Songbird : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Read!
Review: An avid read about The Holocaust I began reading Songbird by Walter Zacahrius with great hopes but found myself quickly disappointed with the plot and characters. While much of the information which the author presented has been written about before, I found this tale rather ordinary at best.

Shortly before WWII, a Jewish family vacations in a resort where it becomes evident they may be in trouble when they return home. Retruning home they are privy to daily insults when the father, a doctor loses his practice and eventually their home is taken over by the Germans. When they are sent to a Ghetto their daughter and the main character of the book becomes friends with a man who is taking photos to sneak out and show the world what is happening. From the Ghetto though they are put on to a train and are on their way to a concentration camp, when the family tries to escape. But only the daughter is successful and she is then aided by a kind elserly woman till she finds members of the Resistance who help her get to the US. From here the book becomes rather imorobable although perhaps it could have happened as the young woman finds herself in Brooklyn with family members. But even a love affair with a local boy can't stop her from returning to Europe where she will avenge the deaths of her family.

Well aware of unbelivable stories and coincidences of reunions from the Holocaust, I found the beginning and then ending somewhat imprbable and tied up a bit too tidy. Like a soap opera with a happy ending, I wasn't satisfied with what was written about happening 50 years later. And perhaps the biggest problem I had with this book was the writing. For a truly emotional subject I found this book severely lacking in any kind of emotion and never felt I knew the characters that well at all.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more but didn't. I kept waiting till the last pages to like this book but the ending really confirmed my thoughts all along as I read this book. I think readers who are interested in fiction books about the Holocaust would be better off reading War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk, Exodus by Leon Uris and certainly Night by Elie Weisel.

Rating:
Summary: Factually incorrect
Review: The infamous concentration camp, Treblinka, did not come into existence until 1942. The resultant plot is predicated on it being in existence in 1940 which changes what happens to the characters. Whether this was done deliberately or totally in ignorance, does not look good for the author and researchers involved in authenticating major facts. There are such silly and juvenile scenes; such as a letter sent to daughter Mia from her father while in Treblinka asking for blankets and pillows, a French boyfriend unexpectedly found in his luxurious Paris apartment while Germans are tramping around and his dry cleaning is being delivered. Skip to 1941 Brooklyn and our heroine falls in love with an Italian clarinetist, then Pearl Harbor, her rejoining an allied group to go to France and help the cause, her subsequent adventures as lady of ill repute at a brothel and so on. It's been a long time since I have read anything as shallow as this and I hope it is the author's last try.

Rating:
Summary: Voracious Reader-Chicago
Review: This is a wonderful story that compares to many great novels about women who succeed against the odds. In addition to being filled with historical information, it is a heartfelt tribute to someone who was willing to give up her life to help in any way she could to end WWII. The story is so gripping, I was looking for more.

Rating:
Summary: A peek behind the Third Reich
Review: This was a fine novel of life as a survivor of Nazi Germany who returns during the War to exact some measure of revenge on her oppressors. Very well written with an eye for detail.