Wendy Holden in the Spotlight

 

Born Survivors by Wendy Holden 

Finalist in the 2015 Goodreads Book of the Year

 

 

 

Book description:

Among millions of Holocaust victims sent to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1944, Priska, Rachel, and Anka each passed through its infamous gates with a secret. Strangers to each other, they were newly pregnant, and facing an uncertain fate without their husbands. Alone, scared, and with so many loved ones already lost to the Nazis, these young women were privately determined to hold on to all they had left: their lives, and those of their unborn babies.

That the gas chambers ran out of Zyklon-B just after the babies were born, before they and their mothers could be exterminated, is just one of several miracles that allowed them all to survive and rebuild their lives after World War II. Born Survivors follows the mothers' incredible journey - first to Auschwitz, where they each came under the murderous scrutiny of Dr. Josef Mengele; then to a German slave labour camp where, half-starved and almost worked to death, they struggled to conceal their condition; and finally, as the Allies closed in, their hellish 17-day train journey with thousands of other prisoners to the Mauthausen death camp in Austria.

Hundreds died along the way but the courage and kindness of strangers, including guards and civilians, helped save these women and their children. Sixty-five years later, the three 'miracle babies' met for the first time at Mauthausen for the anniversary of the liberation that ultimately saved them. United by their remarkable experiences of survival against all odds, they now consider each other "siblings of the heart."

In Born Survivors, now published in 21 countries and translated into 16 languages, Wendy Holden brings all three stories together for the first time to mark their seventieth birthdays and the seventieth anniversary of the ending of the war. A heart-stopping account of how three mothers and their newborns fought to survive the Holocaust, Born Survivors is also a life-affirming celebration of our capacity to care and to love amid inconceivable cruelty.

“An exceptionally fresh history, a work of prodigious original research, written with zealous empathy.” New York Times

 

"Holden weaves.. written, oral and recorded accounts, plus an array of historical records, into a spellbinding story of perseverance amid systematic abuse." American Jewish World

“One of the most important books of the year.” Last Word Reviews

About the Author:

 

Wendy Holden was a journalist for eighteen years, including a decade at the Daily Telegraph where she worked as a foreign and war correspondent. She is author and the co-author of more than thirty books, including several bestselling wartime biographies, including Tomorrow to be Brave, Till the Sun Grows Cold, and Behind Enemy Lines. She lives in Suffolk, England with her husband and two dogs and divides her time between the U.K. and the U.S.

 

Website and blog: www.wendyholden.com Wendy also invites you to follow her on Facebook at the.real.wendyholden, on Twitter @wendholden, at wendholden on Instagram and on Tumblr, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

We Are All Made of Stars- Rowan Coleman

The Blurb

Do not miss me, because I will always be with you…I am the air, the moon, the stars. For we are all made of stars, my beloved... Wherever you look, I will be there.

Stella Carey exists in a world of night. Married to a soldier who has returned from Afghanistan injured in body and mind, she leaves the house every evening as Vincent locks himself away, along with the secrets he brought home from the war.

During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones - some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain – and promises to post these messages after their deaths.

Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if she delivers it in time…

The Review

Told through scenes from multiple viewpoints and a series of letters, We Are All Made of Stars is a wonderfully evocative novel about life and love.  Rowan Coleman has an incredible talent for writing books which cover all bases- humour, romance, drama, emotion- and her latest release continues in this vein.

Stella, the nurse who writes letters for terminally ill patients, was such an endearing character, I couldn't help but warm to her.  She has this sharp perception when it comes to other people's lives, yet in her own she's almost plodding along and unable to make the changes she longs for in order to reignite her marriage. 

Through the letters Stella writes, often revealing her patients innermost thoughts and secrets, the plot of the novel slowly becomes clear, the links between the characters more apparent and the story unfolds.  That sounds a bit woolly, I know, but I don't want to spoil the beauty of this book for anyone who might be thinking about reading it!  What I will say is that We Are All Made of Stars made me want to reach out and hug everyone I love, to let them know just how much they mean to me. 

Whilst the story itself is touching, it's the letters that make this book.  Letters where parents open up to their children, where lovers share their emotions, where apologies are made for the mistakes of the past.  They are somehow both tender and hard-hitting, and that's why I sobbed uncontrollably as I read this book.  They are everything you want to say to the people you value, and everything you hope you will know when those you love die.  These letters blew my mind.

