Staff Picks

April is National Holocaust Month and like other history months, it should be remembered as a warning for the future. Here are some wonderful works of fiction I’ve read recently on this most important and difficult subject.

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Many are calling The Storyteller Picoult’s best book yet, and that is high praise for this beloved author. Picoult puts a human face on the Holocaust in this novel which centers around the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. Sage Singer, a young baker and a loner, has a past she wants to hide behind. One day, she befriends a beloved elderly man she recognizes from her grief counseling group. Josef Weber confesses an evil secret to her, one he’s hidden for sixty years, even from his own wife. Weber asks Sage for an impossible favor and while Sage struggles morally with this difficult request, the novel delves into the past from Sage’s Polish grandmother, Minka’s, point of view. Magnificently intertwined stories are laced together, past and present, to give the reader a most thought-provoking, gripping, and sorrowful look at a difficult subject. This is one of those books you can’t put down, but when you finally do, you still have it in your head and heart for days to come.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

This dark fable is told through the eyes of naive and innocent Bruno, the 9-year-old son of the commandant at Auschwitz, an innocent boy who has no real understanding of what’s going on around him. After his move from Berlin to Auschwitz (a place Bruno calls “Out-With”), he befriends Schmuel, a boy on the other side of the fence who wears “striped pajamas”. It's an incredible story that leaves you thinking about the ugliness of the Holocaust, the prejudice, and the nature of man.

City of Women by David Gillem

David Gillham, author and screenwriter, depicts a vividly cinematic recreation of 1943 Berlin to perfection. Though City of Women is more about World War II in general it also explores what happens when ordinary people are thrust into extraordinary times, and how the choices they make can be the difference between life and death.

 It is 1943 and the Second World War is in full force. With nearly all the men off to war, Berlin has become a city of women. Sigrid Schröder is a German soldier’s wife, struggling to get by on a daily basis while her husband, Kaspar, is off fighting the war. Faced with a lackluster marriage, caring for her meddling, unpleasant mother-in-law, and working every day to get by, Sigrid begins to question her tedious daily existence. And she also has a secret. She dreams of her former lover, who is a Jew.

Gilham masterfully weaves haunting and sensual story-telling with gripping suspense in this award winning debut novel.

Beth Moore

Information Specialist

The Literazzi Book Club

Calling all bibliophiles!  If you enjoy a good mystery and the thrill of exploring an old bookstore, I may have the book for you.  The main character, Clay, young and unemployed, applies and gets a job at an old dingy bookstore.  To his surprise, there are only a few books actually for sale.  Most of the inventory are for checkout to a select few who seem to be pursuing the same mystery.  As Clay’s interest is piqued, he learns of the secret society and their pursuit.  He turns to his new girlfriend who works at Google and some other friends for help in solving this puzzle.  This story has an entertaining mix of old bookstore charm side by side with modern technology.

“From the shadows of Penumbra's bookshelves to the brightly lit constellation of cyberspace to the depths of a subterranean library, Sloan deftly wields the magicks (definitely with a "k") of the electronic and the literary in this intricate mystery.” (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2012)

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is the April selection of the Literazzi Book Club and will be discussed April 23rd and 24th at the Sharon Forks Library.  

Joan Dudzinski
Information Specialist

Staff Picks

I recently read two very different books, one after the other, due to how they came in on my holds list.

First, I read A Higher Call: An Incredibly True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos.  This non-fiction title grabbed my attention because it’s a true story of two WW II veterans and how their individuals stories combined during a brief moment – and affected the rest of their lives.  Ever since I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, I’ve looked for these types of stories.

This story focuses on the main characters' individual upbringings, their air combat training, some of their combat experiences, even their political viewpoints.  For a brief moment over the skies, on December 21, 1943; US 2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown (in a highly damaged B-17) is escorted to “safety” by German 2nd Lieutenant Franz Stigler, flying a Messerschmitt fighter. Why did this happen?  Charlie couldn’t believe it…  Many years after the war ends, Franz begins to ask WWII survivors if they have ever heard of the damaged B-17 and did anyone survive the journey over the English Channel?  Eventually, these 2 war heroes meet and Charlie is able to thank Franz for saving his life (and therefore, that of his children!).

Next, I read Jodi Picoult’s newest title The Storyteller.  This is also a story with connections to World War II.  However, this story deals with the  horror of the concentration camps.  We hear from an unknown story narrator (who, we find out later is Sage’s grandmother), Josef Weber ( a former SS officer living in New Hampshire),  and Sage Singer (the survivor’s granddaughter).   Sage and Josef form an unlikely friendship and when Josef reveals his true identity, Sage is forced to acknowledge her grandmother’s past.  It is a haunting story, as are most stories dealing with the Holocaust.  Jodi Picoult weaves together a spell-binding story and her background research shows in the storylines.

Since I read these titles back-to-back, I couldn’t help but compare the “good” that did happen during WWII with the horror that was happening at the very same time.  I also got to compare how one soldier’s view of the Nazi party (Franz Stigler) differed so greatly from Picoult’s fictional character, Josef Weber.

Kim Cavalenes
Selection Assistant