Reviews

I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust by Julian Borger

bluemoons's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

mimster's review

4.25

Very good, lots of points for thought

maink's review

challenging informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

beckycliffe's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

ukbookworm's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

lubleu's review

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

There exists now a plethora of memoirs and research works that explore such a layered period in global history, so it takes a lot for a new work to feel it is adding something more to the collective consciousness. This book manages it. 

While Borger is exploring his family's history, centring on his father, he seeks to provide context for the man's life from those who shared, in some small part, the experience. As such, this book weaves a complex tapestry of lives. It's well-informed, balanced and reflective. It is bleak and harrowing, whilst also tender and empathetic. 

Yet, the book is periodically let down by the clarity of the writing. There are points of profoundly moving writing- the epilogue being a clear example of this- so it is by no means a consistent fault. However, there are times when the narrative is lost, either through jumping between so many individuals and their stories (there are a great many included), or by the whistlestop tour through historical events. It all adds to form a rich background for these stories, but does mean there's a lot covered in so few pages.