Far Above Rubies

Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: After reading this book, my eyes hurt from crying and I felt numb. At one point in the middle of the book, I almost questioned how one could pass on a book with such horrific detail. However after finishing this book, I was thankful to have read such a remarkable story about someone so courageous and positive. We, as readers, can only hope to strengthen our own spirit and courage through the inspiration of 'Tante Soof'.

The book should definitely be included in any jewish education 'required reading' lists. Difficult to endure, but necessary to remember. A good reading for Yom Kippur and Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).

Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: All the characters have such beautiful souls. Emotionally this is a deep spiritually introspective book. Polansky was really worth waiting for. I both cried and was uplifted during my entire read. Far Above Rubies is such a sad moving story about Dutch Jews, but the main character will be my role model and inspiration for ever. I can't say enough good things about this wonderful book that was such a pleasure to read. Tom Rose, PhD, Professor and board member, Temple Beth Shalom, Arnold, Md.

Rating:
Summary: Far Above Rubies
Review: All the characters have such beautiful souls. Emotionally this is a deep spiritually introspective book. Polansky was really worth waiting for. I both cried and was uplifted during my entire read. Far Above Rubies is such a sad moving story about Dutch Jews, but the main character will be my role model and inspiration for ever. I can't say enough good things about this wonderful book that was such a pleasure to read. Tom Rose, PhD, Professor and board member, Temple Beth Shalom, Arnold, Md.

Rating:
Summary: Far Above Rubies
Review: FAR ABOVE RUBIES is a powerful, chilling true story. Cynthia Polansky re-creates "Tante Soof," the incredible Sofie Rijnfeld, who survived the ordeals of Nazi imprisonment at Auschwitz. The author's narrative skill brings us to tears of admiration, rather than just the usual tears of sadness, hopelessness, and dim remembrance that accompany many holocaust stories. Her characterizations are both gripping and real. And what a plot! Who ever heard of anyone voluntarily going to a concentration camp? But that's what Sofie did. Her six beloved stepdaughters were called up for deportation, wrenched from their comfortable Amsterdam home. But Sofie would not let them face the Nazi horrors alone. Her heroic efforts to protect them live on in this memorable novel. Cynthia Polansky's rubies truly do sparkle.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: The best Holocaust survivor story I've ever read. Polansky does a masterful job of portraying the complicated web of family and step-family relationships during the horror of Hitler's rule. As a mother, I was taken with the heroine's courage in accompanying her jewish daughters to the concentration camps and I wept for their tragic circumstances and ultimate fate. The skill with which the author blends fact and fiction speaks to her careful research and dedication to this important story. This book is a triumph!

Rating:
Summary: Story Telling At Its Best
Review: This inspirational book reminds us all that the true heroes in life are the ones who go quietly about their selfless deeds without recognizing their own heroism. Cynthia Polansky takes us on an unforgettable journey, one that everyone should have an opportunity to read and share. I highly recommend this refreshing account of a horrific period in history, and one woman's choices that indeed place her "Far Above Rubies".

Rating:
Summary: An Enlightening Look At How The Holocaust Started
Review: We all know the Holocaust was an unbelievable act of barbarianism, but how did the people of Europe sit back and let it happen? In Far Above Rubies, the facinating early story of the implementation of the Holocaust in occupied Holland is a window into a seldom told story of our recent world history.

The story in Auschwitz is chilling, but made even more so by the seemingly random events that can mean life or death. The list posted in the dining hall of the next day's deportees, for example. Cindy Polansky's skill at describing these seemingly trival events, and their deadly import, is chilling.

When the war ended, what happened next. Surprisingly, Polansky reveals the truth that not all Jews had been rounded up. Some, in rural parts of Holland, had made it through the war in their own homes with comparative ease. How the concentration camp survivors re-entered life after the war is a fascinating second story that is also seldom written.

This is a great book, and very enlightening for its description of both the pre- and post-war views of Jewish life in Europe. Highly recommended.