𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕆𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤
Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
The Woman Outside the Walls is about a young woman who unknowingly works as a secretary at a concentration camp after giving up a child. The job was posted as a secretary for a prison. It didn’t take long to figure out where she really was, but she stayed. She then looks over her shoulder for the rest of her life, fearing prosecution, even though she tried to help others, even when she was at the concentration camp.
Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
This book shows that not all those on the wrong side of WWII were evil people. It flips back and forth between the present, where Anna is a ninety-year-old, and the past, where she was a teenager and young adult. Although she worked at the concentration camp, she spent the rest of her life differently. She comes across as a kind person, and I couldn’t help but like her. She was so young and had already gone through great grief when she found herself in this terrible position she didn’t know how to escape.
The characters are so raw and authentic. Every time I read about the barbarousness and need for basic necessities that aren’t available, I am bewildered by the steadfastness of humans to survive such conditions. So many misguided ideas led to copious horrendous acts toward fellow humans.
Ann’s life story strives to tell us the emotional and physical toll that WWII took on so many on both sides of the war. There are plenty of stories beyond the Holocaust that I am learning about by reading historical fiction. Although it is fiction, extensive research is done to bring those stories to life.
The Woman Outside the Walls is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far. It is emotional and heartbreaking but gives us a look at the internal conflict and sacrifices that were common during this time period.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.
~Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41020uB
~As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.
~Other historical fiction reviews: https://latishaslowkeylife.com/review/where-david-threw-stones/
