PorshaJo's Reviews > Lilac Girls

I tend to gravitate to books on WWII and the holocaust, but I have never read a book about Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women. I had never heard of the 'rabbits'. I was shocked by this book, not expecting it to be as good as it was.

The Lilac Girls tells the story of three *very* different women, whose lives eventually intersect. Caroline Ferriday, a socialite and former actress works for the French Consulate in NYC and she works tirelessly for children who have been impacted or displaced by the war. Kasia Kuzmerick, a young Polish girl who eventually is taken by the Germans to Ravensbrück, and is one of the rabbits. Finally, Herta Oberheuser, a young german doctor who is really striving to get herself noticed as a female doctor and shows her unwaivering support for the Reich. The story rotates in chapters between the points of view of each of these women. Telling their stories before, during, and after the war. The rabbits were a group of young, healthy, women who the germans performed ruthless, unnecessary operations on them, debilitating them for life, and sometimes just killing them outright. Herta is the doctor who performs those operations. She is such an evil person who shows no remorse for what she does as it's done for the good of Germany.

The story is quite intense. At times, it becomes hard to listen to. Caroline and Herta are based on real life people who did these things that are described in the book. Kasia, is a story based on many of the rabbits. It can be a difficult read at times, but no book on this time period is an easy read. Initially, Caroline seemed to be quite shallow to me, and her 'romance' with Paul just seemed odd. But eventually, she accomplishes some amazing things.

I do have to get this out - WORST BOOK COVER!!! It is quite a lovely picture but this shows no representation of what is INSIDE the book. To be honest, when the book came out, I knew it was a story based around WWII. But looking at the cover, I thought it was some book about a bunch of wealthy girls and how they living during this time, but thinking it would be a fluff book. In fact, I returned it to the library initially. The book is so much more and the cover has nothing to do with it other than there are three main female characters.

I listened to this one via audio and it was wonderful. Three different female narrators, one for each character. All did a fabulous job and really immersed me in to the story. I would suggest the audio version for those that enjoy audios. Overall, a great story about three different women that should not be missed.