*AD-gifted: I received a copy of The Girl in the Striped Dress in exchange for this post. Affiliate links are marked with a *
Today it’s my stop on the tour for *The Girl in the Striped dress by Ellie Midwood. An unforgettable novel based on a true story that has brought to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz in 1942, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.
Book Description
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you.
Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit.
When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him.
Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate.
What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one.
What I Thought
I was totally impressed by this book. Any stories from Auschwitz are hard to read and don’t get me wrong this one is as well. But I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked on the love story of the SS soldier and the Jewish inmate. Thoroughly well written, told by both characters. The book flits back between 1942-1945 and then to 1947 when the SS soldier Franz is at his tribunal for denazification.
There is much tenderness and care, amongst the suffering and pain in The Girl in the Striped Dress. One scene, in particular, stands out for me (I can’t say without spoiling it for you!) where they could be anywhere together and you kind of forget who Franz is. Their love for each other is powerful and strong. They are hopeful of a future despite the odds stacked against Helena.
It’s a book that stayed with me for a long time after. I can’t wait to check out the author’s other books if they are as good as this one! Highly recommended, but be warned it does contain terrifying scenes and not for the faint-hearted.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the read.
Author Bio
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.’ Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.
Social Media
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EllieMidwood/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliemidwood/
Website: http://elliemidwood.com/
Buy Links
*Amazon https://amzn.to/2VEFwE5
Audible
Books On Tour
Here is a list of the other bloggers on The Girl In The Striped Dress Books on Tour. Why not head over and check out their reviews!
Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you’ve enjoyed this review. You can check out my bookcase of past reviews here.
Interesting story but I’m really bothered by the references to “Slovakia” and “Czech” as Czechoslovakia did not split until 1992-1993. Can anyone explain this?
If this is as heartbreaking as the boy in the striped pjamas I am not sure I can take it! I will have to be in the right mood.
Beautiful read will really enjoy this ine