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AliCorbin

AliCorbin@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 4 months ago

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Martha Hall Kelly: Lilac Girls (2016, Ballantine Books) 4 stars

Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this debut novel reveals …

Review of 'Lilac Girls' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

The book seemed to be well-researched, allowing Kelly to fill it with rich details. To the point where the reader starts to trip over the detail. Like, do I really need to know what every woman at Caroline's society parties was wearing? The book is narrated in the the first person - three first persons actually, switching back and forth between Caroline (an actual person), Herta (another actual person) and Kasia (a fictional composite). This allows the author to build suspense, bringing each narration to a cliff-hanger and then swapping out to a different narrator, to leave you hanging. But it also provided some relief. Because when reading about Ravensbrück got too overwhelming, then the scene would switch and, wham! you were back in New York City.