The last several years have produced an explosion of novels written about World War 2 and the Nazi's planned domination of Europe and Russia and eventually the world. Many of these are told from a woman's point of view. While there have been thousands and thousands of nonfiction books written about the war with over 120,000 books and articles about Adolf Hitler alone, most have been written by men about men. The Nine is an exception, written by a woman about her great-aunt, Helene Podiansky, and nine fellow female resistance fighters who were arrested and sent to German labor camps. Their daring escape from the Nazi SS and trek through Germany to France and home is vividly recounted in chapters that begin with a biography of each woman and then in the second half of the chapter continue from the previous chapter with the recounting of their dangerous flight across occupied territory.
Their story is harrowing, but uplifting and well worth the time taken to read the book. Even though I had read many nonfiction books about WW2 and a couple of other novels about the French Resistance such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I realized early on in reading this book that there was so much I didn't know. Anyone who has read any of the many WW2 novels out now should read The Nine for the unvarnished truth of the courage and resilience of truly heroic women.
Their story is harrowing, but uplifting and well worth the time taken to read the book. Even though I had read many nonfiction books about WW2 and a couple of other novels about the French Resistance such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I realized early on in reading this book that there was so much I didn't know. Anyone who has read any of the many WW2 novels out now should read The Nine for the unvarnished truth of the courage and resilience of truly heroic women.