Surviving with wolves

Spike · April 3, 2006

The tale of a young girl jewish living in Belguim having moved there following the outbreak of ww2.

Her parents get taken away, and in preparation they had saved enough money to send her to a safe house should they be arrested. The inevitable happens but she hates her new guardians and savours the moments when she is sent away to Grandpere, at the farm, who hates the bosche, her guardians and shows young Mishke several valuable lessons in life which eventually become essential in her survival when, no longer allowed to vist him and forced to stay with her hated overseers, she runs away.

She is seven years old. She sees the carnage of war at first hand. Breaks into the Warsaw ghettos in search of her parents, lives in the wild, eating grubs, learning how to look for crows so that she knows there is a carcass nearby to feast on, and at the age of 10 kills in cold blood/ self defense a German soldier.

Her free life gives her an empathy and a connection to all things wild, but in the savagery of war she finds an understanding and deeper empathy with nature's way than with that of man.

In the context of the horrors arsing from a war of ideals none is more savage than man, and no greater comfort is given than that of nature - the wolves that she befriends on ocassion.

From a seven year old leaving belguim, through germany, poland, yugoslavia, italy, france and eventually back to her home, it is a journey on all levels.

The only book I have ever read in one night. A must read.

Edited April 3, 2006 by Spike Starski

Ostrich Man · April 3, 2006

This post is not viewable to guests.