Aline Sax

Aline Sax heeft geschiedenis gestudeerd en schreef haar doctoraat over de tweede wereldoorlog. Haar historische jeugdboek ’Wat ons nog rest’ heeft de Boon-literatuurprijs voor kinder- en jeugdboeken gewonnen. Volgens haar is er niets abnormaals aan een historica die fictie schrijft, omdat je zo de oude wereld tot leven kan wekken.

We luisteren.
Door het bidden,
het jammeren,
het huilen heen,
luisteren we naar buiten.

In ’Wat ons nog rest’ probeert een zeventienjarig meisje op het einde show more van de tweede wereldoorlog uit de klauwen van de Russische soldaten te blijven. Berlin ligt in puin, er is voedselschaarste en op haar familie hoeft ze niet te rekenen. Pas op het einde van haar vluchtavontuur kom je haar naam te weten. Haar persoonlijkheid van bange doorzetter is je dan al lang duidelijk.

Vrouwen kruipen naar buiten,
vanonder het puin,
onder het stof.

Belangrijker dan de inhoud is de vormgeving in deze verzennovelle. Ieder woord is belangrijk: let op het lidwoord bij ’einde’ en ’begin’, de titels van de twee delen van deze young adult. De plaats van de woorden en zelfs de witregels hebben een betekenis. De klank en het ritme van haar poëtische taalgebruik benadrukken zowel de miserie van het bange meisje als ook de kracht van de vrouw in wording.

Alles
hebben wij
aan de Führer
te danken.
Ook de ruïnes.
De vermiste vaders.
De dode broers.

Het is ongelooflijk, hoe Aline Sax in het hoofd van een volk kan kruipen dat niet het hare is, zich in een situatie kan inleven die ze zelf nooit heeft beleefd, zich in een tijd kan verplaatsen die voltooid verleden is. Of toch niet? Er lopen nog altijd Henrikes rond die hét gevaar proberen te ontvluchten. Dagelijks bewijzen ze, hoeveel (veer)kracht er in meisjes en vrouwen schuilt. show less

Powerful language combined with stark yet beautiful drawings make this short novel arresting. Although marketed as a young adult novel in the US, I found nothing juvenile about the treatment or the language.

Misha and his family are Polish Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto by the Germans during the Holocaust. As more and more people are forced into the ghetto, the threat of starvation rises. Misha begins crossing to the Aryan side of the wall via the sewers to find food for his family. show more The knowledge of the underground passages serves him well when he joins a group of Jewish fighters determined to make the Germans pay when they come to liquidate the ghetto.

Similar to a graphic novel, the drawings are integral to the storytelling. Particularly moving was the juxtaposition of black text on white pages with the occasional black page with white text. Although the story of the Warsaw Uprising is well-known, this telling is worth reading for its visual and emotional impact. show less

Wow. What a powerful little book. I've read several things on the Warsaw Uprisings, both fiction and non-fiction and this ranks right up there with the best. I love the way the words and pictures combine to create such pain and suffering and sadly, truth. The perfect blend of black and white and gray. The pages having only a few words conveyed so much. I commend these artists, to tell this important story with so few words, pictures and feelings is incredible. This book belongs in all our show more school libraries. show less

The narrator of this story, the War Within These Walls is a young man who is caught up in the horrors created by Hitler as he attempts to annihilate the Jews. Often told in a matter of fact, emotionless way, it is the story of a young man trying to make sense of a world turned upside down as the Jews are forced into the Warsaw Ghetto. You can feel the emotional numbness as he witnesses horrific cruelty, suffers great deprivations, and loses hope. Seeing a colorful parakeet flying into the show more bleak ghetto makes him think of the outside world, where some people are going about their normal lives, while he and his family are suffering so much deprivation, and is bewildered how this can possibly be happening. He alternates between hopelessness and finding the courage to fight....and ultimately , like the parakeet 'flies out of the ghetto.' I really wasn't quite certain if the young man actually was able to escape, or if he was shot down, and thus 'fled' the ghetto...... I hope he was able to escape and bear witness to the atrocities suffered by the Jews.
This book was a really quick read...the story being told with no waste of words...straight to the point...without embellishment...it wallops you with the facts of everyday life in the ghetto. The pages with only a phrase, or a sentence or two....the black pages.....the sketches that add so much to the story.... all give you a feeling of the numb horror felt by the young man.
I have read a number of books set in this time period, and I cannot imagine being caught up in such horrific events. But I am wondering what age this book is aimed at, as it says it is for 'young readers.' While I think students should be told the truth about what happened in that time period, I think it could be overwhelming and frightening for 'young' readers. I would hope it would not be aimed at kids below the Jr Hi level. All in all, a somber read, but as the saying goes, if we don't learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. Sadly, there are parts of the world where such attempts at genocide are still going on. show less