The Kommandant’s Girl, by Pam Jenoff, is a novel encompassing the years just before, and years during the Holocaust. After reading the jacket, I had expected a historical novel, and one that was a page-turner.

It was quite the contrary experience, for me. The novel was difficult to get into, from the beginning, but I persisted through the pages. I skimmed through some of the book, and even that was a chore.

There was some historical data between the lines, such as descriptions of Poland, where the reader could visualize picture in their mind. Her descriptives of what certain streets looked like, etc., were often strong. But, there was no depth, in my opinion, to the main character, Emma.

Her views were too clear cut, not filled with emotion or insight that one could feel. I tried to grasp her traits, strengths, etc., but found it difficult.

There was one portion where Emma speaks about not eating meat with dairy, due to Jewish Kosher rules, but then she admits that her family really didn’t lean towards that rule, anyway. Why it was even mentioned in the first place was beyond me. There was no necessity to state that. There were so many incidents such as this one, leaving me feeling empty, and wondering why it

Emma had a decision to make, during a time period when many women made the same decision, in order to survive, and in order to protect their family members, etc. Her thought processes seemed a bit too casual, lacking the brevity of some of the situations she was knowingly getting herself into.

The Kommandant’s Girl is not a romantic novel. The ending was predictable, and basically the entire story line was. Therefore, I will not describe the basic theme, and I will leave it to you to read and decide yourself.

This is Jenoff’s first book, and she gives it a good effort. It is billed as a book filled with historical fiction. To a degree it is true. But, I have read so many historical fiction novels over the years, that this one paled in comparison. Jenoff might get better with time. I do know she has a second novel out, and I will look at it in the book store, and read it there, instead of purchasing it, as I did The Kommandant’s Girl.

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Jew Wishes…Peace to You All!