characters, despite his background, and I LOVED his character development throughout the story and how he effected the other two ladies. And his relationship with his car is something else! This trio was phenomenal to read.

Kate’s writing is always fun to read and she throws in some humorous scenes throughout, even little moments that just take the edge off some of the deeper, more tension fraught scenes.

I very rarely read a book a second time (has only happened twice) or own a book in multiple formats, but simply based off my enjoyment of the book and the sample of the audio I have listened to, I am very interested in going through this one again as an audiobook (I also might need to get it in print because…deckle edge!!)

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Flashlight Commentary
• Literary Quicksand

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Kate Quinn:

Mistress of Rome (Empress of Rome Book 1)
[My Review]

Daughters of Rome (Empress of Rome Book 2)
[My Review]

Empress of the Seven Hills (Empress of Rome Book 3)

The Three Fates (Empress of Rome Book 3.5)

Lady of the Eternal City (Empress of Rome Book 4)
[My Review]

The Serpent and the Pearl (The Borgias #1)
[My Review]

The Lion and the Rose (The Borgias #2)

A Song of War (Short Story Collaboration)
[My Review]

A Day of Fire (Short Story Collaboration)
[My Review]

A Year of Ravens (Short Story Collaboration)
[My Review]

Find Kate Quinn: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Pearl Harbor by Craig Nelson

Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness by Craig Nelson
Unabridged, 18 hr. 55 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
George Guidall (Narrator)
September 20, 2016
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Received download from publisher for review

The America we live in today was born not on July 4, 1776, but on December 7, 1941, when almost 400 Japanese planes attacked the US Pacific Fleet, killing 2,400 men and sinking or damaging 16 ships. In Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness, Craig Nelson follows, moment by moment, the sailors, soldiers, pilots, admirals, generals, emperors, and presidents, all starting with a pre-polio assistant secretary of the navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, attending the laying of the keel of the USS Arizona at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, against the backdrop of the imperial, military, and civilian leaders of Japan lurching into ultranationalist fascism, all culminating in an insanely daring scheme to shock the Allies with a technologically revolutionary mission in one of the boldest military stories ever told - one with consequences that continue to echo in our lives today.

Besides the little-understood history of how and why Japan attacked America, we can hear the abandoned record player endlessly repeating "Sunrise Serenade" as the Japanese bombs hit the deck of the California; we feel terror as navy wives, helped by their Japanese maids, upturn couches for cover and hide with their children in caves from a rumored invasion; and we understand the mix of frustration and triumph as a lone American teenager shoots down a Japanese bomber. Backed by a research team's five years of efforts with archives and interviews, producing nearly a million pages of documents, as well as a thorough reexamination of the original evidence produced by federal investigators, this definitive history provides a blow-by-blow account from both the Japanese and American perspectives and is a historical drama on the greatest scale. Nelson delivers all the terror, chaos, violence, tragedy, and heroism of the attack in stunning detail and offers surprising conclusions about the tragedy's unforeseen and resonant consequences.

My experience with WWII in both personal reading and in education has primarily focused on the war in Europe or even the war in the Pacific, but those events occur after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which somehow I never really read/learned about. Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness changed all of that entirely and I now feel that I am well-versed in the many different aspects of the attack and its role on the rest of the war. These are a couple of the interesting details that I came away with:

• “Remember Pearl Harbor” is written in Morse code in Tojo’s dentures
• The only people who may have their cremains laid to rest at the USS Arizona memorial are those who served aboard the ship that day, otherwise if they served at other times they may be scattered on the water
• The most Japanese city outside Japan is Honolulu

In this book, I felt that I got a sense of the complex lead up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The diplomacy the occurred, failed, and the opportunities that were missed were staggering and wound themselves in and around so many other aspects than just simply the war that was raging in Europe. I say that I walked away with a sense of the events because I think it is really hard to have a solid grasp on issues like this when simply listening; it is too easy to get distracted and at least I am less likely to stop listening to ruminate on a section than I am if I was reading. This was a very worthwhile read.

★★★★☆

George Guidall has narrated many of the top-tier novels and non-fiction books on the market: books from Nathaniel Philbrick, Alex Berenson, and Eric Flint. For me, that tells me right off the bat that he is going to be a strong narrator, and I wasn’t disappointed. Guidall handled the plethora of Japanese names and translations effectively. His reading pace had alternately great energy or solemnness, depending on the needs of the section being narrated. He was engaging to listen to and kept me coming back to listen to more.

I did encounter what I believe to have been more of a production issue. I feel like I was able to notice some of the places where edits were made and sections maybe re-recorded. The sound of the narrator’s voice sounded slightly off from time to time. At first I thought that it was an indication of a footnote based on a subtle change, however, I noticed that these were otherwise indicated by the word “footnote” being stated before them, leading me to believe it is an editing issue.

