This book is about the Nazis invading Poland. Libraries were closed and books, banned and burned. Zofia took it upon herself to hide many of the banned books, realising how valuable they were. She and her friends planned to start a book club, to read the books that the Nazis have banned. They read and discussed the various books and talked about the importance of the lessons in their lives at that time. This is a beautiful book about the power of books. Madeline Martin definitely didn't minimize the devastation of the Nazi occupation of Poland. In fact she detailed much of the atrocities that the Jews faced and the strict rules imposed on the Poles, under threat of death. With all of the death and destruction going on around them, books became precious.

Adults

While the Germans banned and destroyed books, Zofia and her friends hid and protected them, reading them in secret and discussing their messages of understanding, love and hope that helped them get through the ravages of the war. This is a powerfully emotional book of love, loss and sacrifice and the uniting of a community through books.

I didn't like the discrimination being practiced so openly, even though this is true to history. I didn't like that the Jews were treated so poorly and that the Polish people who protected them did so under threat of death.

I wanted to celebrate all the people who stood up for what they believed in despite the threat of death. I felt happy about people coming together and the sense of community created with books.

I would recommend this book. It is a great way to get a feel for what people in Poland went through during the invasion of the Germans.

I found some of the talk about the specific details of the books that the group read, was a bit long and boring.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of The Keeper of Hidden Books: A Novel   from Amazon.Com!

Created Sep 28, 2024 at 7:07pm • Submit your own review...