Warsaw Requiem

I had forgotten how much I hated how the series ended. It was just so abrupt and left *so many* loose ends. But, I just discovered that there are three more books after this one, written after I read these for the first time back in the 90s. I ordered them online last night, so I'm looking forward to how it turned out for all my favorite characters 😀

Lori, Jamie, Alfie, and Mark are all able to get passage on one of the children's refugee ships to England, but the official decides Jacob is too old and denies his application. Before they are separated, Jacob and Lori marry. When they go to get on the ship, Lucy, who has just given birth to a son and is being pursued by Wolf, shows up, begging the ship to take her baby to safety. They refuse, so Alfie gives up his spot. He and Jacob stay behind with Sam Orde, fresh from Palestine. Lucy is reunited with Peter, who still hasn't found his mother or his sister but is eager to train with Orde and fight the Nazis. Meanwhile in London, Elisa (remember her?) has given birth to a daughter and she and Murphy are working on continuing the brave plan of faking passports to smuggle Jews out of Poland, only using British passports instead of Czech like Rudy was doing way back in book 1. 

Like I said, the book just ends, basically two weeks after Poland was invaded. Everyone's stories were still up in the air (except for the poor unfortunates who died--RIP Pastor Karl). After spending six books with some of these people, I would have liked a *little* more closure. Let's see how well the last three wrap things up. 
 

Danzig Passage

 

Danzig used to be a free city-state on the shore of the Baltic that was part of Germany before WWI. We are introduced to some new characters, like Lucy Strasburg. Lucy is dreaming of marrying dashing S.S. officer Wolf now that she's pregnant with his baby, and realizes her naiveté when he laughs and tells her he already is married. He and his wife have three daughters, so he's hoping for a boy for the Reich. Lucy is determined to keep her baby. Otto is shielding the family of dissent Michael Wallich in his apartment when Wolf and Lucy pay him a surprise visit. Wolf gets Otto arrested, and Otto takes cyanide before he can be interrogated. Poor Otto. Lucy's warning saves the Wallich family, and she escapes with eldest son Peter and the baby, Willie, to Danzig. 

Meanwhile, Anna's sister Helen is arrested in Berlin, along with her husband, Pastor Karl Isben. Their children, Lori and Jamie, hide out in a church, along with two Jewish children they grew up with, Jacob and Mark. Together with a young man named Alfie, who is developmentally disabled and managed to escape from the hospital before he could be euthanatized, manage to make their way to Danzig too. But with Hitler breathing down Poland's neck, how long will Danzig be safe? 

Jerusalem Interlude; The Creative Act

 

Book four of the Zion Chronicles takes us (mostly) to Jerusalem, following Leah and Shimon as they arrive in the Promised Land, and introducing us to some new characters, including star crossed lovers Eli and Victoria. Eli is a Jewish boy, studying to be a rabbi, and Victoria is Muslim. Her brother is trying to marry her off to an influential businessman and Victoria is trying to stall so she can figure out how she and Eli can be together. Much like Romeo and Juliet, their ending was tragic.

Elisa, Murphy, Charles, and Louis are all in London, along with Elisa's parents. Theo makes a brave decision to go back to Berlin to try to talk Hitler into letting the Jews leave with the promise that other nations will buy German products again. He is there to witness Kristallnacht firsthand. 

I remember being impatient with this book the first time I read it, just because I was so invested in Elisa and Murphy's love story, but this time around I appreciated it so much more. 

I was mildly curious about this book by well known record producer Rick Rubin. He seems like a super interesting guy. I wasn't expecting too much, but my goodness, was it profound! This book spoke to me in a way that I don't think any other book ever has. I borrowed it from work, but I'm definitely buying a copy to own, it's something I'll want to read again, or just dip into for inspiration. 

Rick is basically giving his best advice on how to foster and develop your creativity. He is quick to point out that just because it works for him doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Pick the advice that speaks to you, he advises. Some of my main takeaways were: don't be derailed by imperfections, they often lead to greater understanding. Don't create for anyone else but yourself. Don't try to fit in--foster your own unique voice. There were so many more, I felt like every page had an "oh wow!" moment. 

