Karl's Reading List

Published by Coronet Books/Hodder and Stoughton/Hemisphere Publishers Ltd: Great Britain, 1983 (1982). What a book to end the year with! Schindler's Ark is the book that inspired the movie Schindler's List (and is known by the latter name in some countries). It is also a Booker book, which meant I really had no idea what I was in for. The book (and the movie) tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner living in the Polish city of Crakow during World War 2, relating how he saved the lives of about 1200 Jews by labelling them as 'essential workers'. Stating it that way makes it sound as though Schindler did very little 'heroic', yet throughout the book he continually takes big risks to achieve his goal, both in terms of his own safety, and also in financial terms. The book, being about Jews in WW2, is obviously not a 'light' book, yet Keneally tells it in a way that really 'works'. His style here is an interesting one; he tells...

Published by Longacre Press: Dunedin, New Zealand, 2008 (1992). This story, based largely on the memories of the author's mother, is a harrowing look at a very tragic part of history. Krystyna is a Polish girl who ends up getting deported to Siberia with her family during World War 2. In the forced labour camp to which they are sent, Krystyna's family members one by one die off, until only Krystyna remains. The intensity of this first section of the book is fairly consistent, and is at times hard to read about what such a large number of people went through, along with wondering how people can treat their fellow humans in such ways. The second part of the story, by comparison, is far more palatable. Krystyna is selected as one of a number of Polish children who are re-homed in New Zealand. In this section Krystyna still faces isolation, loneliness, and culture shock, but it is almost a relief to see that these are the 'only' issues she faces after the war ends - rat...