DNF @ 40%
Not the book's mistake, it's me.
Not the kind of book you want to read during a pandemic/quarantine situation

This was the incredibly moving story of Alma Rosé, a Viennese violinist, who after a successful music career in Europe, was sent to Auschwitz because of her Jewish ancestry. This book was riveting. The story was intimate, thought provoking, and utterly horrifying.

The story of Alma Rosé was based on history. She was a real life character who, because she was so gifted, was able to save and protect her orchestra members and staff. She knew Eichmann and Mengele and witnessed their atrocities as well as the everyday camp occurrences of starvation and cruelty. She used her wit and intellect in that despicable place to protect others.

This was a powerful book, and I highly recommend it. We owe it to humanity to understand what happened, that it may never occur again.

This ebook was supplied by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Heart wrenching story

Alma Rose became a heroine to me as she struggled with life in Auschwitz. I love her story & her deep consideration for all of her girls in the orchestra she created. What a story!

Every book that I read about the holocaust leaves me both horrified by the injustice of it all and stunned by the sheer strength and determination that some people have, in spite of incredible obstacles. This book only added to my awe.

The titular "violinist" is Alma Rose, a true-life Viennese performing musician who was sent to Auschwitz due to her Jewish blood (though she was raised as a protestant). The book begins on what purports to be Alma's final day, and reveals her intent to commit suicide after that evenings performance. The next page reverts to the previous year and details the story of how Alma was recognized in Auschwitz as a famous musician, and how she bravely and brazenly parleyed that fame into the creation of a 40 piece womens orchestra and saved nearly every woman in it from almost certain death. While author Midwood uses some creative license, most of the book is faithful to the true story of Alma, as told by the women in the orchestra.

The writing was well-paced, the story was well-researched and the cover is absolutely gorgeous (the significance of the cover design is only realized in the final pages of the book). This is an inspiring story that deserves to be told. Recommend.

My thanks to #NetGalley, author Ellie Midwood and publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read an ARC of #TheViolinistOfAuschwitz in exchange for my honest opinion.

No words

I have read numerous books about WWII and the Holocaust including “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” and “The Nightingale.” None has gotten me to my core like this book. While the fictional love story was hopeful and touching, the account of Alma Rose’s bravery and humanity in the face of the horror and terror in the camps was inspired and moving beyond words. I cannot recommend this book enough so that history does not repeat itself and so we never forget.

A Solid read. This book is everything, i could have read it in one sitting. The quality is so good and i didnt even know it was like 90% all based on facts and witness. I will think about this book during a long time it is so dramatically beautiful and powerful. A must read.

Everyone should read this book. It is beautiful and painful and necessary. I had never heard of Alma Rosé before reading this novel and I'm grateful to know her story.

Alma Rosé is a famous violinist, playing across Europe, until she is arrested and taken to Auschwitz. Alma's life of privilege, glamour, and music is gone in a second. When she manages to get her hands on a violin, her playing changes everything. The head of the woman's camp puts her in charge of the women's orchestra and, suddenly, Alma holds others' lives in her hands. She does all she can to keep the women in the orchestra alive, to place other women in the orchestra so they are under her protection, and does all she can to charm the SS camp administration in order to help her orchestra despite her deep hatred of them. When Alma meets Miklos, a piano virtuoso, she finds something more in the death camp, something she had not thought was possible in a place of death.

Based on the true story of the violinist Alma Rosé, who did run the women's orchestra and save their lives on multiple occasions, this novel is powerful. There are horrific moments that are incredibly difficult to read but there are also sweet moments and countless moments that prove the power of the human spirit. To know that these moments are based on reality only increases their power both on the painful side and the hopeful side.

The book includes information on where Ellie Midwood gathered information for her narrative and how most major events in the book are based on factual accounts from survivors. There are also a few fictional characters who work their way into Alma's narrative with creative license. There is only so much that can be known about Alma's life and so it is expected that such a story would include some pure fiction.

Midwood's writing is excellent. She has crafted and plotted this story brilliantly. Her writing style is clear and truthful in a way that honors the truths of the story she is telling. I immediately found myself forgetting that I was reading a book and feeling like someone was telling me a story because her prose is so clear and succinct that the words fall away.

I cannot praise this book enough. It was certainly difficult to read but reading this book in order to honor the real people who lived these lives, to keep their stories and their history alive, is well worth the challenge of reading about the horrors they had to witness each day they were in Auschwitz.

(Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
I don't want to rate this badly because it is based on a true hero....but the story itself was just meh. I have read other books centered around the Holocaust and its victims, and this book just didn't compare. It took me a while to get through it because I wasn't invested in reading about this woman or finding out what happened to her.

Great book. That’s all I need to say. It captured the experience of people during that time (and more specifically within Auschwitz) in a manner that was accurate and didn’t romanticize anything. It was a hard read, of course, but it showed and taught me so much — the strength of sacrifice, love, bonds, music, etc. it was truly a great book