'For those they took, whose names we'll never know because no one was left to remember them'.
Once again, Steve N. Lee has bowled me over with this WWII historical fiction novel. It is set in Poland at the beginning of the war, in an orphanage run by Mirek, a published author, and Baba Hanka, a grandmotherly figure who I adored. He was a miracle worker in the kitchen. She made edible meals out of plants and herbs that had been foraged in the forest.
Mirek was an incredible strength to the kids he was looking after, and even when things were looking bad, he pulled on his positive mask and attempted to turn things into a game, so the kids wouldn't be scared.
This is a book, based on true events, about WWII so of course it's heartbreaking, hearing about yet more unspeakable events which took place and how horrific people were treated. But everyone should be aware of just how bad things were for hundreds of thousands of people and how heartless the people who carried out these monstrous acts.
'It isn't only the love we've lost that makes it hurt so much, it's the love we'll never get to give'.
Thank you to Steve N. Lee for the opportunity to read and review A Song of Silence.
About the Book
War thrust them together. Love will tear them apart.
Inspired by a true story...
When the Nazis invade a sleepy Polish town in 1939, Mirek Kozlowski swears to keep everyone in his orphanage safe at all costs. However, despite his struggles and sacrifices, the war drags him and his children deeper and deeper into its violent nightmare.
With 89 children looking to him for hope, Mirek must do whatever it takes to protect them — no matter how criminal, distasteful, or perilous it may be.
And just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, the arrival of a sadistic SS captain brings unspeakable atrocities to his town — and surprisingly, a glimmer of hope for Mirek to save all those he cares about if only he has the courage to grasp it…
A story of love, bravery, and compassion, A Song of Silence explores history’s darkest hour and how, even in the face of overwhelming evil, one man can become a dazzling beacon of light.
Discover what it means to be human. Discover A Song of Silence.
About Steve
Steve has three passions: anti-heroes, animals, and travel. To date, he's visited 60 countries and has adopted five homeless cats, but he's yet to prowl the streets in the dead of night to beat up bad guys (though he still daydreams about doing so, but who doesn't?).
In pursuit of adventure, he's cage-dived with great white sharks, sparred with a monk at a Shaolin temple, and explored exotic locales such as Machu Picchu, Pompeii, and the Great Wall of China.
Fortunately, his passions fuel his fiction. He loves to pepper his action-packed thrillers with the exotic places he's explored and the unusual encounters he's experienced, while his dog stories glow with the love and companionship that will warm the heart of any animal lover.
More recently, while on his travels, Steve came across two true stories from the Holocaust which moved him so deeply, he has based two novels on them.
He lives in the North of England with his partner, Ania, the great-great-great niece of the 1924 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and two stray black cats who visited their garden one day and liked it so much, they moved into the house. Luckily, they graciously allowed Steve and Ania to carry on living there, even allowing Steve to continue paying the mortgage to give him a sense of purpose.
If you love stories of four-legged heroes, tales from histories darkest hour, or books with pulse-pounding action, you'll love Steve's three series. He wrote them for book lovers just like you!
.png)
