The Orphan’s Tale

Based on the glowing reviews, I read this novel as I am a fan of WW II historical fiction. The story managed to capture me but by no means would I call it riveting or written with deep emotion. It’s all fairly tenable how the relations come about, how Noa meets Astrid, the circus being the catalyst. Other charcters (Luc, Herr Neuhoff, Gerda, Emmet) play roles that help the story and the conclusion (no spoilers) does account for the fate of all the characters. That all said, I found the writing choppy, lacking a deep felt emotion of the characters (even the main ones) and thought the second half was a bit over-romanticized. Would I recommend it? Yes. Many may find a stronger emotional connection. I did not. So 3 stars for what I thought might be a 4.5 – 5 star going in.

I dont have enough words to express how much I dislike this book and the authors writing style. I forced myself to finish the book and interesting enough the only part I enjoyed was the authors note at the end, where she describes her inspiration after visiting Yad Vashem. Given the subject matter, this could have been such a moving book, exemplifying acts of courage, friendship and sacrifice during the darkest times in our human history. Instead the author made the characters bratty and childish with very little depth. It was difficult to connect with the characters and every time I was about to feel a connection she would make them do something super bratty, annoying and unrealistic. There were very few historical facts incorporated. It felt like a silly romance novel at times. It does not belong in the same category as other amazing WWII books such as nightingale and All the light we cannot see. Dont waste your time reading it. There are so many better books on this topic.

I just finished this book, and as I wipe away my tears I have to tell you that this is an original, riveting story about courage, love, friendship, and family. A while back, someone asked if there were too many books written about WWII, and my answer was no….there are millions of stories to tell. The Orphan’s Tale is a great example of this, telling a story about events and acts of bravery that I knew nothing about. In this masterful tale, Astrid is an aerialist whose family had owned a circus in Germany; but her family was Jewish, and had disappeared when she returned home after being cast aside by her husband, a German officer. Noa is a young girl whose single act of bravery leads her to the circus, an uncommon but welcome refuge for her. This story is told with such passion and enormous heart, with pulse-pounding suspense as Astrid, Noa, and the rest of their circus friends are under constant threat of the Nazis. I highly recommend this book to all book lovers; it is sure to enthrall everyone.

The main character’s behaviour is so far fetched as to be unbelievable. What person would get thrown out of her home for being pregnant (but a German soldier), give up the baby to the Nazi, live in abject poverty, steal a jewish baby from a death train, join a circus, sleep with a Nazi sympathizer, jeopardize the many Jewish circus performers and…that is where I stopped and deleted the book from my kindle. Sorry if that is too many spoilers but now you are saved from actually having to read this drivel!

When you think about WW II you think of all the people that were taken by the Nazi’s because of their different believes, like Gypsies and a lot more. Never thought too much about what happened to the circus people. This book is giving you an inside of what happened during the war with the circus performers and that a lot of Jews were saved by performing at the circus. This was the case of Noa, a 16th year old girl from the Netherlands who was raped by a German soldier and got pregnant by him. As soon as the baby was born the Nazi’s took the child away from her. She was thrown out of her parent’s home and ended up at the circus where she found a little Jewish boy laying in a box car still alive. She took it with her and while living in the circus train she met Astrid who taught her how to be a aerialist (trapeze worker). First the women do not get along but over time a friendship starts to form and they help each other any way they can and take care of the little Jewish boy named Theo. Noa becomes friends with the circus people and many things happen during the time that she is with the circus. Unfortunately the head of the circus dies and there is hardly any money left to keep all the performers with the circus -which was kept a secret from the performers-. Towards the end of the book dramatic things are starting to happen and all you can do is hope and pray for a good outcome. I could not put this book down because it was for me very interesting and I felt so sorry for Noa that I shed several tears for her. This is a very good book to read and I recommend it to anyone.

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