Book Review: The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

“Dita caressed the books. They were broken and scratched, worn, with reddish-brown patches of mildew; some were mutilated. But without them, the wisdom of centuries of civilization might be lost—geography, literature, mathematics, history, language. They were precious.”

Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

Review:

Honestly, I could spend the entirety of this review simply gushing over the prose to the point where I want to learn Spanish just so I can see if the original words are even more beautiful than the translation. This is the second book by Antonio Iturbe I’ve read and it didn’t disappoint. 

Based on the true story of Dita Kraus’ days in Auschwitz, the book follows her and her family who have been sent to a part of Auschwitz set up to fool the Red Cross and keep the mistreatment of prisoners under wraps. There, Dita and her block mates form a secret school for the children where they pass along smuggled books. Dita puts herself at risk delivering these books but is more concerned about evading the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele. Despite being in the ‘safe’ block, they are still very much in Auschwitz. 

There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. This made up for a sometimes stale delivery (which might be due to being translated). My interest in the plot faded in the middle though picked back up again toward the end. It’s definitely a long book for historical YA but does maintain a fast pace. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Beautiful quotes.
• Themes of good vs. evil.

What I disliked:

• Not very well organized and boarding on too many plots going on at once.

Afterthoughts:

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a long time and I’m so glad to finally have gotten to it. I can’t say I liked it more than Antonio Iturbe’s book The Prince of the Skies, but it was still wonderful.

Where to buy the book: