Lilac Girls (Woolsey-Ferriday, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Dec 30, 2018 Tina rated it it was amazing

This book is so much more than a book. I believe the author did enormously a lot of research to write this book and I think she did this good.

I think the decision of three stories in one book wasn't really the best, but then I used to it and it was not so anoyinng. I think all these three women deserves their own book. I would love to hear more details about them.

The author shows us the good and the bad parts of their life and also tries to explain, how they see the whole situation. We can't sim ...more

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Nov 03, 2020 Susan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, set-in-north-america, kick-ass-women, set-in-europe, 2020

I'm having a difficult time rating and reviewing this one.

On the one hand, it is an important topic and one that seems to be lacking in mainstream media and education - the topic of women too often seems to be missing in media and education, so it's nice to see someone correcting this bias. The book also seems, as far as the historical aspects go, to be well researched, and overall it is fairly well written.

On the other hand, I was irritated that Kelly seemed to have the need to chick-lit up th I'm having a difficult time rating and reviewing this one.

On the one hand, it is an important topic and one that seems to be lacking in mainstream media and education - the topic of women too often seems to be missing in media and education, so it's nice to see someone correcting this bias. The book also seems, as far as the historical aspects go, to be well researched, and overall it is fairly well written.

On the other hand, I was irritated that Kelly seemed to have the need to chick-lit up the book with Caroline mooning and moaning over Paul. That part of the book would have been a small bit less irritating if Paul had actually been a real-life person in Caroline's actual life, but instead Kelly just made him up. That part of the book would have been a great deal more interesting if so much of Caroline's part of the book were not spent on her mooning and moaning over him, and her friends and mother and colleagues supporting him in her mooning and moaning over him. Yes, I know, I know, in those days women got married and had babies, blah, blah, blah, but I hate chick-lit and if I knew this book was going to veer toward that genre then I would have avoided it altogether. Authors have choices and in this case Kelly chose, in telling Caroline's story, to highlight a hero of her day but then Kelly also turned around and gratuitously added an unnecessary, and fictional line of Caroline mooning and moaning over a man. Why!?! Why do authors insist on taking away from their female protagonists, their female heroes, by turning them into mooning, moaning dribs overshadowed by their relationship with a man?!? In this case it is made worse because Caroline was not a fictional character, but a real person and a real hero, and a sovereign being in her own right. It is made worse because it was not even a healthy relationship - and really, if an author is going to choose to go that route, could it not once ever be a healthy relationship?!? (OH, then I guess it would stop appealing to the chick-lit crowd...).

Another part of the story that I found HUGELY irritating was Kelly's treatment of the psychological effects of being a prisoner in a concentration camp, and especially in relation to Kasia. As mentioned above, Kelly seems to have done a great deal of research on the historical aspects of the book. However, it also seems she did, at best, a cursory skim on CPTSD, its impacts on people, it effects, its recovery (or lack thereof), etc. Yes, I know, I know, in those times people did not know much about the topic; we still know far too little today. BUT in these times, the times Kelly is writing in, we do at least know that NO, you cannot 'just shake off' CPTSD as Zuzsanna and several other characters claim that all of the former prisoners, except Kasia, have done. (view spoiler) NO. It does not happen that way, and it is insulting not just to the people who came out of the camps with all of their resulting physical and psychological illnesses and injuries, it is insulting to all of us who have CPTSD. People with mental illnesses face enough stigma. We face enough gaslighting and ignorant people telling us to 'just shake it off'. To have a book where 31 of 32 people 'just shook off' their CPTSD from being in a concentration camp?!?! Yeah, no. In these times we know better. Kelly should have known better. This just adds to the stigma 'well, if someone who survived Ravensbrück could just shake it off, then why can't you?' Because NO, the women of Ravensbrück did not just shake it off. That part of the book is as fictional as Paul, and much, much more irritating.

So, on the one hand, the book was a decent read. On the other hand, the parts that were irritating, for me, really detracted from the read. Plus, in one case it supports horrible stereotypes of a woman not being complete without a man (and I did not even address how this stereotype plays out also for Zuzsanna and Kasia). In another it supports the horrible stigmas faced by people with very really psychological illnesses.

I wanted to give this book a higher rating. But, in writing this review, I am restraining myself from dropping it down to one star. The book overall it not a bad read, but these irritating parts... Yeesh... ...more

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May 26, 2018 SandyL rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 400-499-pgs, a-overdrive, genre-historical, setting-new-york, setting-france, setting-germany, setting-poland, zz-ttvi

This book is about three different women in three different countries, their experiences in WWII and how their lives ultimately intersected. The book was interesting and informative. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, although I felt sorry for Kasia and Caroline. And Kasia's story was pretty disturbing. I know it's important to remember these events, but it's still not an enjoyable read. ...more

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