Clara's War
James Wright reviews Clara's War which tells the true account of the daily routine and existence of three families of Polish Jews hidden by a non-Jewish Pole in a bunker under the ground floor of his house, and under the noses of the controlling Nazis in occupied Poland during the second world war.
"The author, a 16-year-old eye witness at the time, chooses her words and phrases so vividly that the reader becomes almost overcome with the events resulting in a feeling of being in that bunker with them.
It gives whole new meanings to words like terror, hope, existence and evil. It elevates the word evil to the top of any list of vile four letter words ever heard.
I shared their odd periods of joy and their long periods of sheer anxiety. I could taste their daily helping of boiled potatoes and I could smell the daily existence. I felt that I was there inside that bunker with them. They hardly ever cried but I cried for them.
Rula Lenska, the reader of this talking book, adds to the overall true atmosphere with her deep European accent which rises and falls, hardens and softens to suit the events as they unfold.
To say that this book is a good listen is an understatement but I am sure that it will turn the most battle-hungry war addict into a pacifist. The book has a fine ending but I will leave that for you to find out for yourself."
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Clara's war by Clara Kramer TB 17760; braille 7v and giant print 3v.
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