The Book Of Aron
By Jim Shepard
252 pages
This book follows a young Jewish boy, Aron, in Poland during World War II. Aron and his family are relocated into the Warsaw ghetto and we see what they must do to survive. Aron’s life intersects with the life of Janusz Korczak (an actual historical figure in Poland). Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldsmith) was a well known Polish pediatrician, educator, children’s author, and radio personality before the war. He runs a children’s orphanage in the Warsaw ghetto and refuses his freedom in order to stay with the children.In Korczakwe see the best of us.
What did I think?
This fictional account of what happened in 1942 is heartbreaking and affirming at the same time. It is truly the story of how ordinary people acted in extraordinary ways- good and bad. I knew nothing of Janusz Korczak, and was so glad to have learned something about him.
Should you read it?
Their are many good books that feature the Holocaust out there. I would recommend adding this one to the list of required reading. Sometimes I feel like I can not read another account of what happened- it is too difficult. Then I think, if people could live through it I can learn about it and remember it. I do wonder if the written work can ever do justice to the horror of what happened during this time?
Quote-
“My father called it the most miserable report he’d ever seen, and invited us to figure out how I had pulled it off. My mother said that I might’ve been getting better in some areas and he told her that if God gave me a second or a third life I’d still understand nothing. He said a person with strong character could correct his path and start again but a coward or weakling could not. I always wondered if others had such difficulty in learning. I always worried what would become of me if I couldn’t do any thing at all. It was terrible to have to be the person I was.”
Question-
What books would you recommend from this time period?
