Seth Theobeau

I slogged through this all the way to the end in the hope that I would find justification for all those five-star reviews. No such luck. How strange that in a concentration camp built and operated by vicious thieves, a building is set aside for the sifting of prisoners' confiscated belongings, but there is no supervision of the women who do the job (all starving inmates) and they are able to hoard gold and jewels and currency without detection. Take away Lale's access to diamonds and rubies and cold cash, and there is no plausible explanation for the miracles that keep him and Gita alive while thousands are dying all around them. The holocaust is a source of shame for all of humanity, which is why it is constantly revisited as a plot device by authors who know it greatly improves their chances of producing a best-seller even if their writing ability is pedestrian at best. The same applies to slavery in the south and the slaughter of native Americans, great hooks on which to hang a tale of woe with no need to make it credible. To be clear, the holocaust and every other example of mankind behaving cruelly should not be forgotten. But they should also not be exploited.