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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Helsingør Sewing Club [Audiobook] in Books

Feb 13, 2022  
The Helsingør Sewing Club [Audiobook]
The Helsingør Sewing Club [Audiobook]
Ella Gyland | 2022 | History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow ... just wow!!

What an incredibly powerful story this is and one that is a must read/listen if you want to be gripped by an inspiring tale of bravery that is based on true events.

Told from diary of Inger in 1943 and her granddaughter, Cecilie in the present day, this is the story of how a community in Denmark saved their Jewish friends, neighbours and countrymen from the tyranny of the Nazi regime. Their self-less courage and strength is captured within the words of this book and although it starts off a little slowly, this helps to set the scene of what's to come.

I listened to the audiobook and have to say that Kristin Atherton did an excellent job of narrating this story; she drew me in and kept me there from start to finish.

This is a gripping story about events in Denmark during World War II and one which I wasn't aware of or appreciated so thank you to Ella Gyland for bringing this to my attention and I would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area or to anyone who just enjoys a really good book.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
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ClareR (5841 KP) rated The Dictator’s Muse in Books

Jan 10, 2023  
The Dictator’s Muse
The Dictator’s Muse
Nigel Farndale | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This sounded like it was going to be solely about Leni Riefenstahl, but it’s not. This is a really enjoyable mystery set in Germany and England in the pre-war years, and the Berlin Olympics in particular.

Hitler is in power, and one of his most respected film makers, Leni Riefenstahl, has been tasked with filming the Berlin Olympics. She has to tread a fine line between the film-making she wants to create and that of the Nazi propaganda machine.

Meanwhile, back in England, Kit is training for the olympics whilst holding down a full time job and trying to impress his upper class girlfriend. He discovers he can get sponsorship through Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, even though he isn’t by any means a fascist.

Alun is a Welsh Communist, who has been tasked with infiltrating the Blackshirts.

Leni seems to be in a state of permanent dread, because even those who are staunch Nazis aren’t safe from being taken down by the SS.

There’s a lot going on in this book, and it sounds like it should be confusing. But it’s really not. It wasn’t fact, unputdownable.

There’s a great mystery threaded through this, introduced by a modern day character, an academic called Sigrun Meier.

Historical fiction AND a mystery - what’s not to like?!
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity in Books

Dec 31, 2017  
East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
Philippe Sands | 2017 | Biography
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Outstanding insight, meticulous and moving
Other than historians and international lawyers you will not have heard of the lawyer Hersch Lauterpacht yet he is a very important figure in Philippe Sands' magnificent book.

East West Street is different and distinct in many meaningful ways, telling the fascinating story of the beginning of international human rights, but rather do so as dry legal history it focuses on two of the most significant individuals.

The author weaves the stories of Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin into Sands' own personal family story, which all tie into the 'city of lions' (Lviv/Lwow/Lemberg) in the first few decades of the 20th century. Both men and Sand's own family lived here, a place where East and West meet, hence the book's title.

It culminates into their assistance with the Nuremburg trials of ten senior Nazi figures, with Lauterpacht preparing the first drafts of the opening and closing speeches of the chief prosecution. Crucially he crafted the wording of Article 6 of the Nuremberg Charter, enshrining crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression into international law. Lemkin, in the same vein, constructed the concept of genocide, even coining the term.

And Sands discusses his detective work to find answers to numerous questions about his family. In the end his journey reveals tragedy, but a tragedy lightened by knowing the truth.

This is an outstanding book by a barrister, filmmaker and writer. It reeks of intellectual strength, and truly superb.