So I'm at university now.
Admittingly, I've been at university for a while.
Things have been fine, insightful, interesting.
I've currently been reading 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche which has been a very interesting voyage so far, but this entry will be specifically about a rather short book called Suzie: The Girl who changed our lives.
Having personally corresponded with the author, I felt I should read her book, which turned out to be a shocking reveal of a life that I was completely unaware of. Ann Chadwick has had a very full and interesting life, and is keen to explain in detail her childhood, growing up in a family with an adopted sister - A little girl called Suzie, who boarded a 'kindertransport' train from Prague to eventually arrive at London, and then, to East Anglia, just in time to escape from the horror of the Hitler's onward march. It takes you through the emotional trauma that Suzie suffered, the heartbreaking letters received by the Chadwick family by Suzie's parents, and despite the burdens and darkness, the rise and happiness of life that would blossom within the family.
The book isn't lacking on presenting life for the Chadwicks and Suzie's parents, the Spitzers which is wonderful and always interesting. The only thing is that this book is not written by a professional author and could really do with a good editor to really make this book a gem. There is a lot of repetition, paragraphs that dive too fast in another subject, information that isn't so significant in the story. I disliked the fact the book continued to mention the telling of Suzie's story, but, as a book itself, Suzie's story wasn't emphasized enough. The storytelling was not perfected.
Yet, one would appreciate the honesty and the immense effort Ann Chadwick has put into this book, and it is a story that one should read and appreciate. This gives a priceless account on another side to the war that has been almost invisible to the general public. I can only wish more books like this were around, but unfortunately, like history, the truth begins to fade. Suzie: The Girl who changed our lives is a book that will confidently set in stone a part of history, it's truth unchanged forever.
