The choices we make

Author : Ronald H. Balson
Title : Karolina's Twins
Published : 12/09/2016
Pages : 320

     Lena Woodward, an elderly woman, enlists the help of both lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart to appraise the story of her harrowing past in Nazi occupied Poland. At the same time, Lena's son Arthur presents her with a hefty lawsuit under the pretence of garnering her estate and independence for his own purposes. Where these stories intersect is through Lena's dubious account of her life in war-torn Poland, and her sisterhood with a childhood friend named Karolina.

     This was a book I came across whilst looking for something else. I flicked through a few reviews and it sounded like an interesting read. With its mix of both historical fiction and present day court room battle. Add to that it being loosely based on the true life expectancy of a woman called Fay Schaffer Waldman. I've read a few of these historical fiction books about the holocaust some were amazing and some I found not necessarily bad but they lacked something. So it was with a mix of feelings I went in to this book.

     The main driving force of this story is Lena and whether she is telling the truth about her friend karolina and the twins she had in the ghetto of Chrzanow. She comes across well as a woman struggling to come to terms with her past, but at the same time she she has a strength and bravery that shines through. Lena is placed in the present day opposite Catherine who shares some of the same characteristics as Lena. Her willingness to do what ever is necessary for her client is an admirable one. I think in part her ability to identify with her client is due to her own late stage pregnancy. As for Karolina her hard life starts before the war even breaks out from an abusive fathered and an indifferent mother. You are left feeling empathy for her and her situation even if at time she seems to come from a very naive place.

    Balson has written a beautiful story of friendship as well as a harrowing tell of survival. The parts surrounding the court case I think adds an interesting layer as to our ability to recall memory's, and also what survivors of the holocaust are willing or choose to share. For some the experience are not something they wish to go back through and tell others. In this way the author has given us an excellent insight in to this world and the choice people make when they are in the most hopeless of situations. He also shows us people can summon bravery and a fight that defies the odds. His writing moves you along quickly all the while giving a detail account of how Lena's town was taken over by the Nazis and the subsequent liquidation of the ghetto.

     This was a book I was happy to spend some time with. The charters are full and I was intrigued to learn Lens's story. I would say for the most part the story flows well and the changes between time periods seem very natural. If your looking for a book within the genre you won't go a miss with this one.