Day after night

My goal was to write a new book review on the first each of month- but since the first of this month fell on a Sunday during which I spent most of my waking hours helping my parents clean their garage and then fell into bed exhausted, I guess the second will have to do this time!

Day After Night by Anita Diamant was another book I read while we were on vacation in Cabo. Like Beatrice and Virgil, it was a book I wanted to read because I had read another of the author's works and absolutely loved it. In this case, I had read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and found it to be a fascinating portrayal of what life was like for Jewish women in Biblical times. It was one of those books you enjoy so much that you remember exactly when and where you were when you read it- it was the summer of 2003, Ben & I had just gotten engaged and were in Iowa visiting his family. His parents were planning to move to a new house soon and were having a garage sale. I read The Red Tent in their driveway over the course of a few hot days selling old golf clubs and forgotten toys. Good book, good memory.

This book was as satisfying as Beatrice and Virgil was disappointing. And, strangely, it also related to the Holocaust, something I didn't realize as I was choosing books to take on the trip. It chronicles the lives of several young girls living in a detention camp in Palestine around the end of World War II. Though the story is fictional, the camp was real. I didn't know that after war when so many displaced Jewish people were pouring into Palestine hoping for a new home, many were being detained (read: imprisoned) by the British government. This story takes place at a camp called Atlit just before the detainees were liberated by the underground Jewish army. It's absorbing not so much for the plot as for the characters. Diamant has created very well-rounded, realistic young women whose stories will break your heart and give you a new understanding and appreciation for what our grandparents' generation endured. It's a great read, and I definitely recommend it!

Side note: One of the things I don't like about book reviews is that they often give too much of the plot away (in my opinion). That is why I avoid reading them before I read a book. The downside of that is that I could avoid reading some terrible books. Try finding a good review for Beatrice and Virgil, for instance. But, I'd rather form an opinion of my own. So, I hope that when I review a book for you, I give you enough info to know if you're interested without saying too much!