From Amazon.com...
"Painting a vivid and terrifying picture of war-torn Europe during World War II, this tale chronicles the lives of Anna, a Krakow University professor, and her husband Jan, a Polish cavalryman. After they are separated and forced to flee occupied Poland, Anna soon finds herself caught up in the Belgian Resistance, while Jan becomes embedded in British Intelligence efforts to contact the Resistance in Poland. He soon realises that he must seize this opportunity to search for his lost wife, Anna."
This is the first 'historical war fiction' book that I've ever read. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I wanted to try something new. This book is the perfect choice for someone venturing out into a new genre.
From the first page Jacobson pulls readers into the plot and characters. Fast paced and full of action — I was never bored. I found myself remembering things from high school history classes about the Holocaust that I thought I had forgotten years ago. This past summer, Momma Remmers and I went to Washington, DC, and visited the Holocaust Museum. I drew on this past events in my life to relate to Anna, Jan, and Justyn.
For those of you who keep track of what I'm reading (don't all shout out at once haha!) — you know that I had a hard time getting through this book. But it wasn't at all because of the book's contents, it was entirely because of my situation. I started reading this the day I left for school. Then two weeks full of non-stop RA training and what not... it's a crazy life for college students! The book is a great fast read for those who are interested in historical war fiction (I hope this is a legit genre — I just made it up).
If I had to pick one thing that I struggled with — it would be the characters. The main characters were easy to keep straight and follow along with. But there were so many 'secondary' characters that would pop in and out of the story that I found myself confused on more than one occasion.
I will be keeping this book for my classroom — sorry everyone. While I don't know if I'm for any more "historical war fiction" anytime soon... I think my more advanced readers who are interested in World War II would really enjoy this book. But I highly encourage you to check this book out or purchase it. Find out more at the "Night of Flames" Blog!
