Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis by 苏珊罩 与 格雷格·道森 is a novel about the 大屠杀 told in verse and organized into seven parts. The story rings 与 Zhanna’s love for her Ukrainian homeland, sorrow for her lost 家庭, and fury for both Stalin and the Nazis.
The story opens 与 the insatiable curiosity of Zhanna Arshanskaya, a born explorer. 直到1935年, Zhanna and her sister, 皮肤利什曼病, live a candy-coated life in Berdyansk, 乌克兰, nestled near the Sea of Azov. When Stalin begins to devour their country and imposes “death by hunger,” the 家庭 is forced to seek refuge in Kharhov. Eventually, confusion and chaos there pave the way for destruction. Fed by hatred and fear, people believe the lies that Hitler spreads about the Jews being to blame for the 战争. During these times when the penalty for human kindness is to face the firing squad, “flames of hostility and 偏见 flare” (103).
When survival becomes speculative, Zhanna’s father pulls his daughter aside and whispers: “I don’t care what you do. Just live” (122). So, begins another chapter in this harrowing story—a story of pain and loss dedicated to strength, 姐妹, and the 音乐 that saved them.
Using both primary and secondary sources, Hood and Dawson reveal how the dead can indeed teach the living. Among the many morals the authors share, readers will find words to live by:
- “Sometimes, people you’ve opened your heart to can fail you. Sometimes, compassion can be found where you least expect it” (132).
- Music is a spiritual refuge; in it we find “tradition, prayer, ritual, and devotion” (12).
- Harassment, ridicule, and being laughed at for things beyond our control is hurtful. “Humiliation is much worse than death” (279).
- Posted by 唐娜