I usually enjoy books during this time frame and historical viewpoint, this one was very dry more historical factual..

It covers the author's journey and research. The stories of the survivors are clearly well researched but the presentation is quite dry. If you enjoy the research and process the author takes in documenting the stories and people during this time, you may enjoy this book.
It didn't really work for me but it may be b

Thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword

I have read dozens and dozens of books about WWII, both fiction and non-fiction, this one I found somewhat different than the ordinary biography, auto-biography or memoir.
It begins with the author writing/talking to his mother, whom I gather from reading was not a mother that was there for him. She was somewhat distant, preoccupied, not warm nor loving and as I understood it, the author was pretty much raised by other family members. He talks about how these family members put his mother on a pedestal and pretty much worshipped her, this mad him angry and upset, he couldn't see how this cold, distant person he knew was deserving of the adulation they put forth.
His mother, like the biggest part of the survivors from that awful time in our history did not talk about it, did not share, they kept a huge part of themselves hidden, this I understand. I understand it because my father served the duration of the USAs involvement in the war, from northern Africa, through Italy, France, and into Germany when the camps were liberated, and never spoke a word about it once he came home.
This book is about the author's quest to know and understand his mother, years after her death he was still seeking knowledge of her. Through a series of interviews with others that he found were with his mother during this horrific time period he learns what made his mother the person he knew. It is an intimate look at what these women endured and their bravery it has taken to share their stories.
It is a hard book to read, it does skip around but if you take the time it is a really touching story and one everyone needs to hear.
I enjoyed it very much and would recommend to serious students of WWII and the Holocaust, this is a don't miss book for them.
Thank you to Pen and Sword publishing and Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

The Violinist Of Auschwitz - Jean-Jacques Felstein

I've read a few Auschwitz novels, seven or eight so far, from those that really tug on the heart strings to the drier more historical factual.

This one is at the historical end, but is a lot about the author's journey and research. The stories of the survivors are clearly well researched but the presentation is quite dry.

It didn't really work for me but it may be better suited to historical readers and those who enjoy seeing the journey of the research laid out of the page.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword

A truly inspirational book. The stories told are heartbreaking. The author’s writing style is to tell the story like a diary entry and to make you part of it. A great read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story told was beautiful and well written. I have read many a book about the Holocaust and this was incredibly touching... Every time I read one I saw, no more but this was an excellent book.

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Books about World War II catch my attention, I find them so interesting. And I can say that this book taught me a lot. They way jewish people got treated just broke my heart, it‘s insane.

I recommend this book for everyone who‘s interested in World War II

Just finished this remarkable five star read!
Arrested in 1943 and deported to Auschwitz, Elsa survived because she had the 'opportunity' to join the women's orchestra. But Elsa kept her story a secret, even from her own family. Indeed, her son would only discover what had happened to his mother many years later, after gradually unearthing her unbelievable story following her premature death, without ever having revealed her secret to anyone.

Jean-Jacques Felstein was determined to reconstruct Elsa's life in Birkenau, and would go in search of other orchestra survivors in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Israel and the United States. The recollections of Hélène, first violin, Violette, third violin, Anita, a cellist, and other musicians, allowed him to rediscover his 20-year-old mother, lost in the heart of hell.

The story unfolds in two intersecting stages: one, contemporary, is that of the investigation, the other is that of Auschwitz and its unimaginable daily life, as told by the musicians. They describe the recitals on which their very survival depended, the incessant rehearsals, the departure in the mornings for the forced labourers to the rhythm of the instruments, the Sunday concerts, and how Mengele pointed out the pieces in the repertoire he wished to listen to in between 'selections'. Definitely want to read this one!

I have read this book slowly because I found it confusing at times. I was hoping it would feel more like reading a novel than it actually does. The book is interesting, yet the accounts of how Jewish people were treated are disturbing and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the people who lived through such a sad era in history. Thanks to author Jean-Jacques Felstein, publisher Pen & Sword History, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.