We Are All Made of Stars is an incredibly uplifting read, despite the sensitive themes.  Much like The Memory Book, this will stay with me long after the final page, and that to me is the sign of a very special novel, and a very special author.  Rowan Coleman- you little star.

High Wages- Dorothy Whipple

The Blurb- taken from the Persephone Website

It is about a girl called Jane who gets a badly-paid job in a draper’s shop in the early years of the last century. Yet the title of the book is based on a Carlyle quotation – ‘Experience doth take dreadfully high wages, but she teacheth like none other’ – and Jane, having saved some money and been lent some by a friend, opens her own dress-shop.

As Jane Brocket writes in her Persephone Preface: the novel ‘is a celebration of the Lancastrian values of hard work and stubbornness, and there could be no finer setting for a shop-girl-made-good story than the county in which cotton was king.’ And the cultural historian Catherine Horwood has written about this novel: ‘Dorothy Whipple was only too well aware that clothes were one of the keys to class in this period. Before WW1, only the well-off could afford to have their clothes made: yards of wool crepe and stamped silks were turned into costumes by an invisible army of dressmakers across the country, and the idea of buying clothes ready-made from a dress shop was still unusual. Vera Brittain talks of “hand-me-downs” in Testament of Youth with a quite different meaning from today. These were not clothes passed from sibling to sibling but “handed down from a rack” in an outfitter’s shop, a novelty.’ High Wages describes how the way people shopped was beginning to change; it is this change that Dorothy Whipple uses as a key turning point in her novel.

The Review

I read High Wages for the Sheffield Persephone Book Group, and we last Thursday we met at Bird's Yard Sheffield to discuss our latest read.  Here are a few of my thoughts about the book.

High Wages had appealed to me for a long time, mainly because everything I'd read about it indicated it was the story of a young woman starting a business and making her way in the world.  Although written in 1930, the book is set from c1912 into the 1920s, and I'd expected Whipple's novel to offer a good insight into the life of ambitious women in this pivotal period in history.

The opening scenes, where Jane takes a job at a large department store, grabbed my attention.  I could imagine the shop windows and down-on-her-luck Jane peering into them full of hopes and aspirations.  I wanted to know where the plot would go and if this would be the inspirational shop girl-made-good story I hoped for.

It's fair to say I was surprised when the emphasis of the story shifted to romance, as although it's an ever-popular theme in literature- particularly that aimed at women- the reviews and articles I'd seen focussed on the elements of fashion, business and society within the novel.  Jane, who in the early chapters appears to be quite an 'average' girl in every sense, seems to turn men's heads left, right and centre.  The creative Wilf and attractive Noel both show signs of interest in Jane, and there's also evidence of her hold over other men, such as mentioned in the scene at the ball.  I imagine some of these scenes were considered quite risqué when the book was first published.  As a reader of contemporary romance, I can see how High Wages might be considered an early example of modern women's fiction-it had a lot in common with the bestselling 'chicklit' titles I've read recently. 

Whilst I liked the writing style and some of the more vividly painted scenes (especially the visit to the seaside which captured the essence of the great British holiday), I longed for more consistent character development.  It felt hard to get to know who Jane was and what she wanted, and although I mostly wished her success there were times I thought she acted inconsistently.  However, High Wages is early Whipple, written at a time when she was developing her style and honing her writing skills, and I can imagine her later works are more well-rounded in a literary sense.

High Wages was a page turner of a book and I can see why it appeals to the modern reader.  It just wasn't what I'd expected.  If you're interested in social history, the development of women's fiction and enjoy a good old-fashioned love triangle, High Wages might be for you.

High Wages is out now, published in paperback by Persephone Books.

Letters to the Lost- Iona Grey

The Blurb
1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London…

Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five.

… He promised to love her forever

Seventy years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness. But Stella has gone, and the letter is opened by Jess, a young girl hiding from problems of her own. And as Jess reads Dan's words, she is captivated by the story of a love affair that burned so bright and dimmed too soon. Can she help Dan find Stella before it is too late?

Now forever is finally running out.

The Review
This is one of those reviews which is going to be a challenge to write because I loved it so much!  I'm not sure I can do justice to Iona Grey's fabulous debut, however much I try, but I'll do my best...