The Case of the Green Eyed Sister; The Birth of Rock n' Roll

 

I thought for sure I had read this one before when the murder weapon was an ice pick and multiple ice picks appeared on the scene, but no, that was "The Case of the Footloose Doll". I guess Gardner ran out of murder weapons to use. 

Sylvia Bain and her sister, Harriet, are worried about a would be blackmailer trying to threaten their fragile father. When Fritch, the blackmailer, turns up dead, Harriet is suspected and Perry defends her. 

The courtroom scenes were great. D.A. Moon instead of Burger, but he's just as inept. When one of the witnesses gets irritated at Mason's cross-examination tactics, he angrily asks how Mason thinks the murder could have been committed, since he doesn't believe the prosecution's theory (he was right not to, it didn't make any sense). Mason cheerfully tells him exactly how he thought the murder could have happened (clearing Harriet, of course) and the witness, D.A., and judge are all at a loss as to how to debunk Mason. It was a lot of fun. 

The story of Sun Records and the birth of rock n' roll (or at least one theory as to how it got started). Sam Phillips' little recording company ended up discovering many big name music stars: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash. Sun Records got a reputation as being *the* place to go when everyone else turned you down. Phillips had an ear for spotting unique talent and knowing just how to sell it. It was a fun look at some of the most important records to come out of Memphis. 

Prague Counterpoint; Munich Signature; Strangers in the Night

 

Book 2 of the Zion Covenant series finds Elisa and Murphy still at cross purposes, but at least they finally figure it out by the end. 

Walter Kronenberger, a former journalist, became an enemy of Hitler's Reich when he refused to allow his son Charles to be killed. Charles was born with a harelip, and rather than let the surgeon correct it, the Gestapo wanted him dead. Walter and Charles were both sterilized against their will, and Walter's pregnant wife died as a result of the abortion issued by the Nazis. Walter is killed, but his boys, Charles and his twin Louis, manage to escape and find their way to Leah, who protects them. Eventually Elisa returns to Vienna and is able to help get Charles out while sending Leah and Louis to Tyrol to escape to Paris over the Alps. 

Things continue to get darker in Europe in the third book. "Peace in Our Time!" the newspapers cry as Prime Minister Chamberlain reneges on the promise to protect Czechoslovakia against Germany. For the Jews living in Prague it's devastating. 

The ship Darien leaves Hamburg with over 700 Jews, bound for Palestine--until Britain says "no more" due to riots by the Arabs. Darien tries to go to New York, where it's also turned away. On board the ship is the Holbein family: Klaus, Maria, and their five little girls. The Holbein's grandmother, Bubbe Rosenfelt, an American citizen, left Germany on the Queen Mary and meets Murphy and Charles Kronenberger, who are on their way to New York. Murphy gets involved in the story of the doomed ship and the grandmother desperate to be reunited with the only living family she has left. After being turned away in New York, the ship heads for Cuba without any success. It was so heartbreaking. Well, to be honest, everything about these books is heartbreaking. 

Onto something a little more lighthearted. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner's love story was one for the ages. So in love, but unable to live together, like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The story of how they met, fell in love, married, and broke up was passionate and tumultuous and lots of fun. Webb did a great job of really bringing it to life. 

Vienna Prelude

 

A few weekends ago, I went to the Auschwitz exhibit at the Reagan Library. It was heartbreaking and deeply moving, and reminded me of a series of books I read about 30 years ago (yikes!) when I was a teenager. 

Book one of the Zion Covenant series, "Vienna Prelude" introduces us to a large cast of characters whose lives all become intertwined over the rest of the series. Elisa Lindheim is a half-Jewish woman living in Vienna and playing the violin in the orchestra under the Aryan name Elisa Linder. It's 1936, and Germany is completely under Nazi rule. Elisa's parents, still living in Berlin, have decided to leave before it's too late. 

Elisa meets an American newspaper journalist named John Murphy.  The two of them fall for each other, but misunderstandings get in the way and they're both too proud to admit how they really feel about each other. 

Elisa's friends, Leah and Shimon, are excited to be immigrating to Palestine. They just hope they can get out in time, since Hitler is eyeing Austria and the rest of the world doesn't seem to care if he gobbles the ancient little country up. 

Elisa inadvertently gets involved in a dangerous plan to smuggle Jewish children out of Germany. Once she knows, she feels compelled to continue to try to rescue as many of the children as possible.