In that year, 1939, Poland was divided between the Nazis and the Communists. Two years later the Germans would defeat the Soviets and oppression would turn into mass murder. But Roma's story is not about atrocities. It is the tale of a woman who loves life, but whose husband, eighteen years older than she, leaves her alone for long periods of time. Although she lives in a period of terrible suffering and destruction, Roma, with her four-year-old child and her job as a salesgirl, is determined to survive.
This book is an extraordinary document of life under two ruthless regimes. Roma tells it with great feeling and skill. While the story of the German occupation has been told countless times, one is indebted to the author for spending the better part of the book describing life during the Communist occupation. Under the Germans, Roma suffered for being a Jew; under the Soviets, she suffered for being the unique individual she was.
Because of the enormity of the Holocaust, we often forget the parallel tragedy of millions of people in Eastern Europe who suffered and dies under the Marxist experiment. The author helps shed light on the period by describing daily life under Communist oppression. Her characters are memorable and real, compelling in their human strengths and weaknesses.
One of the author's greatest gifts is her ability to show us how a young woman, adrift in a time of state-sanctioned persecution and brutality kept her dignity, her sense of humor, and her independence to persevere in maintaining the rituals of normal life.
Roma's riveting experiences under two invasions linger in the reader's mind long after he has completed reading this remarkable book.
