The Girl From The Train Review

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I was thrilled with this book because oddly enough it was chock full of topics, people and places I have an interest in. I read a lot about World War II, the holocaust, Jews, adoption, South Africa, and faith- things in this book as well as many other topics. I love to read but I'm choosy and if a book doesn't grab me I put it down. This novel definitely grabbed my attention. 

This book was quite a journey. I had trouble putting it down and being productive in anything but reading for two days. That's not a bad thing sometimes.

The Girl From The Train was written by Irma Joubert in the language she speaks: Afrikkans, and then translated. It was well-written and well translated. Mrs. Joubert is an international bestselling author and it's well deserved if this book is an indication of her overall writing style.

The characters were developed nicely and the settings were as well until the story wound it's way to South Africa. I felt more details could have taken me there more easily in my mind's eye. However the people of South Africa I found easy to imagine and even love. The tale of trauma and poverty to love and healing is really lovely and I will probably even read it again some time. It's "one of those kind". Some books I can't part with because I so related with the characters of I immersed in the story, or some other reason and I know I'd enjoy revisiting it.

Book Description:

Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Aushwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks.

As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first.

Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family.

But she can’t stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.

Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome.

A Fifty-Year Silence Review

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How did I love this book? Let me count the ways...

I got lost in it, which is exactly what I needed. Her journey became mine. I was completely invested in finding out the secrets that consumed the writer and main character, but in the end, like Mirandali, I found so much more than facts as answers.

 

As a child I has a Frenchman for an uncle. My mother's sister had married a darling little Frenchman, short, funny, and loving. It was like Christmas every day when he was around because he was not only always ready to have a good time, but he would bend down on one knee and actually look me in the eyes and listen to me as if what I had to say was actually of merit. He liked to laugh and he made me feel happy. He was handsome and my friends were all jealous (or so I thought) that this wonderful man was my family. Maybe that's why I have always had a penchant for things French. Although his promise of a visit to his mother's home in France if I learned the language didn't help me muster through a French class, it did produce in me a fondness for French food- especially cheeses. I'm learning to make a raw goat milk Crottin this year. I think I will perfect it and call it Crottin de Alain in his honor. I miss him.

 

Back to the book- I also have a serious fascination for WWII and the holocaust and the survivors. I feel strongly that as horrible as the truth about it all is, it needs to be read and discussed. It seems like we owe it to all of those people who lived and died and suffered then. The ones who suffer now.

 

A Fifity-Year Silence is brilliantly written. Mrs. Mouillot is a polished writer. She writes deeply and well. Her journey to find out the truth of her family's tragedy and thus her own (many holocaust survivors have somehow passed down fears and anxiety to their children and grandchildren, all the while keeping the horrors locked away tight. How does this happen?) takes her to Europe and a rock pile of an old house her grandparents still own and fight about in the South of France. Her romantic ideas are often squelched by real life; the cold, vandalizing neighbors, lack of funds. I admire her for her tenacity, which is so like her Grandmother's. She was determined to live in that house.

 

In this book I got to know a family, not just Miranda herself. I felt her grandfather and his fussy ways was mine, and her zesty, vivacious grandmother was mine too!  I fell in love with them and felt some ownership in the history- that's the mark of a good writer.. Again, she's brilliant. I couldn't put it down but I hated for it to end. This one I will keep on my shelf just in case I find myself wanting to visit La Roche again.

*I was given a copy of this book from the publisher at no cost in exchange for a written, unbiased online review.

For Such a Time

 

Author's site

For Such A Time by Kate Breslin (Bethany House Publishers)

 

 I could hardly believe this was the author's debut novel. Really. It is well written and the story was stunning. After I read the last page I had to check again to make sure it was really fiction...and then I was disappointed that the ending wasn't real!

I was delighted to see the author is local, from a town I used to live and where my biological babies were all born.

 I read quite a bit of World War II novels because I can hardly believe such horrible things really took place. The victims of the holocaust haunt me. I feel like their stories are worth telling and reading about because those people deserve to be memorialized.

The evil that thought it all up and carried it out perplexes me. As always, God has His heroes and heroines- every good story has at least one, and His stories are always good ones in the end. This book was chock full of wicked characters and had it's share of heroes, but the real story is the heroine. Stella is an Esther. For Such a Time is a wonderfully woven modern day Esther story. If you're familiar with the book of Esther you will recognize all the main characters. Obviously there are twists and turns to keep it fresh and unpredictable.

The setting is 1944, a transit camp in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. The conditions are deplorable and disgusting. The spirits of the people however broken and hungry, however, are still strong.

 

A romance between two most unlikely people. A theme of destruction vs. salvation. Again, I really found myself wishing it weren't fiction. The stories of concentration camps and the ovens are awful, as we know, and so many times the reality was that nobody escaped, so it's wonderful to read about someone surviving those dark days. I believe strongly that those days should be talked about, read about, and that we should never forget what happened.

 

The bottom line on this book was that it was a real page turner. The kind that makes you decide to stay in, reading at all hours. I was cheering and crying and lost myself in this story. That's the good kind.

 

*A copy of this title was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased written review.

 

Here's what the author says about this book on her site:

 

 Since I’m passionate for history, and writing love stories about wounded, complex heroes and the smart heroines who rescue them, this particular tale is close to my heart, and one I’ve waited years to share. It’s about a romance between two of the most unlikely people on the planet; a story of incredible courage, redemption, and faith. It takes place during WWII, and contains enough twists and turns to appeal to action and romance fans alike, and those who enjoy a good historical adventure. It’s inspiring, too, showing the countless ways that God works in their lives. I simply cannot wait to share For Such A Time with you!  

 

Can't Put It Down

First I want to say I believe this book is important. I believe there is a way to acknowledge the  Hebrew roots of Christianity without getting off on a weird religious road. The anti-Semitism that is still very much active in our world is rearing it's ugly head. Consider how the Jews are being treated in the Ukraine right now for example! This should shake us right out of apathy!

 

The author of The Holy Land Key, Ray Bentley takes us through various stunning pictures the Creator has painted for the human race in his book. From the night skies to seasons and feasts we are helped to understand that God has told us the stories over and over again- His stories are history, the present and the future. 

I was excited to read what Ray had to say about topics that I am interested in and want to learn more about because he is so balanced. His book is easy to read, and well-written. I found it fascinating.

 

As a pastor taught under and ordained by Calvary Chapel's Chuck Smith I knew he had a great foundation. Calvary teaches through theBible  verse by verse and so has a strong emphasis on Bible literacy. I love to learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity but I am annoyed by the replacement theology crowd and the messianic movement in general.

I loved learning more about the Feasts of The Lord and their prophetic significance. Did you realize the feasts are the Lord's feasts? That they are meant for all of us and prophetic pictures? Foreshadowing, in the spring feasts, the coming of Jesus, and in the fall feasts, the second coming?

Ray talks about the Blood Moons (highly relevant since we just experienced one)

Establishing patterns all throughout the history of Israel, the world and the Word.

This book helped me have a richer understanding of the words in my Bible. I have thought about for years, but now more fully, the verse tells us that the natural is first and then the spiritual. (1 Cor. 15:46) God is always pointing the way! 

The Mazzaroth, the riddle of the Sphinx, the Hebrew mindset, loving the Jews and their brothers and sisters: Ishmael's children, as well to studying the Bible and looking for the patterns God placed there for us- so many things discussed in the jewel of a book! 

 

This is another one of those books I find valuable enough to read over again and assign to my highschoolers to read in our homeschool. I have spent many happy hours with it.

 

*I received this book free in exchange for an unbiased online review.

 

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