Book Review!

Every now and then I read a book worth posting about...I suppose the one I'm going to mention here is worth posting although at first I was not completely certain of it's literary value.

First of all, let me preface my review with a few things. As I've stated before, I am and always have been enamored with anything I can get my hands on regarding WWII. Ever since being a child and reading The Diary of Anne Franke, I've been hooked.

Secondly, I don't get the opportunity to read very often, which in itself is sad. However, I have a tendency to become so involved in a story that I absolutely cannot put the book down; I can't sleep until I've finished the book and after I've finished I mull over it for days. Of course, this is much more accentuated when the book is about my favorite subject.

So with that in mind, here is a brief overview of my latest read.

"The Diplomat's Wife" by Pam Jenoff~looked appealing to me by it's cover; after reading the description I was intrigued although I knew nothing of this author, nor knew if this novel type piece of literature would be my style whatsoever. I began reading the book and was drawn into it immediately as the main character is a young woman named Marta who is a prisoner in a Nazi prison. (Dachau which I have been myself) for shooting a kommandant and for being a part of a resistant group during the war. I am always drawn into such writings involving the sacrifices those have made to fight for something they believe so strongly for.

When the Allies arrived to liberate the countries held by Nazism, Marta was rescued by an American soldier. She was transported to an American Red Cross camp in Austria to be treated for her wounds and grave health due to her prison circumstances. After arriving at the camp and regaining her health, a sort of farfetched occurrence takes place and she meets the soldier who had rescued her again. At this point in the book I became annoyed as I felt this was rather too coincidental; she had imagined him to be extra gentle and special, and she worked up a crush on him prematurely in my humble opinion. So they meet, and again, too coincidentally in my opinion, strike up a friendship that from the get go is much more than a friendship-it's quite obviously sexual from the start and this is the part I did not like. The soldier is kind and loving yes, but also seems very self centered. I did not "like" him much in the beginning. But Marta falls completely in love with him but of course can't imagine how it could really ever be so that he would truly care for her.

After they spend one evening together, he and his unit have to leave to go to Paris. At this point, Marta is quite sure she will never see him again.

After he leaves, Marta's nurse discloses the fact that she has made it possible for Marta to travel to England by using the visa of another patient who has just passed away. She instructs Marta to be the bearer of the news of this patients death to her family in England. However, the visa would expire the next day, therefore, time was of complete essence. She makes it as far as Paris, and due to train backup problems cannot go any further because of the expired visa. So she is stuck there in Paris and is frantically trying to figure out what to do when lo and behold she spies who but her dream man the American soldier! Again, just too coincidental! He recognizes her as well and without going into details they actually become engaged! Then he fixes up all her tickets and visa so she can continue to London as planned and promises to meet her there in two weeks to be married. Incidentally, they also spend a night together in his hotel.

So she arrives to London, takes care of her business with the family of the deceased patient, and eagerly awaits the arrival of her new fiancé. Sadly, he never arrives. She discovers his plane has crashed and he is dead. This is devastating news of course, and she is left hopeless and in despair. She grieves for many weeks and when she finally realizes she must go on with her life, she is offered a position with the British Embassy because she speaks Polish and is told she will be a tremendous asset to their work.

She marries the man who had hired her-basically out of sheer desperation. Because, not only does she need a job and a future, but she also discovers she is pregnant from her one night stand with the American soldier.

Now the rest of the story is not told on the back cover so I will be very careful so as not to spoil the plot; yet I do want to give the book a fair review. The book skips up two years and reveals that she has had a little daughter, and is living life as best she can while working at the Embassy, caring for her daughter, and maintaining an assemblance of a normal marriage and family yet secretly grieves her lost love, and the life of which she had dreamed of with him in America.

Eventually, a situation arises, that prompts her to offer her services to fulfill duties of political nature due to her having had experience working with the resistance and some acquaintances she had. Her husband, is highly opposed to her doing this, however, she defies his wishes and travels to Prague for this political endeavor. The political scene in The Czech Republic was horrific and she is appalled and faced with extreme circumstances and difficulty to complete her task. The story gets extremely intense at this point and this is where I absolutely could not put the book down! I was riveted!

She gets betrayed, her guide from the embassy gets killed and she is all alone in a war crazed country with no ability to acquire assistance. The author does a fine job here keeping the reader glued to the pages that's for sure. Then something even more spectacular happens but I'm not going to spoil the book for you!

After a few days, she actually finishes the work she set out to do and returns home. She had been through so much that once home, she had to spend some time recuperating and missed several weeks of work. Becoming a little listless and bored she ends up doing some detective work on her own based upon some suspicions she had regarding her trip and she discovers a traitor very close to her. At the time of her discovery, her world is about to be shattered. Again, the author keeps the suspense very high and the reader is found guilty of reading until the wee hours of the night with the light of an iPhone!

I will refrain from telling the ending...but I wanted to say that even though I was a little turned off by the beginning and overly coincidental turns of events, I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense and plot of this book. I never cease to be amazed at how horrible this time was for so many people. I am always sickened beyond the very pit of my stomach at the flippancy and waste of the sanctity of human life. The book painted many pictures and scenes of how the war affected many people, Jews, Germans, peasant and diplomats alike. So many affected, in so many ways. And though I'm sure it's been said time and time again, I will always wonder about and feel guilt and shame for the purposeful ignorance shown by so many while this travesty took place. My heart is always moved with compassion and admiration for those who struggled and died senselessly. I will forever hold their memory in my heart and mind.

In conclusion, besides being intriguing and suspenseful, this book if anything, once again opened my eyes to the naked horror of war, and caused me to look around me, at what I have, and to be ever so grateful for our freedom. I cannot fathom the hell endured by so many; and I am grateful for this reminder.

-- Post From My iPhone