Every once in a while a book comes along which blows your mind and breaks your heart.  Letters to the Lost is one of those books.  Regular readers of my blogs and reviews know I love a good romance and especially one that will have me weeping uncontrollably.  This book is a dual timeframe and both stories had me broken and turned me into a jibbering wreck!

The first story is that of Stella and Dan, thrown together in wartime London.  Their secret affair brings them temporary happiness in the most desperate of times, but circumstances mean they cannot stay together.  If this had been set in a more modern era their relationship could have seemed seedy or immoral, but I found it just devastating!  Dan was the perfect hero, a brave and humble man in uniform, fighting for justice. 

There were some disturbing scenes in Dan and Stella's story, as well as emotional turmoil and a whole lot of angst, but somehow it remained mostly uplifting, buoyed along by their love and hope.  That says a huge amount about the skill of Iona Grey as a writer.

Jess is the modern-day protagonist, a young lady who has fallen on hard times as she escapes an abusive relationship.  My heart was in my mouth for her, willing her to find a safe, stable home and someone to give her the TLC she deserves.  She breaks into an empty house, never expecting it to bring anything more than a temporary roof over her vulnerable head.  When she opens a letter addressed to Stella that arrives at the house, Jess makes it her mission to find her.  Unravelling the mystery of what happened to Stella becomes Jess's purpose, and through that her own life changes beyond all recognition.

Without giving away the plot, this is a rollercoaster ride of a novel which has you full of the joy of love one moment and crushed by the life's realities the next.  I had to put this book to one side at one point, not because of any direct parallels between the plot and my own life, but because it made me reassess how one event can impact on your whole being and change your path.  I challenge anyone who reads this book not to become slightly introspective, because it really does examine the 'what- if's and the 'if-only's.

I loved the delicate twists, unforced and totally believable, and Iona Grey's exquisite writing style.  She's a definite talent and I'm already awaiting her next release with bated breath (and a box of tissues, if it is anything like Letters to the Lost).

One of the best debut novels you're ever likely to read.

Letters to the Lost is out now, published by Simon and Schuster. 

With thanks to the publisher for providing me with a galley copy of this book in return for an honest review.

'You've Never Read Captain Corelli's Mandolin?!'

It's 'You've Never Read....?!' week on Books with Bunny, and I have some lovely guest bloggers coming later in the week sharing the books that they have never read.  As book bloggers, people seem to think we have read every classic, every bestseller, every current chart smash, when of course in reality there isn't the time (and sometimes the inclination) to do this.  Like anyone who reads, we have to be choosy, infact possibly moreso as we are so aware of the array of books that are released. 

I'm kicking off 'You've Never Read....?!' week with one of the books I haven't read.  Actually, I have tried, numerous times, to read Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres but I just cannot get into it.

I wanted to love it.  It was in the BBC Big Read list and my best friend raves about it.  Another very close friend asked me to do a reading at her wedding, which was a massive honour, and- you've guessed it- it was from Captain Corelli's Mandolin!*

I love a good love story and had been promised that this was right up there with the best of them, but I just couldn't get past all the war talk.  I really don't like books about wars, unless they are more about the people rather than the politics.  The characters in Captain Corelli's Mandolin seem to be caricatures and held no appeal to me. 

I've never seen the film either, despite it being a box office hit. 

This one just isn't for me.

*This is the reading that I did at Helen and Ashley's wedding in 2009.  It is completely beautiful and rereading it now makes me think perhaps I should try this book again.  But then I remember the pea in the ear and the monotony of the war and history talk and I think I probably won't.

Love is a temporary madness,
it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.
And when it subsides you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.Love is not breathlessness,
it is not excitement,
it is not the promulgation of eternal passion.That is just being "in love" which any fool can do.Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,
and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground,
and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches,
they find that they are one tree and not two.

Cross My Heart-Carmen Reid *Review, author top 10 and giveaway!*

I am a huge fan of Carmen Reid.  I first came across her Annie Valentine 'shopper' books a couple of years ago now, and found them a laugh-out-loud funny.  Similar to Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series, they are thoroughly entertaining reads.  Carmen is also the author of the St Jude's series of teen books.  A modern spin on the popular boarding school genre, they are humorous, fast-paced reads.

Today on Books with Bunny you can read my review of her latest novel, the heartbreaking war story Cross My Heart, discover Carmen's favourite reads as a teen and there is also the opportunity to WIN one of three of Cross My Heart via a rafflecopter giveaway!  What more could you ask for?!

