Review: Cilka's Journey: A Novel

Cilka's Journey: A Novel by Heather Morris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into this book expecting one thing, but got another. Perhaps it is my fault for not reading the description closely enough, but I was expecting more about Cilka's stay in Auschwitz. However, this book mainly deals with what came after her stay in the German concentration camp, when she was moved to a Russian-controlled gulag in Siberia. While it wasn't what I was anticipating, this does not mean it's a bad thing. I still really enjoyed this book.

Knowing that this book is based on a true story makes it all the more powerful. Cilka truly did go on a journey, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Though she was forced into horrendous circumstances in Auschwitz, she internalized and blamed herself, leading to her growing sense of shame and relentless pursuit of atonement.

I did not care for the writing style, which prevents it from being a 5 star. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just felt "off" about it.

This book covers themes of shame, redemption, family, friendship, war, and rebuilding. I definitely recommend it.

ARC received from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Comments

Review: A Christmas Carol Murder

A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond on Tour November 1 - December 31, 2020 Synopsis: The latest novel from Heather Redmond’s acclaimed mystery series finds young Charles Dickens suspecting a miser of pushing his partner out a window, but his fiancée Kate Hogarth takes a more charitable view of the old man's innocence . . . London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws. Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who's behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley's corpse is stolen. Followi...

Review: Mercy Creek

Mercy Creek by M.E. Browning October 11 - November 5, 2021 Tour Synopsis: In an idyllic Colorado town, a young girl goes missing—and the trail leads into the heart and mind of a remorseless killer. The late summer heat in Echo Valley, Colorado turns lush greenery into a tinder dry landscape. When a young girl mysteriously disappears, long buried grudges rekindle. Of the two Flores girls, Marisa was the one people pegged for trouble. Her younger sister, Lena, was the quiet daughter, dutiful and diligent—right until the moment she vanished. Detective Jo Wyatt is convinced the eleven-year-old girl didn’t run away and that a more sinister reason lurks behind her disappearance. For Jo, the case is personal, reaching far back into her past. But as she mines Lena’s fractured family life, she unearths a cache of secrets and half-lies that paints a darker picture. As the evidence mounts, so do the suspects, and when a witness steps forward with a shocking new revelation, Jo...

Review: Bird in Hand

Bird in Hand by Nikki Stern on Tour November 1-14, 2020 Synopsis: When the body of popular local guide Arley Fitchett washes up onto Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Lieutenant Sam Tate, just two months at her new job, is charged with investigating his death. She learns the dead man was searching for a carving he believed had been hidden in the area by pirates in 1718. He’s not the only one. Several others shared Fitchett’s obsession with the bird with the sapphire eye. But which one of them is the murderer—or the next victim? And how long does Sam have to catch a killer before her own past catches up with her? " The book... allows Tate to more fully come into herown as a formidable character on whose shoulders future procedurals could confidentially be placed. " ~ Kirkus Reviews " Bird in Hand will have prior Sam fans and newcomers thoroughly engrossed, all the way to the unexpected end. " ~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review " Eve...

Books with Bircky

Search This Blog