Anne of Avonlea and Auschwitz Lullaby

Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery: I’m beginning to think there might not be a cozier series to enjoy on a winter’s day than the Anne Shirley books. The descriptions are enchanting (we need to make a group trek to Prince Edward Island). The home Anne creates no matter where she is delights me. Her constant ability to find kindred spirits who view life and nature through otherworldly lenses and the healing brought to several different families by the end of the book all lend to a magical read.

Anne has grown since Anne of Green Gables. The scrapes she gets into are both funnier and more mature. I was encouraged by her courage to confess her failings. (Stories let us practice being brave before we have to be.)

The parts that touched me most were the secret garden of a woman who only lived a few years into her marriage. Anne honored her by taking flowers from her garden to her grave. I loved the 40-something old maid who refused to behave as an old maid and found love and family in the end.

All the food, cooking, cleaning, mending, and tending are held in such high honor in this book. It is a balm to my world-weary soul and an encouragement to keep delighting in the simple things of life. It was also convicting because I’m not sure my housekeeping would pass the Rachel Lynde-muster. I must strive harder.

Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar: Helene is a German woman married to a gypsy. They have five children. When the Nazis come to haul her family away, she chooses to go with them. She could have stayed safely behind, but she followed her husband to Auschwitz. For as long as she had time in the camp, she did all she could to make a home for her children. She used her privilege as a German to help others, she made a school so the children could learn and have extra food, she learned from older women, trained younger women, on and on. This woman made a home in one of the worst concentration camps. What a tribute to the power of tending to our people. If you would like to see real ‘girl-power’ read this book. I read this book in a matter of hours, but found myself pondering on Helene for several days after. I found myself in awe at her ability to courageously make a home with what she had and all she had was a concentration camp.

I wouldn’t consider this book a great work of literature. It’s a quick read. The font is big and there is a lot of empty space. If you enjoy meatier books this one might let you down a bit. I also really didn’t appreciate the tiny fictional crumb of hope given at the end and then immediately contradicted in the Historical Clarification chapter that followed. It would have been far more impactful to just allow the pain and agony of the truth to echo in the haunted reader for a time. The last issue I had was the book opening and closing from Mengele’s point of view. That just gave me the creeps and is far more than that man deserves.

But even with all that, this is the story of a courageous woman that should be shared the world over. That alone makes it worth reading.