Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Working in the camp’s munitions factory, Adela Rubenstein discovers the underground network fighting against the devastating cruelty all around them. Imprisoned for teaching Jewish orphans in secret for the resistance, she doesn’t hesitate to join the rebellion. Every night on the way back to her hut, she looks up at the stars, the only witness to their plan to blow up the crematoria buildings.
The women can only smuggle a teaspoonful of the gunpowder at a time. But Adela knows from her time in the Warsaw ghetto what incredible feats can be achieved with courage and patience. Thinking of home reminds her of her darling brother, Azriel, and Izabel, who was like a sister to her. She has no idea what happened to them when she was caught, if they are even still alive. But she must keep doing whatever she can to resist. She has to make them proud.
As the day of the attack draws near, Adela is utterly stunned when she comes face to face with her beloved brother. Pale and hunched, but alive. Her heart soars as she hugs him tightly. Maybe it’s a sign, and there is hope for them after all. But not if he is working in the very building they will soon destroy…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Stars Are Our Witness to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
What a stunning cover and a captivating title the new book from Siobhan Curham has. The Stars Are Our Witness stood out to me as soon as I saw the cover reveal and with that haunting picture of a camp on the cover I knew I would be in for a heart rending and powerful read. It is predominantly set in Warsaw during the war years starting in January 1940 and subsequently split into three distinct parts. The story focuses on a Jewish family named the Rubinsteins. Adela lives with her mother and father Estera and Leopold and her brother Aziel has left the family home after a disagreement with his father over leaving his studies to be a doctor. The whereabouts of Azriel are unknown. The family run a store but can’t sell much due to the new laws imposed upon Jews since the Germans invaded Warsaw. Theirs’s is a life is full of danger and anxiety as more and more laws are introduced as the Germans are determined to snuff out the Jews existence.
Adela’s best friend since childhood is Izabel but she is Catholic and not under the same restrictions as the Rubinstein’s and this will stand to her at times of extreme danger. But yet in the end no one is safe from the clutches of a force that is hell bent on taking over the world. Azriel makes a surprise reappearance at the family home and he is a man filled with courage, grit and determination which never wavers throughout the book. He sees the bigger picture and through his resistance work he knows what is coming down the line. Whilst others are prepared to bury their head in the sand he joins the Bund, a secret group set up in Warsaw, to engage in resistance activities. The relationship between Azriel and his father is a tentative one and it seems as if they are on opposing sides as he has become a member of the Judenrat. The Judenrat was a Jewish council set up and controlled by the Nazi’s. But the war is far from over and Adela and Azriel know that they must do anything within their power to contribute to the downfall of Hitler.
The chapters are told from several viewpoints, that of Adela, Azriel and Izabel and I found there to be a frantic pace switching back and forth between the various characters. I did find this difficult to get used to but once I did I found myself settling into the story. Given the blurb mentioned Auschwitz I presumed this would be where the majority of the story would be set but this wasn’t the case. With every new chapter I expected the plot to move to this location but it only occurs in part three. It was only as I reached this part that I realised the rest of the story provided the foundations and background to what would form a story of loyalty, bravery, family and friendship in the most difficult of times.
Adela works in an orphanage secretly given lessons to the children there and as rumours grow that the Nazi’s plan to build a ghetto in Warsaw and imprison the Jewish population within the walls her fears grow that her family will be torn apart. Jaksi runs the orphanage and always gives Adela the best of advice. They become more than friends and the magical motto he provides her with will carry her through turmoil, torture and terror. ’I am made of water and stardust. My very existence is proof of magic.’ As the chapters pass by detailing the changes to the Rubinstein’s lives the sense of rage and hopelessness grows. Such hatred, barbarity and oppression is inflicted by the Germans and Adela knows she needs to do more. That she can’t sit by and let her world splinter into fragments that will be impossible to piece together. She helps Azriel with his resistance work and I admired the guts she had to place herself in danger. More wise words from Jaksi are what Adela clings to as the family become trapped behind the ghettos walls. ’If you’re ever feeling sad, scared, or alone, use the magic of your imagination and pretend to be something or somewhere else’. Soon everyone’s worst fears are realised as Jews are rounded up in the ghetto and deported to labour camps with the final destination beyond their wildest imagination. Here the strength of the human spirit and the resilience and fortitude of Azriel and Adela come to the fore.
As there were three main characters it was inevitable I was going to be drawn to one over the others and I was quite surprised to find that it was Izabel who was the stand out character for me. She was brilliantly written and given she was of a different religion to Adela and her family you would have thought that she wouldn’t have suffered as much so to speak. Hers was a different story which interlinked with Adela’s and I found her to be such a fabulous character. She was fiery, feisty and a flirt. This last characteristic would stand her in good stead when she decides that she too will do her bit to help the family that have meant so much to her. She would never lay down and accept the fate that was steamrolling towards the Rubinstein’s and so many others. I thought she used her talents and means very well and placed herself in compromising and dangerous situations when she needn’t have. Which only served to show how loyal and devoted she was to Adela and her family and someone special in particular. I found the turn of events quite surprising for Izabel and it was brave of the author to do this as she could have left her in comfort and her character could have been put to the side in part three of the story. Instead, she was utilised very well and I thought it connected brilliantly to what Azriel and Adela were going through.
Part three was the standout section of the book as things took on a menacing and sinister tone and the setting mentioned in the blurb came to the fore. It was haunting and some of the scenes described no matter how many times I have read a book based on the topic of World War Two well it all hit home even more here. It served as a stark reminder to never forget what countless men, women and children went through and it should never be allowed to happen again. Adela, Azriel and Izabel show their true strength and incredible courage and demonstrated how love and hope are the two emotions that would serve them well in the darkest of hours. Everything built to an unbelievable climax and I found my heart was in my mouth as I rapidly turned the pages to discover what would happen next. I had my fingers crossed for a certain outcome, knowing really that everything couldn’t have turned out the way I wanted it to. The story needed to stay true to its roots and I think Siobhan Curham did this with the ending she provided.
The Stars Are Our Witness was a powerful story packed full of emotion and characters that you really come to care for. You place your trust in them and root for them all the way with their acts of resistance. The love, hope steadfastness, devotion and fearlessness shines through from every page. The fact that vast elements of the story were based on true events made me appreciate everything all the more and by the end I felt as if I had been on a roller-coaster and I wasn’t particularly willing to get off and leave the characters behind.
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