You can check out a sample of the audiobook below:

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Tim Larison
• Restoring our Foundations

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Craig Nelson:

Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon

Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations

The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era

The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid

Find Craig Nelson: Website | Twitter

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Unabridged, 10 hr. 31 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Amanda Carlin (Narrator)
September 27, 2016
★★★★★

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Received the audio download from the publisher for review

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot comes an extraordinary and gripping account of Irena Sendler—the “female Oskar Schindler”—who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.

In 1942, one young social worker, Irena Sendler, was granted access to the Warsaw ghetto as a public health specialist. While there, she reached out to the trapped Jewish families, going from door to door and asking the parents to trust her with their young children. She started smuggling them out of the walled district, convincing her friends and neighbors to hide them. Driven to extreme measures and with the help of a network of local tradesmen, ghetto residents, and her star-crossed lover in the Jewish resistance, Irena ultimately smuggled thousands of children past the Nazis. She made dangerous trips through the city’s sewers, hid children in coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through secret passages in abandoned buildings.

But Irena did something even more astonishing at immense personal risk: she kept secret lists buried in bottles under an old apple tree in a friend’s back garden. On them were the names and true identities of those Jewish children, recorded with the hope that their relatives could find them after the war. She could not have known that more than ninety percent of their families would perish.

In Irena’s Children, Tilar Mazzeo tells the incredible story of this courageous and brave woman who risked her life to save innocent children from the Holocaust—a truly heroic tale of survival, resilience, and redemption.

Irena’s Children was a powerful reading experience. I don’t think you get a true sense of the devastation of WWII and the Nazi regime until you read a book like this, written about those or from those who were out there doing everything they could everyday to save those being threatened. Putting their own lives on the line everyday knowing that one wrong move could not only end in the loss of their own life, but that of many others in their network too. I had of course heard stories of those individuals who were saving others, and of course had heard about Oskar Schinder and seen Schindler’s List, but I had never heard of Irena Sendler and her equally amazing story.

Sendler’s story is amazing not only because of what she did (saving over 2000 Jewish children) but also what happened to her. She was arrested for her actions and sentenced to execution, but thanks to some of the inner workings of her network, she was able to escape and lead the Nazi’s on a chase for her while still helping to save more children. It’s equally amazing that her contributions to the effort were not recognized officially until 1965 and even still her name is not well known (I took several college and Masters level classes on WWII and her name and organization never came up once in all my readings and discussions). Of course she didn’t do it for fame and notoriety, but failing to recognize the contributions of her and her organization is a gaping hole in the history in my opinion.

Mazzeo beautifully renders this story and brings Irena to life. I felt that I was able to get to know this woman and what drove her day in and day out to continue doing this extraordinarily tough job. I felt a hint of what it would be like to be afraid of everything falling down around you, the stresses of the daily danger, and hoping that you could make it work, a world bigger than her own existence. Her associates, many of them, are given the same treatment and Mazzeo gives us their story as much as possible too. This book made me really feel for these people and brought tears to my eyes a few times.

This is a compelling and page-turning book. While not written in a narrative style that usually is the most successful at driving a non-fiction work forward, the sense of danger that is created here from Irena’s life takes over that responsibility and made we want to keep reading more.

★★★½☆☆

I definitely had a struggle with this narrator at the beginning of my listening experience. Especially in the opening chapters she almost sounds robotic or computer generated. Many of the words sounded over enunciated and there was a staccato speech pattern. My enjoyment of the text of the book made it more tolerable to listen to. However, either I became used to the sound of her voice or it changed some, I’m not sure, it because easier to listen to the further I went on and I didn’t find that I was noticing the robotic feel that stood out in those earlier sections. I don’t know it this was a production type thing or what, but I’m glad it resolved itself.

You can check out a sample of this audio book below:

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Story Sanctuary
• Girl About Library

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Tilar J. Mazzeo:

The Widow Clicquot

The Hotel on Place Vendome

The Secret of Chanel No. 5

Find Tilar J. Mazzeo: Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
ARC, e-book, 368 pages
MIRA
February 21, 2017
★★★★★
 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received via Netgalley for Review with TLC Book Tours

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival .

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

I had previously read another novel by Jenoff, The Ambassador’s Daughter, and while I had some quibbles with it, I enjoyed the novel enough to be extremely intrigued when I saw The Orphan’s Tale pop up on my radar. I am pleased to say that I LOVED this book and it will definitely be on my top list at the end of the year.

