Eighteen-year old Zofia Lederman has been liberated from Gross-Rosen concentration camp and has finally recovered enough to leave the hospital.  Zofia has been confused, she is forgetting things and has false memories.  Zofia desperately wants to find who she believes is the last living member of her family, her younger brother Abek.  Zofia promised Abek that she would find him after everything and that is exactly what she plans to do.  Upon returning to her home, Zofia finds it empty, looted with no sign of Abek.  Zofia learns that many people from concentration camps went to displaced persons camps, so Zofia makes her way to the camp her brother would most likely be in, Foehrenwald.   In Foehrenwald, Zofia meets many others just like her, confused and looking for  lost family members.  Zofia connects with Josef, who seems as damaged as her and with a secret.  As Zofia gets closer to finding Abek, her memories of the last time she saw him form.  

They Went Left is a poignant and heartfelt look at what happened to those who were liberated after World War II.  Often when I read books about World War II, the end of the book corresponds to the end of the War.  However, that was not the end of the hardship and suffering for anybody involved.  Zofia's story highlights the unique struggles that someone liberated from a concentration camp went through: displacement, searching for loved ones who may or may not be alive, not knowing who to trust including yourself and continued hatred.  The writing deftly conveys the dual feelings of hopefulness and sadness, uncertainty and confidence, bravery and fearfulness that people had in this time.  Through Zofia, Josef, Abek and the many people in Foehrenwald, the variety of trials and triumphs of the time are highlighted.  The story is told entirely through Zofia's point of view and is absolutely absorbing and fascinating to see her slowly transition from confused but committed to finding her brother to more sure of herself and accepting of what has happened.  I loved the device of the family alphabet that Zofia created in order to help her brother remember.  It served as a great way to get to know Zofia's family before the War.  Overall, They Went Left is a genuine and deeply affecting story of the world people faced after World War II.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Challenges

BL/GR: 17/52 (32%)

PS Reading Challenge: 11/50 (22%)

COYER Winter Switch, Phase 3: 4 books

Read and Reviewed

1. American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse - 4 stars

2. AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service - and How It Hurts Our Country by Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer - 3.5 stars

3. The Great Silence 1918-1920: Living in the Shadow of the Great War by Juliet Nicolson - 4 stars

4. Dark in Death (In Death #46) by JD Robb - 4 stars

DNFs

5. Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality by David Boies and Theodore B. Olson

Set Aside for a Future Reading

6. Gambled Away anthology by Various Authors

7. A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

Currently Reading

8. Women Heroes of the World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics by Kathryn J. Atwood

9. Forgotten Voices from the Great War by Max Arthur

Hours Volunteered at the Library

January: 13 hours, 5 minutes

February: 12 hours, 55 minutes

American Fire is about a rash of arson committed by a local couple. Simple direct story found in the crime beat section until the author digs into the area's history, especially its heyday and then decline. She also goes into the history of the couple: Charlie, a native of the area with a solid reputation and a rap sheet (mostly due to his drug use) and Tonya, also a native without such a solid reputation and a need to set things on fire. The author also profiles the local volunteer firefighters and law enforcement officials who had to clean up the messes Charlie and Tonya caused without the resources of suburban town or urban center. That is what really spoke to me, as I grew up in an area with only volunteer firefighters and EMTs - the resources and manpower can be overwhelmed very easily, but the level of dedication of those volunteer units can't be found in a lot of places.

I would recommend this book to true crime readers or those who like a closer look at rural towns and their problems and the people trying to solve them.