Many of the people in this story were related and I also found myself wishing that I had a family tree to reference. I do wish that Frankel’s afterword, explaining how she came to write the book and how she was connected to some of the people in it, had been a foreword, as it added a lot to the story for me. The determination, faith, and grit shown by people living under unlivable circumstances was beautiful to read. Despite the darkness, this book was inspiring and hopeful, as so many Holocaust stories somehow are. Frankel weaves together the stories of several people from the region, discussing the hardships and horrors they suffered under both the Russians and the Germans. It was ironic that while I was reading the anti-Semitism in Ivanhoe, I was also reading a nonfiction book about Jews who escaped and survived in the woods of eastern Poland. Ivanhoe is a worthwhile read and I think deserves its place on the classics list, but I doubt I’ll come back to this one again.

I also found myself doing research to learn more about why Jews became moneylenders and how many of the negative stereotypes came to be. It’s honestly so fascinating to trace back the roots of the Nazis and Jewish stereotypes literally a couple of centuries. There is also an astounding amount of anti-Semitism in this story, but I can’t really be mad about it being in the story as it’s an accurate portrayal of how the Jews were treated/viewed at the time. It can be a bit repetitive and sometimes the conclusion of a scene feels obvious far too early. The story was quite long-winded – it’s rare that I read a book and think “I really should have gone with an abridged edition,” but I thought it a few times while reading this one. I went into it completely blind and thus did not realize that this is actually a Robin Hood tale! Many of the characters traditionally found in the band of Sherwood outlaws make an appearance, so it was also interesting to see how those myths have changed over time. Almost 30 years later, here we are LOL I’m not 100% sure it was worth the wait, but it was a perfectly fine story and can see why it was so popular when it was published. (I haven’t read that one in years and don’t know why – I NEED to read it again!!) In that book, the main character and her friend are reading Ivanhoe, and I’ve always meant to read it ever since. When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. While it was okay, it didn’t become an instant favorite that I see myself rereading. This one was actually my February classic read, but at a chapter-a-day pace I didn’t finish it until mid-March. The Aroma of Books //Rants//Raves//Reviews// Pargeter, Edith (also writing as Ellis Peters).Mertz, Barbara (also writing as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels).Christie, Agatha (also writing as Mary Westmacott).

Children’s History: Landmark, Signature Biographies, and We Were There.#BookSpin & #BookSpinBingo (Litsy Challenge).

The Blackhouse by Peter May