The Memories We Keep

I recently found myself reading another novel centered around the Holocaust, written by Walter Zacharius. In The Memories We Keep, previously published as Songbird, Mia Levy is a farmer in Isreal when she recieves a letter from an old friend that dredges up memories from the war thirty years ago. Back in August 1939, Mia and her family were very well off, living in Poland and Mia had no greater joy than playing her piano. At 17 years old, her most immediate desire was a measure of freedom. Of course everything in Mia's life changes with the German invasion.

The story was interesting and Zacharius succeeded in making wonderfully human characters. In many stories concerning the Second World War and the Holocaust, any German characters are shown as irredeemably evil while the Jewish characters are nobely suffering saints. However, Zacharius has created dynamic characters who do not often fit into any one mold. Many German characters are shown with redeeming qualities and vice versa.

There were parts of the book that I didn't appreciate but they were few in number. I am not sure this book is appropriate for younger audiences as there was a bit of sex and SM described in the book, but the passages tended to be short and the rest of the book was enjoyable. It was also nice to see a different view of the war.

Rating: 4.0