The Kommandant's Girl [Paperback]

Pam Jenoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Nineteen-year-old Emma Bau has been married only three weeks when Nazi tanks thunder into her native Poland. Within days Emma's husband, Jacob, is forced to disappear underground, leaving her imprisoned within the city's decrepit, moldering Jewish ghetto. But then, in the dead of night, the resistance smuggles her out. Taken to Krakow to live with Jacob's Catholic cousin, Krysia, Emma takes on a new identity as Anna Lipowski, a gentile.

Emma's already precarious situation is complicated by her introduction to Kommandant Richwalder, a high-ranking Nazi official who hires her to work as his assistant. Urged by the resistance to use her position to access details of the Nazi occupation, Emma must compromise her safety—and her marriage vows—in order to help Jacob's cause. As the atrocities of war intensify, so does Emma's relationship with the Kommandant, building to a climax that will risk not only her double life, but also the lives of those she loves.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. With luminous simplicity, Jenoff's breathtaking debut chronicles the life of a young Jewish bride during the Nazi occupation of Kraków, Poland, in WWII. Emma Bau, a shy librarian, escapes the city's Jewish ghetto with the aid of the underground resistance movement that Jacob, her activist husband, has already joined. Emma assumes a new gentile identity as Anna Lipowski and goes to live with Jacob's elderly aunt, a wealthy Catholic widow who has also taken in Lukasz Izakowicz, the only surviving child of a famous rabbi and his murdered wife. As Anna, Emma catches the eye of Kommandant Georg Richwalder, second in charge of the General Government, at a dinner party. The handsome Nazi is so impressed by her German language skills (and her beauty) that he asks her to become his personal assistant. Emma accepts, hoping to secure valuable information for the resistance, but the chemistry between them presents challenges that test her loyalties to Jacob and her heart. This is historical romance at its finest. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Emma had lived in the closed orthodox Jewish community of Krakow, Poland, until she began working at the university library and met Jacob. He sweeps her off her feet, and they marry on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Jacob immediately leaves to join the Jewish underground, and Emma returns to her family, now locked in the Jewish ghetto. Jacob provides false papers, enabling Emma to become Anna Lipowski and move in with his Catholic aunt Krysia, posing as her niece. Krysia works for the underground while maintaining her status as a leader in the arts community. During a dinner party, Emma/Anna is introduced to Nazi Kommadant Richwalder. Smitten, he asks her to come work for him. She agrees, knowing such access will aid the underground, and even becomes intimate with the enemy to gather information. In her moving first novel, Jenoff offers an insightful portrait of people forced into an untenable situation and succeeds in humanizing the unfathomable as well as the heroic. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Original edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778323420
• ISBN-13: 978-0778323426
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pam Jenoff attended George Washington University, Cambridge University in the U.K., where she received a masters in history, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. A former Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army and State Department officer, she lives in Philadelphia, where she works as an attorney.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars She had me up until the very end, but then she let it slip away, August 1, 2007

By 

Long Ago "Far Away" (in the middle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kommandant's Girl (Paperback)

For me this was a four-star book up until about the last 50-60 pages or so, at which point I'd have to drop to 3 1/2 stars. The plot is simple and straightforward. There were a few twists along the road, but nothing extraordinary and perhaps even a bit predictable. I thought the protagonist Emma/Anna was well developed and the story was well supported by other applicable characters. I got to know about Emma/Anna, her life and the great personal conflicts that erupted for her with the onset of the German invasion of Poland.

However, as the final pages of the book played out the author inserted a few occurrences that were just too coincidental. The types of coincidences that make me just role my eyes and say "oh, please", situations that were just a bit over-the-top and contrived, even for a novel. For the sake of those who wish to read the book I won't give details because they effect how the story ends, or course.

All in all, Jenoff did a nice job for this being her first book. Her style is very reader-friendly. I would recommend it if you're looking for a quick read with substance and a good story.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Kommandant's Girl review, May 14, 2007

By 

Robert Leonardo (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kommandant's Girl (Paperback)

I may be prejudiced as I am already a big fan of historical fiction, especially anything that takes place in the 1930's and 1940's. However, I think any readers who enjoy taught realistic story telling will enjoy this book. Very believable characters thrown into very dramatic situations is what great fiction is all about. Though simply drawn, our heroine is someone that is easily liked, and easy to root for. The fact that her struggles in the book literally mirror those of the entire human race during what may be the turning point of our history makes it all the more interesting and consuming. It is also worth remembering that it was only 60 years ago which is not that far back at all.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book, July 10, 2007

By 

M.S.F. (Boston) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Kommandant's Girl (Paperback)

..and it took me awhile to figure out why I didn't. After all, I enjoy all types of books: romance, drama, history, fiction and non-fiction. I also found the author's intentions admirable. I guess the problem is that it seemed to walk down the middle of all these genres without mastering any of the reasons I read a particular type of book. While its an easy engaging read, it just didn't hold up to some of the wonderful non-fiction books out there that tell basically the same story. Yes, to some degree that's what historical fiction is, but this book didn't add anything new in terms of plot or character compared to other stories I've read set against the same time period (fiction and non-fiction). Probably not the greatest analogy, but have you ever had a favorite book that was made into a movie? While an enjoyable passing of time, you find the film version lacking the character and plot development found in the original telling. That's how I felt after reading this. That being said, I wouldn't not recommend this book and admittedly might have rated it higher if I didn't go in with such high expectations or other books to compare it to. As I read this book, I kept thinking back to another that I would recommend above this one: "In My Hands" By Irene Gut Opdyke