What I enjoyed:
- The writing is simple yet flows so well.
- Based on true story, the harsh life's conditions are so realistic and raw. The survival journey of Cilka is also inspiring.
- The note and additional information are so interesting and I found myself wanting to dive deeper into the piece of the history and Cilka's brief "biography".
What didn't work:
- I think my expectation for this novel was high - while the premise seemed appealing, I was always waiting for something more to happen. The plot felt flat sometimes and I kept reading in order to find out a major event in the story.
- The romance could have been better illustrated: for me, it was too fast and I didn't keep up with the facts.
- Told in mainly two timelines, I wished a deeper development of Cilka's memories in Auschwitz. Even though this book is about her present days, her survival in Auschwitz is also essential for us to be connected with the story (there are many "holes" in the story to be fulfilled). In addition, there was so much focus in Cilka's beauty but little do we know about this "advantage".
- I didn't get invested in the story due to the lack of emotions, I felt that the book was more reporting events than feeling attached to the characters.
- The writing is simple yet flows so well.
- Based on true story, the harsh life's conditions are so realistic and raw. The survival journey of Cilka is also inspiring.
- The note and additional information are so interesting and I found myself wanting to dive deeper into the piece of the history and Cilka's brief "biography".
What didn't work:
- I think my expectation for this novel was high - while the premise seemed appealing, I was always waiting for something more to happen. The plot felt flat sometimes and I kept reading in order to find out a major event in the story.
- The romance could have been better illustrated: for me, it was too fast and I didn't keep up with the facts.
- Told in mainly two timelines, I wished a deeper development of Cilka's memories in Auschwitz. Even though this book is about her present days, her survival in Auschwitz is also essential for us to be connected with the story (there are many "holes" in the story to be fulfilled). In addition, there was so much focus in Cilka's beauty but little do we know about this "advantage".
- I didn't get invested in the story due to the lack of emotions, I felt that the book was more reporting events than feeling attached to the characters.