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When I heard that Cross my Heart was being released I was slightly overexcited- a completely new approach from one of my favourite authors was definitely something to celebrate!  I have messaged Carmen quite a bit via her facebook page and knew that this book held a special significance for her and desperately hoped that it would live up to my high expectations. 

I needn't have had any concerns.  Cross My Heart proves just how versatile Carmen Reid is as an author, demonstrated by her ability to tackle the horrific subject matter of WWII in a sensitive, informative manner. 

Nicole, a fifteen year old Belgian girl, finds her life thrown upside down when the Nazis invade.  Her best friend Lottie is a German Jew and flees Belgium seeking safety, her Papa disappears without trace and before long Nicole decides she has to make a stand.  Against her family's wishes, Nicole and her friend Anton join the Resistance to help fight for the freedom of their country. Nicole is determined and gutsy, yet finds there are still moral dilemmas however strongly you believe in a cause.  Essentially a war story, Cross My Heart also encompasses romance and family loyalty ensuring that there is something that will appeal to readers of a wide range of genres.

Although aimed at teens, Cross My Heart has a strong plot that will also appeal to adults.  The story skips along at incredible pace and I found myself greedily turning the pages to discover Nicole and Anton's fate.  It is almost unimaginable to someone who has grown up in a safe, relatively peaceful society that Cross My Heart is based around fact.  Our generation has a responsibility to educate and inform our children about the horrific acts committed during both World Wars.  Books such as Cross My Heart are vital in doing this by providing a vivid account of how life may have been for teens during this time, and I hope that Carmen Reid's latest offering will be as widely read as other children's books set in this era such as John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Nina Bawden's Carrie's War. 

Cross My Heart is out now, published by Corgi Childrens.

8.5/10
With thanks to Corgi for sending me a review copy of Cross My Heart in return for an honest review.

If you would like to read Cross My Heart, why not enter the rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom of this blog post?  Good luck!
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An avid reader as well as an author, Carmen was keen to share the books that she loved as a young teen with Books with Bunny.  Here are some of her favourites and why they appeal to her...

Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic Gibbon

So romantic and so sad. This book is set in the part of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where I grew up. Yes the skies and landscape really are as beautiful as described. I love Chris, the central character, and her journey from teenager to young woman.

Little Women  - Louisa May Alcott

One of my absolute favourites. The four March sisters are so well portrayed with their quarrels and their quirks and their big ambitions for life. They are on the brink of womanhood and they have big plans for their future. I have two sisters and although the Marchs live in America in the 1800s, so many of their thoughts and feelings were familiar.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

A heartbreak of a book. I’ve read it so many times. I love the rural England portrayed here and poor, gorgeous Tess. She’s so badly treated and nothing ever goes right for her. You’ll never feel quite the same about eating a strawberry after this story.

The Yearling - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

A beautiful story about a boy and a wild fawn who becomes his pet. But it’s not sentimental, this is a story set in a harsh, small farming community with a tragic ending.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

A brilliant book packed with totally memorable characters: Scout, Jem, Atticus, Mrs Dubose and her azaleas, scary Boo Radley in the cellar next door. It’s funny, sad, thoughtful and wonderful. A tale of racism and injustice which both seem all the worse as seen through children’s eyes. 

Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

I was a devoted fan of the TV series, so went on to read all the books I could find in this series. It’s about a family growing up in rural America and I was captivated.

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

This is also set in rural America, but it’s more serious and grown up. Two farm workers are searching for a happier life, despite all the hardship they encounter.

The complete novels of Nancy Mitford

I’ve read all of Nancy Mitford’s books (I think!) and I just love her sense of humour. This is upper crust English society and although she makes fun of it most of the time, there are some lovely characters portrayed with real feeling. I always loved the story of the girl who runs off to Paris to be with romantic Frenchman Padrice.

Letters from my Windmill - Alphonse Daudet

Lovely stories from rural France which we would occasionally be read at bedtime.

My father’s Glory - Marcel Pagnol

I loved this book and did in fact read it in French. It’s all about a boy growing up in the heart of Provence. There is a lot of detail about hunting all kinds of little birds and creatures which I remember finding totally fascinating.

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Books with Bunny has three copies of Cross My Heart to give away to lucky winners.  Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below-  the competition closes on Friday 30th August.  Winners will be informed shortly after this date.




 

 

 

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