A Book A Week

In 2017, I had the privilege of embarking on a backpacking trip across Europe. I was overwhelmed by the sheer scope of history that unfolded in the places I visited. The history of the Holocaust, in particular, struck a deep chord within me. Walking through the ruins of Auschwitz and witnessing the vast expanse of Birkenau, I struggled to comprehend the true magnitude of lives lost during this horrific period. Surrounded by barbed fences and countless shed-like structures that once housed over a million prisoners, the enormity of the tragedy was almost too overwhelming to grasp.

It was only through reading personal accounts, such as Elie Wiesel's Night and Anne Frank's diary, that I began to connect with this tragedy on a human level. These personal experiences allowed me to truly understand the inhumanity of the Holocaust. Since that journey, I have mostly avoided fictional works set within this historical context. How can one craft a compelling story about something so horrific? However, when I stumbled upon Mitch Albom's latest novel, The Little Liar, I decided to take a chance on this work of fiction.

How do we know what is really true? In this story, we can be certain that everything we read is true because our narrator is Truth itself. Talk about credibility. The book follows Nico Krispis, an eleven-year-old Greek boy who has never told a lie in his life. When the Nazis invade his home, Nico hides while his family is taken by soldiers. A German officer eventually finds Nico and offers him a deal: his family's safety in exchange for Nico's help. The officer asks Nico to go to the train station daily and reassure his fellow Jews that the trains they are being forced to board are taking them to new homes with jobs and safety.

Unaware of the cruel deception, Nico faithfully carries out his task. It isn't until he sees his own family being loaded into a crowded boxcar that he realizes the horrific truth—they are all being sent to their doom at Auschwitz. Distraught by his unwitting role in this great lie, Nico is forever changed, never able to tell the truth again. In the intervening years, we follow Nico, his brother, their schoolmate, and the Nazi officer as they each grapple with the consequences of their actions, words, and the trauma they have endured.

The Little Liar begins as a moving parable about the value of truth, the consequences of deception, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. By having Truth as the narrator, Mitch Albom gives the story an authority it might otherwise lack. I was drawn into the story, captivated by the familiar historical context and the inevitable heartbreak. The first part of the book, which focuses on the Holocaust, is the most compelling. Albom then fast-forwards through history, showing how each character deals with the aftermath of their trauma. While the story concludes in a satisfying way, I couldn't help but wish for more depth from the characters.

My experience walking through historical sites and reading primary sources about the Holocaust highlighted the complexity of the individuals involved. In Albom's novel, however, the characters often feel one-dimensional. The good guys are entirely good, and the bad guys are unrelentingly evil. While this works from a narrative standpoint, it detracts from deeper contemplation and reflection. Take the Nazi officer, for example. Initially, he appears conflicted as he rescues Nico from certain death, but rather than struggling with his conscience, he quickly devolves into a caricature of evil. This lack of nuanced character development reduces the emotional impact of the story.

While there are glimmers of genuine heart and some clever plot developments, the main emotion I left The Little Liar with was a sense of coolness. It is a serviceable tale but one that leaves little lasting impact. My advice: dive into some of the non-fiction writing on this subject instead.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2024, 40)

"And saving that one life now is akin to saving the world."

How do we reconcile the horrors of the Holocaust? Countless men, women, and children were senselessly murdered during the years of World War II. Since the horrifying events of those years, authors have done their parts to make sure we never forget. There are, of course, the real-life accounts like the Diary of Anne Frank and the hauntingly poignant writings of the late Elie Wiesel. Many other authors have turned to fiction to portray the events of those years. In his latest novel, The One Man, author Andrew Gross takes a departure from his usual thrillers to add his voice to those who have preceded him. Gross decides to take on the horrors of the Holocaust with a historical fiction novel that graphically displays the injustices of the genocide while celebrating the heroism of the brave few who defied it.

The year is 1944 and physicist Alfred Mendel has finally succumbed to the same fate of his friends and neighbors before him. Mendel and his entire family have been rounded up by the Germans, stripped of their possessions, and shipped to Auschwitz. He is quickly separated from his family and forced to live and work under the brutal conditions of the camp. Little do the Nazis know the true power that Alfred holds. He is one of only two people in the world with the scientific knowledge needed to produce a weapon of unspeakable proportions. He alone holds the power that could mean potential victory in this war.

Nathan Blum narrowly escaped the clutches of the Germans when he fled from the confines of a Polish ghetto. As he sought refuge in America, word reached him that his family was murdered in cold blood on the streets of that same ghetto. Since that time, Nathan has worked a desk job at a U.S. intelligence agency. He is determined to make amends with the killing of his family, and the U.S. government may have the perfect way. Nathan is fluent in both German and Polish. He has the undeniable features that match those who are prisoners in the camps. And most importantly, he has a deep hatred for the Nazi's and everything they stand for. All of these characteristics make Blum an ideal candidate to take on one of the most dangerous operations ever conceived. He will sneak into the one place he as done everything in his power to avoid,  and he will rescue the one man who can change the course of the war.

The One Man sees Andrew Gross shift gears to deliver one of the most important novels of his career. The suspense practically writes itself as Gross tells the story of a man breaking into the one place that so many long to leave. The mission is do or die. If Nathan achieves his goal, it has the potential to end the war and save the lives of those he left behind. If he fails, he becomes just another innocent life lost to the evil ideologies of the German Nazis. It is a given at this point that Gross delivers the break-neck pacing of a seasoned thriller writer. What sets The One Man apart from his previous endeavors is the depth of the characters and the delicacy with which he deals with the subject matter.

There is no shortage of writings that detail the horrendous treatment of the prisoners in the concentration camps. While Gross provides quick glimpses into these horrors, he smartly avoids a retread of those difficult reads. Instead, he focuses the majority of his novel on the men and women who inhabited the camp. By granting his characters the ability to express their genuine thoughts and emotions and giving them the necessary time to develop, Gross provides readers with a larger understanding of the complexities of each human life involved in this incredible moment in history. Gross frames these remarkable character revelations through his well-trodden thriller roots. This makes the uncomfortable realities of the situation a bit easier to digest. The One Man exceeds my highest expectations by delivering an unputdownable novel that manages to both thrill and inspire. Andrew Gross delivers the most mature novel of his career, a novel that will be very hard to top.

For more information, visit the Author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2017, 6)