A review by fortheloveoffictionalworlds
They Went Left by Monica Hesse

4.0

Also Posted on For The Love of Fictional Worlds

Disclaimer: An eARC was provided via The Fantastic Flying Book Club and the Author as part of the Blog Tour. The Thoughts, opinions & feelings expressed in the review are therefore, my own.

"Abek to Zokia" I told him. "A to Z" he said back. "When I find you again, we will find our alphabet. And we Will be whole, and everything will  be fine. I promise I will find you."

There are so many books that chronicle the heartbreaking and absolutely gut wrenching conditions of humans and what they did that made them into monsters; but I have rarely found any book that chronicles the journey AFTER the war ends (if you have any such recommendations, please do not hesitate to comment/message/email me about it!).

Zofia Lederman is a young girl recently liberated from the concentration camps in Germany when the WWII ended - and the only thing that's on her mind is to find her younger brother, Abek Lederman.

Zofia and Abek were separated when Abek was 12 years old, when theirs and other Jews were being separated by the Nazis to be sent to different camps. It  was the promise that she made to her brother that keeps Zofia going, during and then after the war ends!


With the help of a Russian Soldier, Dima; who fancies himself as her protector, she travels back to their family home, where she expects her brother to be waiting for her. And is absolutely heartbroken when that hope shatters when she finds her family apartment desolate and sans her brother!

It's easy to see that the author has actually done her research well - not just into the places and timeline; but also on the psyche of the humans and the condition of the country after their whole world is turned upside down - and this, while absolutely commendable does tend to work into the narration of the plot; more than it was needed.

Zofia, with her mental issues, is a protagonist whose version of the past and the present, in fact cannot be trusted; but her emotional affect just practically leaps out of the pages! And it is THAT reason why, if you are a fan of this genre; then you definitely NEED to pick up this book! 




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