If we seal off the past, how will we ever know the truth? In 1942, in Nazi-occupied Poland, a Jewish child was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto in a backpack. That child was Karen Kirsten's mother, but she knew nothing about this extraordinary event until one day a letter arrived from a stranger. After Karen eventually discovered the grandparents she loved dearly were in fact not her biological grandparents, she travelled the globe to uncover her family's past and to find the answers to baffling questions: why did her ...
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If we seal off the past, how will we ever know the truth? In 1942, in Nazi-occupied Poland, a Jewish child was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto in a backpack. That child was Karen Kirsten's mother, but she knew nothing about this extraordinary event until one day a letter arrived from a stranger. After Karen eventually discovered the grandparents she loved dearly were in fact not her biological grandparents, she travelled the globe to uncover her family's past and to find the answers to baffling questions: why did her adoptive grandmother treat Karen's mother so unkindly? Why did she hide the truth that she was her mother's aunt? And why, if she appeared to dislike Karen's mother, did she risk her life to save her and bring her to Australia? Irena's Gift weaves together a mystery, history and memoir to tell the story of a family torn apart by war. From the glittering concert halls of interbellum Warsaw to the vermin-infested prison where a Jewish woman negotiates with an SS officer to save her sister's child, Irena's Gift is about the lies we tell to survive and what happens when those lies unravel. It is about the extraordinary resilience of three generations of women, and the sacrifices made for love.
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Add this copy of Irena's Gift: An epic World War II memoir of sisters, to cart. $15.05, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Mardle Books.
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Add this copy of Irena's Gift: an Epic World War II Memoir of Sisters, to cart. $15.06, very good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2023 by Mardle Books.
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I don't really know how to review this book because on the one hand, it was incredible and clearly well researched but on the other, the way it was written made me really struggle to connect with it or the characters as it felt like it was disjointed and it didn't really flow very well for me.
Karen is researching the history of her family which takes her on a difficult but enlightening journey of discovery from pre-war Poland, to the horrendous years of World War II and Nazi persecution, the end of the war and up to the present day; it is an illuminating and heart-breaking story of survival and of the impact the war years had on that generation and on the generations to come.
Now whilst I found the style of writing didn't work for me, the story itself was incredible and therefore I would recommend to people who enjoy this genre as it could work for you as it has for others who have read and reviewed this book.
Many thanks to the author, Ad Lib Publishers, Mardle Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Irena's Gift.
