Customer Reviews

The Oasis: A Memoir of Love and Survival in a Concentration Camp

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4 star:		(1)
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Not only is this a compelling novel made even more amazing by the fact that it is a true story, but the writing and the way the author captured the story - and his characters - leaves me in awe. The author did a wonderful job of portraying a camp from the inside and included enough historical facts to educate his readers, yet not weigh it down (which would be incredibly easy and sometimes happens in novels of this genre). I've read many books about this time in history - from historical documents to autobiographies and this one is among the best in its blend of fact and "personal story". You never for a second aren't aware that these people are real and lived through this amazing challenge. It will touch you forever and you will think about this amazing couple and incredible love story for a long time to come.

Rarely do I read a book or see a movie about the Holocaust. But as a fan of Popescu, I was curious (check out "Almost Adam" and "Amazon Beaming"). Popescu, more than anyone I've read, has the ability to evoke and make tangible the emotional space of extreme human experience. "The Oasis" is a remarkable achievement in this regard. We see and hear the "camp" but we feel and recognize the exhilaration and wonder of a high school romance. A story of love and dignity held close to the bone and the soul, "The Oasis" illuminates the "secret of life".

Popescu managed to hook the reader in with his extradordinary style and vivid descriptions. This is the best book I've ever read about the Holocaust era (and I have read almost all of them), and I urge you to read it even if you are uncomfortable reading about the era. The Oasis is a story about love that just happens to take place in a concentration camp.

This book is wonderful. It is so honest in such a dishonest time of history. You find yourself rooting for the main characters with all of your passion. You get to feel like you know Mirek (Karel) and Blanka like they were family. This book is such a pleasure. I will read it again and again until my copy if so worn, that I will have to buy it again.

My mother, a Holocaust survivor, never talked to me about her experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. This novel gave me a vivid picture of what it was like to survive such an ordeal and the deep scars that such an event can imprint on peoples lives. I am grateful to Blanka and Mirek Friedman for making public such a personal account of their love story and more importantly to Petru Popescu for using his obvious literary talent to bring such a story to life. The novel evokes life in a concentration camp with such force that by the end of the novel I got the feeling that I have experienced life in camp Muldorf.
Many years ago I read some of Petru Popescu's Romanian novels. His English writing is as powerful as it was in Romanian. Great book, I strongly recommend it.

For those of you who have read the book, the character of Margit, is my grandmother. Still alive, she is one of the strongest women I will ever know in my life. I had the honor of going to Auschwitz a few years ago and seeing the barracks of where my family was held. I have read this book many times and cry every single time knowing the suffering they had to endure. Petru wrote very well and I am proud to have this book in my possession.

I feel extremely compelled to post my "first review ever". How can I not when this is such an AMAZING book. It should definitely be on your MUST-read-list. I pass my copy on to everyone I know and have yet to have anyone not love it as much as I do. The Oasis = #1 memoir that I've ever had the pleasure to have read. I feel SO fortunate to have come across it - what a pity to have never heard this story! You will find yourself spreading the news as well.

This is a very powerful book which I think everyone should read. I could not put this book down. Usually I do not feel strong enough about books to write a review, but this book is different. Since this is a true story, the readers can really see what life was like for the main characters. This is the most amazing love story ever!!!

Blanka meets Mirek in Dachau after managing to survive Auscwitz. When she arrives in Dachau, she is only thinking about surviving the present and doesn't feel much of anything. Mirek befriends her and she begins to feel again-- love, hate, fear, everything.

This story of courtship that began during a time in a concentration camp is compelling and strange. This is more than just a WWII concentration camp story; it is timeless because it shows how hope might be killed due to human depravity and despair, but it can also be restored through love, family, and feelings. There is so much more I could say about this book that just can't be expressed in a review-- so I'll just say READ IT!

Oasis is a fascinating book. Popescu has the remarkable ability to capture the essences of being Jewish under the thumb of Nazi oppression. A true story that is a spark in one of humanities darkest hour. Reading the Oasis re-enforces ones belief that there is hope, happiness, goodness and justice in today's world. Where the power of love is a force that triumphs over it's counter part - fear and terror. Petru Popescu is today's Joseph Conrad. Like Conrad, he writes in English although his native tongue is Romanian. His creative ability to articulate the human spirit and understand the human psychic is at the same level as Conrad's. A must read book. Hopefully it will be made into a movie.