The Librarian of Auschwitz By Antonio Iturbe

I read The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe for the Whole Latte Books-Book Club. The topic for the book club in April was Holocaust Remembrance. I love reading books and watching movies about World War II. But this is the first book I have read that was set in a concentration camp. I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to love it but I had a hard time concentrating and retaining the story.

Book Stats

• Title: The Librarian of Auschwitz
• Author: Antonio Iturbe
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Publication Date: October 20th, 2017 (USA)
• Origin Country: Spain (2012)
• Origin Language: Spanish
• Translation: Lilit Thwaites
• Narrator: Marisa Calin
• Pages: 400
• Est. Reading Time: 13 hours
• My Rating: 3/5 Stars
• Buy Now: Amazon or BAM!

The Librarian of Auschwitz Plot Summary

This book is based on the real-life story of Dita, an Auschwitz prisoner. Dita is 14 years old when she and her family are taken to Auschwitz. She is learning to deal with the new reality of her life when Freddy Hirsh one of the Jewish leaders of the camp asks her if she will look after and keep track of 8 books they have managed to sneak past the guards. Thus making her the librarian of Auschwitz.

“Brave people are not the ones who aren’t afraid. Those are reckless people who ignore the risk; they put themselves and others in danger. That’s not the sort of person I want on my team. I need the ones who know the risk—whose legs shake, but who carry on.”

– Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

Thoughts

I started listening to The Librarian of Auschwitz at the end of March and was really in love with it at first. I was noting quotes left and right. But then all of the changes with the pandemic happened and I found it harder and harder to get into the story.

Usually, I do most of my listening on my commute but since everyone is at home and off the roads in LA, my drive to work is now only 10 minutes. It’s very hard to get into a book listening for only 10 minutes at a time. So I had to start listening at other times, like while cooking and cleaning. I found myself drifting a lot more and having to re-listen. Not because the narrator wasn’t good but because I was having a hard time following the story. This was possibly due to my new routine.

Narrator

Marisa Calin narrated The Librarian of Auschwitz and she was great! Her accents were amazing! It was very easy to differentiate between which characters were speaking. Her voice for Dita sounded the appropriate age. I would listen to another book narrated by her.

Book Club’s Thoughts

The Whole Latte Book Club had mixed feelings on the book as well. Several people didn’t finish the book because they thought it was too graphic. I didn’t find it too graphic but maybe because I was expecting it to be dark going in. I also feel like it’s hard to write about the Holocaust without mentioning the cruel and terrible things that happened.

It was also pointed out that there were a lot of religious aspects that were incorrect in this book. I never would have caught them so I am glad it was mentioned. It seems like a terrible disservice to get something so wrong in a book like this.

My Thoughts

This book did make me feel more grateful. For almost a month I was having a hard time finding essentials at the store like toilet paper, milk, eggs, etc. but at least I had food! I wasn’t starving, I wasn’t living off of 1 bowl of soup a day and doing hard labor. Once I was finally able to get everything on my list I appreciated and savored it much more than usual.

Favorite Quotes

So many great quotes from this book. There are two that really stuck out to me. This first one is Dita’s reaction after Hirsh tells her one of the books she is to take care of is not a children’s book and is especially not for girls.

“Do you honestly believe that after observing on a daily basis thousands of people going to the gas chambers at the edge of Lager, what I read in a novel might shock me?”

– Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

This next quote is my favorite quote from the book and it comes from the end. It kind of goes along with what I was just discussing about shopping.

“Life is back to normal when it’s the small things that annoy people.”

– Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

After the war was over everyone who survived the camp needed new identity papers and they had to wait in long lines. Dita was amused that some people were more upset by these lines than they were waiting in the long lines in the snow at Auschwitz for watered-down soup.

Other Favorites from The Librarian of Auschwitz

I had many more quotes but I find it hard to mark them while listening to audiobooks. If anyone has any tips, I would love to hear them!

Here are the rest of the quotes:

“In a place like Auschwitz, where everything is designed to make you cry, a smile is an act of defiance.”

– Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

“The strongest athlete isn’t the one who finishes first. That athlete is the fastest. The strongest athlete is the one who gets up again every time he falls, the one who doesn’t stop when he feels a pain in his side, the one who doesn’t abandon the race, no matter how far away the finish line is. That runner is a winner whenever he reaches the finish line, even if he comes in last.”

– Antonio Iturbe, The Librarian of Auschwitz

My Final Thoughts on The Librarian of Auschwitz

I found it very hard to write this review; I kept putting it off. It’s hard to discuss such a serious matter. It feels like I am judging Dita’s actual life. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars. I really liked the narrator, there were some really good quotes, and it made me feel more grateful. But I don’t know if the storytelling did it for me. I was already on the fence but then learning about the religious inaccuracies pushed it over the edge to 3 stars for me. I would have rather read a memoir or a biography about Dita Kraus.The last section about what happened to the people in real life after the war was my favorite part. If you are looking for a historical fiction WWII book about books I would recommend The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Do you have a favorite WWII book? Have you read The Librarian of Auschwitz? Get it on Amazon or BAM!

I had a great time discussing this book for the Whole Latte Books-Book Club! It was awesome to get to know everyone a little more, hear all the differing opinions, and learn so much about Judaism! If you are looking for a book club you are welcome to join!

Kevin and I also run our own book club, Quill Quotes Book Club. Check them out!