🛩️ “The Warsaw Sisters” (A Novel of WWII Poland) (2023) 🛩️ – Book Review

 

MY REVIEW 

 

Paperback: 384 pages 
Publisher: Revell Books (November 7, 2023) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0800741714
ISBN-13: 978-080074176
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information 

 

“On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena Dąbrowska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth.

 

When Antonina's beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls along with the rest of Warsaw's Jewish population, Antonina turns her worry into action and becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland's secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation. But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear the sisters apart--and the cost of resistance proves greater than either ever imagined.

 

Shining a light on the oft-forgotten history of Poland during WWII and inspired by true stories of ordinary individuals who fought to preserve freedom and humanity in the darkest of times, The Warsaw Sisters is a richly rendered portrait of courage, sacrifice, and the resilience of our deepest ties.” 

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Revell Book (a division of Baker Books, for providing a complimentary review copy through their Revell Reads blogger team. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own. 

I’ve read a lot of amazing things about Amanda Barratt’s writing. And, this is the first book I’ve read by her. And, despite this book and its heavy content, I will likely read more of her work. Her writing is stunning, poetic, and gripping. 

 

Usually, I wait until the body of my review to issue trigger and content warning. However, this is one of those books where it HAS to be done as soon as possible. Now, just because there is a trigger/content warning, doesn’t make the book that bad. The message can be very good, but the content can make some readers uncomfortable, or trigger some bad memories. 

 

Since this is a World War II (WWII) Poland novel, the atrocities of WWII and the Third Reich will take center stage. These are genocide, murder, Nazi war crimes, the very mention of Adolf Hitler, graphic violence, graphic mention of dead bodies, as well as some graphic mentions of torture. There is also some questionable language. Germans are referred to as Krauts, there is also a scene with a man and woman laughing about “Jews burning”. There is one use of the word wh@re. It is disturbing, and all too realistic. That is a reflection of how well Barratt researched this novel.  

 

To be quite honest, this book is one that SHOULD and NEEDS to be read for historical context. Even though Revell is a primarily Christian publisher, this has only light elements of faith, and there is one occasion of sex outside of marriage. While today that isn’t a huge deal, back in the 1930’s/1940’s, it simply wasn’t done. A pregnancy results from this, and that was even more scandalous even without a war going. 

 

Because of the nature of the book – spoilers are going to be inherent; especially with who won the war, the disposition of the countries, as well as certain key historic figures. 

 

That said ...

 

The cover is alternately stunning, reflective, haunting, and poetic. 

 

Barratt takes the reader right into August 1939 in Warsaw, Poland. Readers are introduced to:

 

Antonina (Tosia) and Helena (Hela), both of whom share their stories, and narrate in first person POV between August 1939 when their father is sent off to war, and ending in June 1945 after the war.

 

There are other characters as well – in the buildings where they live and at work: 

 

✡️ Marek

✳️ Jasia

✳️ Marysia

⛔ Lt. Reinhardt

⛔ Herr Bϋrkel

✳️ Basia (the girls’ aunt, father’s sister)

 

And, as Antonina narrates – spoken in a single breath; always blended together. Two lives braided into a single strand. 

 

From there, the readers are watching as the girls’ father goes off to war. While not delusional, they hope it isn’t as bad as they think. Though, after Austria is annexed to Germany, they know Poland is next. Though, they hope it isn’t. 

 

By September, German forces have invaded Polish territory. And, it isn’t long until Tosia and Hela are bombed out of their home. They seek residence with their Aunt Basia, while Warsaw bravely and bitterly fights against the Germans for a month before accepting their occupation. This is mainly due to the water supply being cut off.

 

Each of the girls find jobs. Hela’s is working as a typist for Herr Bϋrkel, which is where she meets his nephew – Werner Reinhardt. Werner comes off as a soldier just doing his job – reluctantly, though readers don’t get enough of him to really see if this is true, or if he is trying to convince Hela. 

 

Tosia is not prepared to see what is happening with Marek – a Jewish man – and his family. It is bad enough seeing them identified with yellow stars, though she wonders why they have to be identified. It is also clear that while Tosia and Marek care very deeply for each other, his mother doesn’t like Tosia. (This is never truly explored or explained properly). 

 

Due to a typhus outbreak, the Jews are to be relocated, and Marek asks Tosia to keep his piano. Reluctantly she does take it. From there, Tosia starts seeing the reality of life in the ghetto, and it is clear the “occupiers” are planning more. It also seems like being born Polish is a crime to the “occupiers”. 

 

Alternately, the girls hear from their father, a P.O.W in January of 1940, but communications suddenly stop in March when a care package is sent back marked “addressee gone away”. 

 

In November, the “ghetto” is sealed meaning those inside cannot leave to buy food or groceries. Despite several visits, Tosia and Marek’s friendship is tested. His mother is insistent that Tosia not come back. 

 

The girls’ world is rocked again when their aunt is kidnapped with 99 other hostages in reprisal for the shooting death of two German police officers. It is then that Hela does the unexpected and confronts Werner about his “people”. Despite his offer to help, their aunt is murdered. 

 

This sets the sisters on different paths to resist the occupiers. 

