THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ Book Review

The Midwife of Auschwitz¹ (book 1 in Women of War series) by Anna Stuart, audiobook, 11h 42m

Synopsis from Audible: Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh. And I prayed that one day this set of numbers, identical to her mother’s, would have the power to reunite a family torn apart by war...

Inspired by an incredible true story, this poignant novel tells of one woman’s fight for love, life, and hope during a time of unimaginable darkness. Ana Kaminski is pushed through the iron gates of Auschwitz beside her frightened young friend Ester Pasternak. As they reach the front of the line, Ana steps forward and quietly declares herself a midwife--and Ester her assistant. Their arms are tattooed and they’re ordered to the maternity hut. Holding an innocent newborn baby, Ana knows the fate of so many are in her hands and vows to do everything she can to save them.

When two guards in their chilling SS uniforms march in and snatch a blond-haired baby from its mother, it’s almost too much for Ana to bear. Consoling the distraught woman, Ana realizes amid the terrible heartache there is a glimmer of hope. The guards are taking the healthiest babies and placing them with German families, so they will survive. And there are whispers the war is nearly over...Ana and Ester begin to secretly tattoo little ones with their mother’s numbers, praying one day they might be reunited. Then, early one morning, Ana notices the small bump under Ester’s thin striped clothing.

BOOK REVIEW: This review is for the audiobook. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars! This was a fantastic, heart wrenching story. I was originally planning to read this but March became overwhelming and I decided to listen to it instead and I'm so glad I did! I'm glad that I listened to it because I know that there were some words that I wouldn't have been able to pronounce and would have had to go to Google Translate or my grandma.

The narrator did a fantastic job. The story is being told from both Ana and Ester and at times I got lost as to how many years we were experiencing but that could have been because my child was being loud and distracting me or I was lost in my own thoughts. I did attempt to watch the replay of the book club discussion but there was some major delays in parts of the conversation plus the author had the wrong time and wasn't able to make it BUT if you read this book and feel like you need more she teased that there could be a sequel!

5/5 Stars

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