The Emperor of Lies - Steve Sem-Sandberg

The Emperor of Lies - Steve Sem-Sandberg (2011)

I almost feel tongue tied trying to describe this novel.  For it is a novel, a history and a truth entwined into one, and I felt like I was witnessing a fast train passing by me.  I knew the ending at the beginning, and even though I wanted to back away, it compelled me to read, even though it was a bit of a tough read.  Mostly because I have been scared off by 600 page bricks of books lately I was unsure I would make it to the end, but managed to finish it in two nights of heavy reading.

Essentially this is the story of the Lodz Ghetto, in Poland in the second world war.  At it's centre is the story of the Chairman, Mordecchai Chaim Rumkowski, who is a 63 year old Jewish Businessman, who runs a local orphanage and manages to end up with the control of the ghetto.  Thinking that by making the ghetto an essential business which supplies the Nazis with war essentials, he begins to believe that he can keep his workers safe, and even when transports are increasing he still tells his people that they are being relocated to other labour camps where they will be kept safe.

Circling within this main stories, are the stories of families who are just trying to survive, and it is these that are heartbreaking.  If you didn't know that the stories were based on real events, it would hard to imagine such horrors.  The cold, despair, hunger all seem so hard for us to imagine, in our safe little warm houses.

A memorable 4/5 from me.