The Orphan’s Tale struck a note for me right from the start that is guarantee to hook me: a story set in/around a circus during WWII. I enjoy reading WWII novels, especially those that are not set on the battlefield and explore little niche areas. The circus was not something I had really ever thought about as existing outside of the United States and certainly not within the realm of the War. I thought that it was fascinating to see how the War affected the circus – some folded and some continued on in some capacity at the mercy of the Third Reich, but they were always at risk of search and closure. There was a desperate feel as they tried to put on a show and entertain the people, but always knowing that anything could happen at any time. That feeling definitely permeated much of the story. It is also clear that the author spent a lot of time understanding the circus and this felt very real and was not just used as a backdrop for a story. It was very much a living character with a life of its own.

Throughout the story I kept harkening back to two books that I felt had much in common with this one: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Circus Fire by Stewart O’Nan. Both of these books (the former a novel and the latter non-fiction) involve circus disasters as their central focal point, and while that might not be quite the same in The Orphan’s Tale, there is the feeling of impending disaster that will come at some point, and it does, which brought both of those circus disasters (both real and fake) to mind. More directly, the way The Orphan’s Tale is framed, an elderly individual going to great lengths to attend a circus exhibit and then share their tale, immediately connected me to Water for Elephants, and that prior reading experience possibly colored how I perceived the character in this novel. It was an interesting exploration of how a prior experience can affect how you connect with a book and I would love to talk with someone who had not read Water for Elephants previously and see if they had the same experience that I did.

At its heart, this is a story of relationships in the very worst situations. While there are a couple romantic relationships, it really is about friendships. How those change and evolve over time, how people act under stressful situations, how friendship can take on different meanings, and how someone can be so critical in your life at the right time – all these are explored within this novel. Noa and Astrid are the two main characters whose perspective we see the world from and they are both coming from very different worlds, but are very similar in some ways. Their courage in the face of disaster ties them together, but their differences in past experience and secrets they have keep them at odds with each other. As a reader you go through a push-pull of emotions, at times seeing the perspective of one and then the other, which keeps you on your toes.

There was one element that I didn’t completely buy into and that was the frame for the story. It begins and ends set in the present with a character (who you don’t know who it is at the opening of the novel, but it is revealed at the end) who travels to an event held to remember the circus. This event and the artifacts there mean a lot to this person as they are trying to figure something out that they have clearly held on to for a long time. I changed my mind several times throughout the reading as to who this person was, and boy was I wrong! That is one thing that Jenoff carries off here that I also applauded in my review of The Ambassador’s Daughter, the ability to keep the reader off the track and then surprise them with a shocking revelation. I didn’t find this character totally believable in the driving reason to seek out this event and to try to reconnect with the past. I also struggle with the title and how that plays into who the bookending character is. It felt as if a different character being the focus of the present day storyline would have been more appropriate and make more sense in the larger scope of the story.

However, overall the story worked for me. I will admit to shedding a few tears as well toward the end of the book, which is difficult for a novel to achieve.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• A Literary Vacation
• The Lit Bitch

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Pam Jenoff:

The Kommandant’s Girl

The Diplomat’s Wife

The Ambassador’s Daughter
[My Review]

The Things We Cherished

The Winter Guest

Almost Home

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

A Hidden Affair

The Other Girl

The Last Embrace

Find Pam Jenoff: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Follow the Tour:

On TLC Book Tours Website

Monday, February 20th: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, February 20th: Barbara Khan

Tuesday, February 21st: Savvy Verse and Wit

Wednesday, February 22nd: Caryn, The Book Whisperer

Thursday, February 23rd: West Metro Mommy

Friday, February 24th: Reading is My SuperPower

Friday, February 24th: A Bookish Affair

Monday, February 27th: Building Bookshelves

Monday, February 27th: Just Commonly

Tuesday, February 28th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, March 1st: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, March 1st: Susan Peterson

Thursday, March 2nd: A Literary Vacation

Friday, March 3rd: Cindy Burnett

Monday, March 6th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Monday, March 6th: Literary Quicksand

Tuesday, March 7th: The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, March 8th: The Romance Dish

Thursday, March 9th: Just One More Chapter

Friday, March 10th: Suzy Approved

Monday, March 13th: Reading Reality

Monday, March 13th: Diary of an Eccentric

Tuesday, March 14th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, March 15th: Bibliophiliac

Thursday, March 16th: The Maiden’s Court

Friday, March 17th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, March 20th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, March 21st: Write Read Life

Wednesday, March 22nd: 100 Pages a Day

Thursday, March 23rd: Silver’s Reviews

Friday, March 24th: Not in Jersey

Friday March 24th: SJ2B House of Books

Tuesday, March 28th: Travelling Birdy

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court