Sera is thrilled
when her assistant finds a copy of the portrait of a beautiful young
girl holding a violin, obviously in a concentration camp from the
shorn hair and number tattooed on her arm. She saw this portrait as a
young girl and has been searching for it ever since. She wants the portrait for her gallery, but the owner doesn't want to sell. Instead
he wants Sera's help in finding out who the girl was.
Adele was the
darling of the Vienna Symphony. A prodigy on the violin, she was
often asked to play with the orchestra. There she met Vladimer, a
working class boy, who was cellist. He and Adele fell
in love, but Adele came from an upper class family, in fact, her
father was a high ranking Nazi official, so it was unthinkable that she and
Vladimer could be a couple.
The pair became
involved with helping Jews escape from Vienna. After a disastrous
attempt to rescue a family, they were turned in and both sent to a
concentration camps in spite of Adele's father's position.
The story of Adele
and Vladimer is heart wrenching. It also introduces concentration camp history about the Women's Orchestra of Auchwitz
and the art that was produced in the camp. Their story is beautifully
told. Particularly as you see the Austrian Christian interacting with
the Jewish women for the survival of all.
I was not so
impressed with Sera's love story. Sera and William search for clues
to Adele's story and in the process fall in love. The modern story is
intertwined with the WWII story, but it isn't as compelling. It's a
straightforward modern romance. I found the characters stereotypical,
not vibrant like Adele and Vladimer.
I recommend this
book if you're interested in some of the remarkable tales of
Holocaust survivors. The story of Adele's bravery is remarkable. I
would have given the book five stars, but joining this beautiful
story to a mundane modern romance didn't work for me.
I reviewed this book
for BookLook Bloggers.
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