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A review by yurwity
A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor by Caroline Stoessinger
2.0
Won in the First Reads giveaway.
I was disappointed by the book, mostly because it didn't give what the title promises: a century of wisdom.
At best, it gave a portion of a centurys vague aphorisms. There was also an insane ammount of name-dropping. I felt like I was reading a book with some Alice Herz-Sommer in it rather than a book ABOUT Alice Herz-Sommer. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that 50% of the book was talking about someone else, and as often as not I was unsure of how those somebody elses affected Alice and made her the person she was. They didn't strike me as important in her life, only important in pop culture.
I think the story also would've been much clearer if it had been told in chronological order, or at least had included a time line and/or a European map marking everywhere Alice went and the dates. I mean, I didn't see the significance of the forward until the last chapter, because that was the only time that the author explained who Vaclav Havel was. Better organization would've kept the author from repeating information throughout the book.
I was also disappointed in the lack of details about the concentration camp. On the one hand, I can understand Alice not wanting to talk about it. Why dwell on unpleasant memories? However, I don't understand writing about a Holocaust survivor--and advertising her that way--who doesn't want to talk about the Holocaust. Without that context, her optimism felt more like escapism than strength to me. It also contributed to the larger problem that the writing felt very...flat. I wanted a story about this woman's life, I wanted to understand her, but I felt like what I got instead were stories about stories. There were a few rare moments of real connection and depth...but they were fleeting.
I did enjoy certain moments, like the brief anecdote about Alice running to put on lipstick and pearls when the all-male camera crew came over, or how the building manager stood up for her. I also learned quite a bit about Thereseinstadt and music in the concentration camps. I had never heard of that before, and I had never imagined that the Nazi propaganda had extended s far that they would film themselves pretending to be nice to Jews. And I do think Alice seems like a nice lady--certainly there is something to learn here because she survived a horrible experience and has still lived to an incredible age.
However, overall, I don't think this book lived up to Alice's life or to the promises it makes its readers. It wasn't bad...it was just...whatever.
I was disappointed by the book, mostly because it didn't give what the title promises: a century of wisdom.
At best, it gave a portion of a centurys vague aphorisms. There was also an insane ammount of name-dropping. I felt like I was reading a book with some Alice Herz-Sommer in it rather than a book ABOUT Alice Herz-Sommer. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that 50% of the book was talking about someone else, and as often as not I was unsure of how those somebody elses affected Alice and made her the person she was. They didn't strike me as important in her life, only important in pop culture.
I think the story also would've been much clearer if it had been told in chronological order, or at least had included a time line and/or a European map marking everywhere Alice went and the dates. I mean, I didn't see the significance of the forward until the last chapter, because that was the only time that the author explained who Vaclav Havel was. Better organization would've kept the author from repeating information throughout the book.
I was also disappointed in the lack of details about the concentration camp. On the one hand, I can understand Alice not wanting to talk about it. Why dwell on unpleasant memories? However, I don't understand writing about a Holocaust survivor--and advertising her that way--who doesn't want to talk about the Holocaust. Without that context, her optimism felt more like escapism than strength to me. It also contributed to the larger problem that the writing felt very...flat. I wanted a story about this woman's life, I wanted to understand her, but I felt like what I got instead were stories about stories. There were a few rare moments of real connection and depth...but they were fleeting.
I did enjoy certain moments, like the brief anecdote about Alice running to put on lipstick and pearls when the all-male camera crew came over, or how the building manager stood up for her. I also learned quite a bit about Thereseinstadt and music in the concentration camps. I had never heard of that before, and I had never imagined that the Nazi propaganda had extended s far that they would film themselves pretending to be nice to Jews. And I do think Alice seems like a nice lady--certainly there is something to learn here because she survived a horrible experience and has still lived to an incredible age.
However, overall, I don't think this book lived up to Alice's life or to the promises it makes its readers. It wasn't bad...it was just...whatever.