 

After seeing Hela brought home by Werner, despite Hela’s explanation as to why – Tosia sets her own course for resistance. She feels betrayed by his sister and wonders if she ever knew her and moves out of their aunt’s flat (apartment). Tosia meets with Marysia, a Polish liaison for sanitation and health. 

 

Tosia then starts helping smuggle children out of the ghetto for their survival, if only a few. For her, it isn’t bad enough the Jews are contained in a small area, but they’re then being deported – most likely to death camps. She can’t seem to understand why anyone would be punished by moving Jewish people out of an area they’re not wanted or welcomed in. But, despite the penalty being death, she helps. 

 

Hela has a feeling that what is happening is the beginning of the end, though when the end is, is what plagues her.  

 

In September 1942, Hela’s co-worker’s niece – Jasia, shows up as a paying roommate. 

 

The writer takes readers through an emotional 1943 for the girls, from learning about the Katyn Massacre which involved their father, to the uprising at the Ghetto. And, while it doesn’t help deter the “occupiers”, it in someway succeeds by lighting a match, so the spark of resistance will kindle into flame. 

 

And, it is through Jasia that Hela finds her way to resist – the Armia Krajowa (AK – Home Army). 

 

From there, the sisters are separated and spend the rest of the war in different positions of resistance. For Tosia, it is trying to stay alive; for Hela, it is trying to push the “occupiers” out, with hope as their light to guide them. 

 

The Warsaw Sisters is emotional, moving, dramatic, gripping, tragic, heart-breaking, intense, and horrifying. As the generation who fought in that war slowly leaves us it is IMPERATIVE we remember the stories. Even though this is fictional, there are enough facts in this to force us to research and remember. According to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, only 119,550 of the 16.1 million Americans who served in World War II are alive as of 2023. 

 

Because of my affinity for WWII stories, I was immediately drawn into this one. And, despite some of the horrifying scenes, I was literally held captive by the story. It was hard to put down, yet I had to. I wanted to push it away, yet I was pulled back towards it. I had to know how it was going to end, though in a way, I knew. That is the bad thing about these stories – the atrocities of war make it nearly unbearable, yet we yearn to read so as not to forget. 

 

It alternates between moving fast (often 18 months between the previous chapter and next) and move rather slowly with the POV alternating on a single day for almost an entire chapter. It can feel rushed, and it can feel sluggish. Towards the last 35%, it bordered on intense.

 

Barratt’s use of short chapters had me reading far beyond my comfort zone. It was terrifyingly realistic, and I often felt like I was there in the story. The graphic depictions of dead bodies, war damage, and even the descriptions of smells was enough to make me step back. 

 

The author also wove in some of the real-life incidents such as the Katyn Massacre. In 1989, Soviet scholars revealed Joseph Stalin had indeed ordered the massacre, and in 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev admitted the NKVD had executed the Poles and confirmed two other burial sites similar to the site at Katyn: Mednoye and Piatykhatky.

 

There is no real “romance” to this, despite the connection between Antonina and Marek. However, it does tend to have more of a deep and symbolic love story theme to it – the love of two sisters, a mother, doing right by others, as well as for one’s country. 

 

The ending is bittersweet. Poland goes from being independent up until September 1939 to being occupied by the Germans until 1945, from there they are part of the Soviet Bloc. 

 

At the insistence of Joseph Stalin, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a betrayal by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organized by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. As elsewhere in Communist Europe, the Soviet influence over Poland was met with armed resistance from the outset which continued into the 1950s.

 

Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc. The state's official name was the “Republic of Poland” between 1947 and 1952. The name “People’s Republic” was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952.

 

From 1989 through 1991, Poland engaged in a democratic transition which put an end to the Polish People's Republic and led to the foundation of a democratic government, known as the Third Polish Republic. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union on 1 May 2004.

 

Even though their German oppressors were gone, Tosia and Hela had to live under Soviet Rule for 46 years. They were born in about 1921, as Hela remarks in 1943 she looks years younger than her 22. By 1991, they would’ve been 70.  

 

Despite being published by a Christian centered publisher, there is very little in the way of Christian philosophy in this. While the language is mild (no use of the F-bomb, or s-word), there are no real intimate scenes in it. 

 

This does tend to act as a standalone novel, despite it being one of the Novel of WWII Poland series. However, I am hoping for a follow-up as there were some characters I wanted to see a resolution with, especially given their prominence. I would’ve liked to have known what Tosia and Hela’s lives were like from 1945-1991. 

 

That said, if one is looking for a “feel-good” read – this isn’t it. For someone who enjoys WWII history and the varying perspectives, this is a book worth checking out. 

 

Even though this was a heavy read, I am very interested in reading the author’s other WWII novels.

 

 

 

RATING:  

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads  

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub  

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html; update: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html) 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

AMANDA BARRATT is the bestselling author of numerous historical fiction novels and novellas, including The White Rose Resists (a 2021 Christy Award winner and Within These Walls of Sorrow. She is passionate about illuminating oft-forgotten facets of history through a fictional narrative. Amanda lives in Michigan. Learn more at https://amandabarratt.net/. 

 

 

She can be found on the following social media accounts: 

 

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaBarrattauthor  

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandabarrattauthor/ 

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandambarratt 

 

 

 

 

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