Everyone who has read some of my book reviews knows that I love historical novels. I am fascinated with the World War II era, as it has impacted my family as well.
War is horrendous and of that there is no doubt, but I think we all need reminding that war can turn "normal" humans into savage beasts.
A Song of Silence is a book that is hard to read and harder to put down. Steve Lee's characters are all based on true life people that were able to corroborate the "horrors" that were inflicted on so many people all over Europe, during the uprisings in 1938-1939 and beyond!
A Song of Silence is a love story and a story of unbridled heroism and self-giving.
Mirek Kozlowski is running an orphanage for children who have been displaced by marauding Nazi henchmen. Mirek takes in all the children that are brought to him. People in his village know that he will take care of them and give them some much needed "normalcy" in a world gone crazy. His orphanage houses over 80 youngsters, Mirek feeds and houses them all and treats each one of them like they were his own son or daughter. There is the classrooms where Mirek insists the children learn to read. It is what a child between the ages of 6 to 13 should understand, schooling!. Mirek's hope is to give these children a loving and caring home where they should have no fears. So many of them have already seen much more than a child should.
His little town in Poland so far has not been noticed by the Nazi's and he hopes that it will stay that way until the war is over. But, that will not be the case.
Mirek knew it was a long shot that they could remain unscathed from the realities that was happening all over Poland. But he was an optimist at heart. reality tells him to have the children ready for anything! The worst case scenario would be to taunt the Nazi's with "Polish" sentiments and identity. He needs to train the children on what to do if that worst case scenario actually happens. Everyone has been trained on what to do in case of an "unexpected visit" by the Nazi's.
Everything Polish has been put away and all things German now fill the classroom. It was a sickening sight for Mirek and the children, but needed to be done. Safety of the children was most important and after all and this was just window dressing.
Ania (Anne Maria) Kisiell comes to work with Baba Hanka (the housekeeper) and meets Mirek for the first time. Ania and Hanka work to keep the children fed and the house in a reasonable state of order. Hard to do with so many youngsters.
This is the background of Mirek and Ania's story, the start of a love story that you will not soon forget. But I must confess that I won't tell you anymore now! This book has to go on your reading list and I know that you will be touched by the self-sacrifice and love that both Mirek and Ania shower down on the children in their care.
I could not put A Song of Silence down and I have read many World War II novels over the years. This one will be etched on my mind for a long time. A Song of Silence is one book that you should not miss!
This book gets a ***** (Five) Star rating from me and I don't give those up too easily.
It is out on May 12 and available to you through Amazon.com, Kindle edition and many national book retailers. Steve N. Lee is a masterful story teller, you will not be disappointed!
Thank you for sharing my book with your readers, Olivia.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you enjoyed Mirek's story so much. And appreciate your restraint with regard to spoilers!
I know you rarely give 5-star ratings, so I'm thrilled you found this book worthy of that award. Thank you.
When a book keeps me turning pages till dawn, it has to get those 5 stars and it was my pleasure to read it and review it! I appreciate your comment too!
DeleteOlivia, this sounds like a really fascinating book. I have always been interested in stories from World War II as well, so will definitely be putting this novel on my To-Read list. Thanks for telling me about it.
ReplyDeleteYou won't be disappointed that's for sure. I had trouble not telling too much of the story, it's that good. My review could have gone on for another 2 or 3 pages.....
DeleteBased on your review, I have no doubt this is a fabulous must-read historical fiction! Since I am already a Steve N. Lee fan, I would have eventually gotten around to reading this book. However, now it is going to the top of my list and I look forward to reading it soon. I can already tell it is going to be a thought-provoking and emotional read. Thank you for the recommendation and review!
ReplyDeleteVery emotional and yes it will leave you thinking for a long time. That it is based in true life makes it that much more troubling/endearing/sad and all of those things....
DeleteOlivia, this sounds like a thoroughly engrossing story based on tragic, true historical events. I could feel my heart and my gut clench just from reading your review. Thank you so much for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely gut wrenching. War is never a good thing in my mind, it brings out the worst in many people. But we need to remind ourselves of the heroes in those hard times too!
DeleteThis sounds like a difficult book to read, but I can image how you're right, that it would be hard to put down. We love WWII historical movie dramas - there is one movie that I vowed never to watch again "Sophie's Choice" as it honestly traumatized me; I still try to block that movie out of my head. This book sounds riveting. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteIn a way it is very sad, yet beautiful in the end. Choices when life gets really hard are sometimes even harder to look back on. But there is so much love there too!
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