“A totally gripping and absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 page turner,” it says on the book’s cover. Whether an unattributed testimonial or the author’s opinion, let me tell you — it’s totally not.

The story follow the fate of Mala Zimetbaum, an Auschwitz inmate 19880, and Edek Galiński, an inmate 531. Thanks to her knowledge of several languages, Mala is saved from a gas chamber and employed as an interpreter for the SS. Edek is a political prisoner who fights for the underground resistance and all he thinks about is how to get to the other side of the electric wire separating him from freedom. Edek makes Mala believe that they have a chance and can escape. Together they make a plan.

With an advance review copy, I understand I experience the unedited, not-finalized, more raw version. But in this case the writing was so raw I couldn’t get into it. I didn’t know the characters well enough to weep when I met them at the concentration camp. I wasn’t given enough backstory to eagerly anticipate what is going to happen to them next. The book felt like a school assignment when you are short of a word count and in order to fix it you start over-inserting adjectives, adverbs and clauses, no matter whether they fit. Some sentences did not make sense. Some felt as if they were spat out by Google translate without the accused service having to be involved.

The two stars are for Midwood’s research and knowledge. The book is based on a true story and the author demonstrates her expertise on the Second World War throughout. I admire her passion for the time period and her dedication to covering heroines of the war.

The real story of Mala and Edek is important, empowering and worth knowing. The book didn’t evoke any of the feelings in me. I caught myself analyzing sentences instead of being pulled into the plot. When that happened, the author lost me.

⭐️⭐️ / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ARC | NetGalley | Bookouture