The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa BarrMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Talk about a character arc! The protagonist in Lisa Barr’s new novel, The Goddess of Warsaw, unveils the story of how a young woman, Bina Blonski, goes from struggling to survive in the Warsaw ghetto to becoming aging Hollywood screen legend, Lena Browning. Along the way, she has to make multiple harrowing decisions, live with incredible guilt, lie, fight, and reinvent herself repeatedly.
I loved that Bina/Lena was such a complicated character. She makes mistakes, can be catty and sarcastic, uses her sex appeal as needed to get what she wants, and consistently puts on a tough mask. At times I felt the story had her acting in ways that lacked credibility, but most of the time those actions made sense as more was revealed. (Though I did find that her behaviour with her brother-in-law didn’t quite work for me.)
This is not your usual Holocaust story. It’s a fast-paced, gripping read. I recommend it, as long as you have a strong enough stomach for WWII brutality.
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