Lilac Girls (Woolsey-Ferriday, #1) in Closter Public Library

Dec 15, 2016 Mayda Bosco rated it it was amazing

Kudos to Martha Hall Kelly for writing a pseudo biographical account of Caroline Ferriday known as the “Godmother of Ravensbruck Survivors” and for giving a voice to the prisoners of that particular concentration camp. Although a work of fiction, “Lilac Girls” is rich in historical facts with realistic characters representative of the human condition – both great and evil. To quote Albert Camus, “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”

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Mar 16, 2016 Sue Seligman rated it it was amazing

This debut novel by Martha Hall Kelly is absolutely amazing! Just when I think that there is nothing new that I can learn about the Holocaust years, along comes a book which presents events and situations which I had never heard about. This historical fiction novel is based on true occurrences which were totally unfamiliar to me, and it is one of the few books that I have read which demonstrated that the Jewish people were not the only victims of Hitler's plans to develop a Master race.
The even This debut novel by Martha Hall Kelly is absolutely amazing! Just when I think that there is nothing new that I can learn about the Holocaust years, along comes a book which presents events and situations which I had never heard about. This historical fiction novel is based on true occurrences which were totally unfamiliar to me, and it is one of the few books that I have read which demonstrated that the Jewish people were not the only victims of Hitler's plans to develop a Master race.
The events of the novel, and of history are told through the perspectives of three very different women. Two of these women actually lived and the author's portrayal of them is realistic and accurate in terms of how they were shaped by the historical events of the time. The third woman is fictional and her character is described so vividly that the reader immediately feels her emotions and her suffering. The setting includes the New York City of the 1930s and 1940s, a world away from the gritty reality of war torn Europe, the rural fields of Poland, and the stark and sterile world of Ravensburk, the only concentration camp exclusively for women. The reader is enveloped by the high society and affluent world inhabited by Caroline Ferriday, who gradually becomes involved in working for the war effort overseas along with her widowed mother; the two of them seem to be the only women in their social circle who are aware of the encroaching dangers of the Nazis. Similarly, the simple life of Kasia Kuzmerick and her friends is forever changed by the invasion of Germany, as the teenagers become involved with the Resistance and find themselves in increasing danger. Finally, Dr. Herta Oberhauser, one of few female doctors in Germany, accepts a position in government medicine which will lead to her complicity in many horrific Nazi activities at the infamous Ravenburk.
The central purpose of the book is to reveal the awful medical experiments conducted by doctors upon the prisoners at Ravensburk. The female inhabitants were mainly political prisoners, and there were many Polish women. The fictitious characters of Kasia along with her mother and sister, gave an identity to the many nameless who suffered and died there. The women who experienced these horror were called "rabbits". The graphic nature of the Nazi treatment of these women, along with other events described throughout the book, were difficult to read but so important to understand and so necessary to the plot. The reader is drawn to Caroline, a character based on fact, as representing Americans at the time; so few of them really understood how real Nazism was and the dire threat Hitler posed to all humanity. Caroline, as a woman of wealth, is an admirable individual who fought for her cause, and eventually for the women she came to love and admire, despite the opposition of those who considered her frivolous. Interestingly enough, Dr. Herta Oberhauser, also based on fact, is quite easy to dislike, as she is a true product of her times. Following orders without question, she becomes hardened to the suffering she has caused and unfazed by the contradiction between what she is doing and the medical oath that requires her to alleviate the pain of her patients.
This is a book of historical events but it is also a book of the triumph of the human spirit. It is a book about the strength of humanity and of relationships, and perseverance. The reader will cry and rage at the injustice and cruelty, but will also be touched by the love and loyalty exhibited over and over again by those who suffered so greatly. This is an amazing chronicle of the Holocaust, and I look forward to reading more from Martha Hall Kelly. ...more

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Nov 11, 2017 Deirdre rated it really liked it

Historical fiction about WWII... at least it was not a flashback between now and then. Well written, interwoven story focused on 3 different, very true to life women.

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Nov 05, 2017 Janet rated it really liked it

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May 31, 2018 Joan rated it really liked it

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Aug 27, 2022 Terry rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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