Irena's Gift by Karen Kirsten

An intense book, Irena's Gift,

by Karen Kirsten,  characterized by numerous trips of the author, in the distant land of Poland. 

It's a memoir, in fact. A real story. 

No one knew, in fact, the truth on her family: no one knew that once born, her mother Joasia had been given, at first to an orphanage because her mother was dead and the father internated in a concentration camp, and later to a relative, growning-up in Australia.

Truth, like lies, define at the end the story of a family, giving to it an imprint.

Karen sometimes asked to her granny what was that curious number that there was in her hand, without receiving a proper answer: her granny hadn't never told her that she had been deported in a concentration camp.

Karen grew up with that sixth sense: you understand that there is somethung unsaid in that family, but that, at the same time, everything is perfect.

Because, after all isn't it in this way? Every family has its singularities and unicities. 

But...

One day, a distant person, living in Canada, a certain Dick, Karen hadn't never heard of him before, sent them a big envelope, asking to see them.

And so, Karen understood the reality: that her mother Joasia had been grown up by the relatives of Irena, the wife of Dick, and that Dick was, her grandfather.

Mietek and Alicja were the adopted parents of Joasia, although, she didn't know that. 

It's important to return at that distant times.

We speak of two couples pretty rich, influential Jews, in grade to going on during the last World War conflict because they were rich and they worked in Poland for Germans. There is the reconstruction of the city of Leopoli, Lwow in polish, and what the Ukrainians did to the local populations. There are observations of the author pretty remarkable and that I found interesting involving the current situation. Ukrainians at that time searched independance from Russia, helping the Nazis.

Irena and Dick were a happy couple, but at some point they were captured. Irena was killed immediately. Dick went in a concentration camp like Mietek and Alicja. The daughter of Dick was brought to an orphanage thanks to the help of an Ukrainian officer. Dick had still important jewels that passed to him. Paying, Dick obtained from the Ukrainian the certainty that the daughter would have been brought in a good and secure place.

Once the war was over,  Dick and Mietek helped the Americans with the trials that would have followed against Nazis.

At the same time, once returned home, Dick fell in love for another girl and so he decided to give to the sister of Irena, his most precious gift: his daughter Joasia.

Joasia, remembers that hasn't never been loved by Alicja. Alicja hasn't never felt a great affection for her.

Karen's mother is christian and she finds in God the best answer to her prayers. Many are the thematic told in this book: one of them is the good relationship and interaction between catholics, christians and Jews. 

Karen Kirsten afforded to Canada, and Poland, discovering also where was located the orphanage where the mother stayed, arranging a meeting of his mother with that sisters. She helped her mother to reconnect her own story with the one of Mietek, Alicja, but also Dick and Irena, visiting the place where Irena had been killed, and discovering also a family vein for music.

It is the story of a family: writing this, Keren puts an end to a history  characterized by lies and secrets.

Highly recommended.

I want to thank the author and Ann, the publicist of Kensington Books, because at first I had requested a copy to Netgalley, but time passed by and the ebook wasn't anymore available for being read. I asked to them a physical copy, because I love family-stories and I don't want to miss these ones of Holocaust, and to me this one has ben a great gift for sure. 

Anna Maria Polidori