(Reviewed by Don Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
David Korda is close to getting his medical degree in Nazi Germany when it is discovered that he is Jewish. Instead of joining his graduation class, he is sent to a concentration camp to do hard labor. Not what you expect, but this ordeal is full of what you don’t expect.
While in the camp, he manages to medically treat the prisoners, and does such a good job, he is then required to treat the Nazi soldiers. While trying to survive in these conditions, he becomes friends with Rabbi Herman. The Rabbi asks him for a favor and in return, the pharmacist Vogel will help him escape from this dismal terrain. Not your typical request but he reluctantly agrees to honor his wishes. As you read these passages, you think of the ethical and religious beliefs you have when you are tormented into a harsh reality of life
The writing is tense, the conditions to escape are unfavorable, and how in the world David Korda attempts his getaway is filled with circumstances that almost seem impossible. How far will you challenge your body to break out from this hell hole? David Korda must find the strength to attain his freedom despite the freezing conditions.
This is a long road filled with missteps everywhere he turns. Yet he somehow has the will
to survive. The description of these many obstacles is vivid, and the writer has you at the edge of your seat with so many twists that you keep asking how this can end favorably. Freedom is such a luxury when you are bound, gagged and tied to a Nazi army that wants to destroy you.
How our hero gets through this is quite a detailed story written by this first-time novelist.
