Reading in the Garden

What would you do if it was YOUR sister?  What would you do if your sister was a serial killer?  Our book club had a great discussion about this book.  Where does sisterly love end?  To what ends would you go to protect your loved one?  There were so many interesting questions this book raised. What would bring one to kill?  Does loving your sibling mean you should give up your own grasp at happiness?   When is it too late to stop covering for a sister who shows no remorse, nothing but selfish, self-centered traits?  This “dark comedy” was a quick read that was a big hit with my book club! –So out of the norm, and so memorable.  :)  Annette

From Auschwitz to Siberian Gulag.    Another breathtaking book from the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.  Based on true events,  Cilka Klein survives three years in the notorious Auschwitz Concentration Camp during WWII, where Josef Mengele chooses inmates to experiment on and over a million Jews are sent to their deaths in gas chambers.    Incredibly, Cilka goes from one nightmare to the next when the Russians accuse her of collaborating with the Germans and sentence her to fifteen years of hard labor in a Siberian Gulag above the Arctic Circle.    Brutal winters aren't the only ruthless elements she encounters. She must learn to survive in a savage place where rape is the norm and  superiors can send prisoners to the "hole" for minor infractions. Cilka's perseverance in the face of overwhelming injustice is a testament to the indomitable spirit! Unimaginable!  Unforgettable! Annette