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bookph1le's review
4.0
I thought this was a well-written story with a lot of empathy and a real sense of Fritz, the main character. Though it's historical fiction, it still resonates today, given how immigrant populations are often still viewed in the U.S. I also think there's a relevant strain when it comes to how the safety and security of many is often sacrificed on the altar of efficiency, or to satisfy special interests.
booklvrkat's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Violence
marilynw's review
4.0
Ash Wednesday (A Point in Time #2)
by Paula McLain, Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)
You must choose the right time to read/hear this short story, not that there can ever be a right time for such heartbreak. This is fiction but based on a real life tragic event, the Collinwood school fire, one of the deadliest school disasters in US history. The author has imagined what real life school janitor, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter, must have thought about his move to the US years ago, how his dreams when coming to the US did not bear fruit, and how he felt about working in the fire trap of a school that he was tasked to keep clean and running to the best of his ability. As the only adult male who worked at the school, so much fell on the shoulders of this almost invisible janitor, who saw so much but had so little say about the changes made to the school, in order to fit more immigrant children inside it's unfit walls.
Fritz does the best he can to keep the school's boilers running. It's a job for more than one man but it's always been just him. When a fire starts in the basement, Fritz's five children are in this school, along with hundreds of other children and just a few women teachers. All the fire drills in the world couldn't prepare any of them for the reality of a school added on to in such a way to make it impossible for fleeing humans to survive.
There is no happy ending here. Almost two hundred people died, almost all of them children. So many families lost more than one child. It was a plaque in the author's community that brought this disaster to her attention. With her story, Fritz and the others are not forgotten.
A short story from the A Point in Time collection of stories about the pivotal moments, past and present, that change lives. This is a Kindle Unlimited audiobook selection.
by Paula McLain, Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)
You must choose the right time to read/hear this short story, not that there can ever be a right time for such heartbreak. This is fiction but based on a real life tragic event, the Collinwood school fire, one of the deadliest school disasters in US history. The author has imagined what real life school janitor, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter, must have thought about his move to the US years ago, how his dreams when coming to the US did not bear fruit, and how he felt about working in the fire trap of a school that he was tasked to keep clean and running to the best of his ability. As the only adult male who worked at the school, so much fell on the shoulders of this almost invisible janitor, who saw so much but had so little say about the changes made to the school, in order to fit more immigrant children inside it's unfit walls.
Fritz does the best he can to keep the school's boilers running. It's a job for more than one man but it's always been just him. When a fire starts in the basement, Fritz's five children are in this school, along with hundreds of other children and just a few women teachers. All the fire drills in the world couldn't prepare any of them for the reality of a school added on to in such a way to make it impossible for fleeing humans to survive.
There is no happy ending here. Almost two hundred people died, almost all of them children. So many families lost more than one child. It was a plaque in the author's community that brought this disaster to her attention. With her story, Fritz and the others are not forgotten.
A short story from the A Point in Time collection of stories about the pivotal moments, past and present, that change lives. This is a Kindle Unlimited audiobook selection.
mnboyer's review
5.0
Short story about the 1908 Collinwood school fire, which claimed 175 lives, most of which were elementary school students. Yikes! This school was designed by idiots -- well, in fairness, they warned the people paying that it was going to light up like a box of matches, but the cheaper building was still built. Gut wrenching stuff! Dark. This short story is about the boiler master and his attempts to save some kids in this event, in the process losing some of his own.
socorrobaptista's review against another edition
4.0
Mais um fato histórico sobre o qual eu nunca tinha ouvido falar, o que nos mostra como tragédias só alcançam a grande mídia quando afetam pessoas de classes sociais mais favorecidas. Um texto muito bom, que me tocou muito.