STORYLINE
It is a heartbreaking story told mostly without overly graphic descriptions though it cannot help but mention the atrocities of the war. It includes the horrific 1944 Nazi massacre of all the inhabitants of Oradour-Sur-Glane, a small village in southern France. It references the sailing of the MS St. Louis full of German-Jewish refugees that was refused docking in Cuba and elsewhere. However, those are pieces of the story, which is really about a series of impossible choices that a family had to make in an attempt to save their children. It is a story of love, of survival and of hope.
MY COMMENTS
I definitely had quibbles with the book. I questioned why the mother could not leave on the ship with her children. I wondered if a young child would have been so very knowledgeable about the war and the resistance. I found it a bit odd that the children spoke and thought like adults. In the latter part of the book, I was disappointed when the same child suddenly had the ability to foresee events almost in a psychic manner. Finally, I found it hard to believe that an 80-year-old woman, who spent her whole life feeling guilty about things she had no control over as a child, did not seek out the story of her family and childhood. Despite these issues, I enjoyed the book and here is what a few others thought.
REVIEWS
Readers on Goodreads gave it a 3.9 out of 5 stars and 72 percent of Amazon readers gave it a 4- or 5-star rating. That’s not bad.
Booklist says that author Correa presents, “a gripping and richly detailed account of lives torn apart by war.” I agree with that.
The New York Times, on their Summer Historical Fiction Reading list for 2009, said that The Daughter’s Tale is “better written and more tightly edited than most books in this genre, and the story line is breathtakingly threaded together from start to finish with the sound of a beating heart.” Is that overly generous? In my view, it may be.
I believe that people who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this book even if it is not my favorite nor the best of the many World War II themed novels available. If you want to check it out for yourself, you can buy your own copy of The Daughter’s Tale on Amazon by clicking right here.
If you do read it, be sure to come back and share your thoughts with us. If you enjoy it, you might also like Armando Lucas Correa’s previous novel, The German Girl.
See you
At the bookstore!
Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
Quick Links:
Buy The Daughter’s Tale from Amazon.
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I do enjoy historical fiction, although I normally steer clear of any fiction about the holocaust. Even if one survives, there are simply too many family and friends that do not. That would most likely be the hardest part of the book for me. I very much appreciate your honest review and opinion.
ReplyDeleteA very honest and interesting book review. I do enjoy books about World War II and would probably find this one interesting. I will look for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your candid review of this book and the aspects of the storyline that detracted from its credibility. As someone whose grandparents both fled their respective homelands to escape the terrors of the pogroms (organized massacres of Eastern European Jews) in Austria and Russia, I would not voluntarily read any novel about the Holocaust. That said, I always appreciate your thoughtful book reviews, and this one is no exception!
ReplyDeleteI will have to look for this book. I have read several novels from this era and find them all very readable and interesting. Thank you for this review.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very good book despite the few items you weren't keen on. Thanks for the heads up on this one.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review - we've read many books from this era which are thought provoking,but definitely difficult to read because of the history.
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