When done well, historical fiction novels can deeply connect readers to our shared human history and "teach" even better than many non-fiction texts. [b:Lilac Girls|25893693|Lilac Girls|Martha Hall Kelly|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462850258s/25893693.jpg|45775594] is simultaneously heart breaking and heart warming, depressing and uplifting, as it weaves the story of women from Poland, the U.S. and Germany during WWII.

Much has been been written about the book's plot, which I will not re-hash in detail here. The book's primary focus is on the group of Polish women sent to the Ravensbruk concentration camp who were subjected to inhumane medical experimentation, and the American philanthropist who worked tirelessly for their recovery after the war. The book includes an excellent author's note which should not be skipped.

While listening to this book I did ponder why there are so many books about WWII. I think one important reason why authors continue to write (and readers continue to read) about this era is that we still haven't learned all the lessons from that time in history. The big questions -- How could these leaders come to power? How could we do this to other human beings? Why did good people just go along with these terrible orders? -- still vex us.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Although I had a galley, I listened to the audio version of the book. The audio was merely "okay", so my recommendation would be to go for the text.
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Beautiful weaving together of stories from vastly different viewpoints: the good, the bad, the ugly. Set in World War II and over the decade and change after it, the stories of three women unfold and gradually intertwine. Excellent storytelling, well-defined characters with assets and flaws, an enjoyable reading experience. ( )

This book left me with many emotions. The evils and injustice that were the narrative of the lives of the prisoners during Hitlers reign are enough to snap breath from you. I confess that it took me a minute to get into this book. Felt it challenging to follow the characters at first although that may have been more my issue than the authors. But as I got going, I spent every free moment reading. My favorite part of this book is the hunger it gave me to know more. To look up the real-life bios of the characters that the author spoke of. I agree with one reviewer that Caroline could have had a little more depth in the novel as she was an amazing woman. The high society topics were my least favorite yet I came away from the book wanting to know more about the woman in the midst of it. To think that this was a first-time novel is mind blowing at best. So well done. I can't wait for the next one! I liked that this gave me a good experience with historical fiction because I have a hard time with the genre and this book made me more interested and curious so it was a win win for me. ( )

I chose this book because I enjoyed The Nightingale. Lilac Girls was good but significantly more graphic than The Nightingale in the horrors of this era and listening to it in an audiobook made it more difficult to get through the 'tough' spots. I am glad I continued the book when I wasn't sure if I could and look forward to researching the nonfictional portions of the story further. ( )

read 2023