Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris, 352 pages. St. Martin’s Press, 2019. $20.
Language: R (14 swears, 23 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Auschwitz should have been the worst of it. Cilka should be grateful that time is behind her. But moving from one hell to another isn’t much cause to celebrate. Now in a Siberian labor camp, Cilka has to face the same choice she lives with the shame of making in Auschwitz: will she fight to live or let herself die?
I hate to say that this book was beautiful and I love it because of the true cruelty of things that were done during and after WWII, but I don’t know what else to say. Morris made the tragedy and harsh realities beautiful as she shared truth and fiction of what did and could have happened in Cilka’s suffering through back-to-back injustices. Reading and knowing that the challenges faced by Cilka and those around her were real situations faced by real people made their story both harder and more necessary to read. This is a story of strength, endurance, and love. This book is only marked “optional” because of the frequent use of the f-word, otherwise I would have marked it “advisable.” The mature content rating is for frequent mentions of rape; the violence rating is for gore from fights, mining accidents, and work in a hospital.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment