Customer Reviews

The Chimney Tree

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4 star:		(1)
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This book is what people mean when they talk about "curling up with a good read". A generational novel that follows a Jewish girl(Breindal) from an innocent affair with a boy who turns out to be far more than he seems, through the horrors of Nazi and Communist terror. Breindal is a great character who combines an emotional response to her fascinating life coupled with a wisdom and insight that keeps you reading chapter after chapter. When you next need a terrific book for the beach on a sunny day or for staying in on a chilly autumn night, there's no better or more addictive read.

What a wonderful read this is. I'd call it a great page-turner--which it is--but that would leave unmentioned it's lovely style. The book offers a spellbinding story elegantly told.

You'll feel you'll know Breindal as she encounters a world that is going through massive changes and her own journey from innocence to a wisdom forged from young love and the threat of extermination.

But, above all, it is the fascinating story that explains why I, and three of my friends, each read this entire book in one sitting. You just can't put it down and are sorry that I has to end.

Breindel Rutner, the heroine of "The Chimney Tree," is a beautiful young woman who seems destined for happiness. She is the daughter of Reb Mordche Rutner, the respected head of the Hasidim in the town of Krovnitz, Poland, during the 1930's. Breindel is a member of a warm and loving family and she has everything that she desires. Unfortunately, her life takes a wrong turn early on. Breindel falls in love with a gentile, and when the relationship becomes public, she is hastily married off to a man she does not love. Unfortunately, her new husband suffers from Messianic delusions, and she must flee from him to keep her own sanity. Breindel's problems escalate throughout the book. Besides having to flee from place to place to escape bad relationships, Breindel suffers horribly during WWII. The Nazis bring death and destruction to Polish Jewry. Many members of Breindel's family die, and she must use her ingenuity to keep herself and her child alive from day to day. The author of this novel, Helaine Helmreich, has created a strong and spirited heroine who evoked my sympathy and interest. "The Chimney Tree" is a sad story of a woman whose life turns out to be far less idyllic than she could ever have imagined.

The Chimney Tree is an engrossing book that I read in just one day. I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction rather than fact.

The character, Breindel, illustrates the magnificent strength of the human spirit. One just marvels at her will to go on and prays for her survival.