Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
9:13 PM
“What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?”
Title: Salt to the Sea
Author: Ruta Sepetys
First Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 391
Summary:
It's early 1945 and a group of people trek across East Prussia, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Fans of The Book Thief or Helen Dunmore's The Siege will be totally absorbed.
Review:
I stood in front of my bookshelves thinking “What do I feel like reading?”. I picked up Salt to the Sea and put it back down. 2 minutes later I picked it back up and plopped on the couch and started reading not knowing how this book would change a crucial part of my thoughts on history.
Man, this was intense. Where do I start? How do I put my feelings about this piece of art into words? Let me say one thing first, no matter who you are, where you are, what you enjoy reading, you WILL cherish this book upon finishing it. I believe it’s extremely important to acknowledge what happened in the past. What people had to endure.
What grabbed my attention the most was how unknown this disaster had been to me. I am a history teacher who graduated a year ago and who enjoys spending a great amount of time researching the past and yet, I have never heard of the wilhelm gustloff ship and what had happened to it. This is hard to understand, how could I never have heard about it? It made me realize that there’s a great possibility that what we believe about the past, may not be the entire truth. That worries me.
What else have I not heard of but is crucial to be known?
Man, this was intense. Where do I start? How do I put my feelings about this piece of art into words? Let me say one thing first, no matter who you are, where you are, what you enjoy reading, you WILL cherish this book upon finishing it. I believe it’s extremely important to acknowledge what happened in the past. What people had to endure.
What grabbed my attention the most was how unknown this disaster had been to me. I am a history teacher who graduated a year ago and who enjoys spending a great amount of time researching the past and yet, I have never heard of the wilhelm gustloff ship and what had happened to it. This is hard to understand, how could I never have heard about it? It made me realize that there’s a great possibility that what we believe about the past, may not be the entire truth. That worries me.
What else have I not heard of but is crucial to be known?
Rating: ★★★★★
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