
Yup, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It's a busy week for sure! But if you did have a chance to read Number the Stars
I’m happy to report that Number the Stars
The story gets its name from Psalm 147 which in my bible says, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their name.” But the theme of the Psalm is God healing the broken-hearted and speaks of a God who is in control and “casts the wicked to the ground.” It’s a powerful Psalm and I recommend reading it with this story in mind. Or reading Number the Stars
Number the Stars
While all of the characters are drawn from the author’s imagination, there were a surprising amount of documented facts in this book. I actually was almost more moved by the Afterword from the author than I was from the story itself. Which is saying something because I was quite moved by the story. Denmark was like little Annemarie herself. Overcome with the vastness and cruelty of the world, the Danish people managed to do what was right in the face of danger.
I have to say in my study of Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied France, I haven’t looked very much into Denmark’s occupation. I now would really like to know more. I didn’t initially know that an overwhelming majority of Denmark’s Jewish population was saved, partly through the efforts of a German (yes, that’s not a typo) official who leaked a warning to a rabbi from Copenhagen, and partly through the unified effort of the Danish resistance. Most of the Jews were taken to Sweden in boats by fishermen who also were linked with the resistance movement. In order to avoid canine detection the fishermen carried handkerchiefs laced with rabbit’s blood and cocaine, a mixture which initially attracted the dogs and then numbed their sense of smell. Genius! Also, the Danish people actually did destroy their entire Navy after they were occupied. They wanted to keep as much power as possible out of the Nazis hands. You just feel like standing up and cheering for these people.
This is the exact type of story I like. It’s a story of one small spark of hope in a very dark world. There is fear and brokenness and absence surrounding Annemarie, but there is bravery and there is human decency too. It is one small story that promises other stories of sacrifice and bravery from everyday people. In the Afterword, the author presented a fragment of a letter from one member of the Danish resistance, named Kim Malthe-Bruun, (possibly Lois Lowry based the character of Peter Neilsen on him) to his mother the night before he was executed by the Germans. I’m just going to put the whole thing on here as the conclusion of this review because it was so good.
“…and I want you all to remember – that you must not dream yourselves back to the times before the war, but the dream for you all, young and old, must be to create an ideal of human decency, and not a narrow minded and prejudiced one. That is the great gift our country hungers for, something every little peasant boy can look forward to, and with pleasure feel he is a part of – something he can work and fight for.”
5 comments:
Well, my girls and I didn't get around to reading this one, but we WILL read it. I can't resist linking again to my review of The Yellow Star by Carmen Deedy. It's about King Christian X of Denmark and would make an excellent companion to this novel!
http://www.hopeisthewordblog.com/2009/07/31/author-spotlight-carmen-agra-deedy/
Thank you for choosing this book. I enjoyed reading it again (and a quick book was just what I needed!). I addressed three themes of courage, sheltering, and pride in my review: http://learninghowmuchidontknow.blogspot.com/2014/11/number-stars.html
I'd love to read that book by Deedy. Thanks for sharing that information.
I was, uh, not really paying attention to anything outside the walls of Via Christi St. Joseph hospital's NICU during the month of November, so I didn't read this one - but it sounds WONDERFUL. I'm going to put it on my library list now. Excellent review.
I finally finished! It wasn't a long book, but I just neglecting to pick it up. I hadn't heard of it before seeing it on Carrie's list, but I really enjoyed it. My review is here: https://barbarah.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/12829/
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