Dr. Josef's Little Beauty

- Authors
- Rudzka, Zyta
- Publisher
- Seven Stories Press
- Tags
- literary fiction; realistic fiction books; fiction; novels; fiction books; jewish; religion; religious books; literature; books fiction; jewish books; jewish fiction; jewish novels; jewish fiction novels; german; war; coming of age; eastern europe; love; translation; drama; roman; romance; classic; historical; music; russian; realistic fiction; mystery; book club books; family; modern; art; philosophy; wwii; short stories; crime; friendship; relationships; french; psychology; dark; 21st century; death; 20th century; dystopia; race
- Date
- 2006-05-01T07:00:00+00:00
- Size
- 2.35 MB
- Lang
- en
A Holocaust story as fascinating and compelling as it is terrifying and puzzling—a book about aging and war crimes, pain and pride.
In the middle of summer, omnipresent heat radiates as a group of elderly people are remembering their youth. The story focuses on two sisters, Leokadia and Helena, who live together in a retirement home not far from Warsaw. These are not ordinary stories they are sharing, because both of them spent time as children in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. At the center is Helena, who at the age of 12 was saved from extermination by the notorious doctor Josef Mengele, the real-life Nazi officer, and physician who was known as the “angel of death” for the experiments he conducted on prisoners, including twins and siblings.
This is a story both provocative and disturbing about the fear that lingers in victims. Was the sisters’ relationship with the executioner a desperate attempt to save their lives, or perhaps they harbor a hideous pride and sense of superiority over other prisoners? Rudzka’s extraordinary writing turns unsettling questions about memory and survival into art.