Message about the re-release of The Kommandant's Girl
Dear friends:
This weekend I have had my most devastating experience to date as a writer. A tweet went out about the upcoming re-release of my first novel, The Kommandant’s Girl (originally published in 2007.) Some people on Twitter, seeing that the tweet was from Harlequin, expressed outrage that I had written a “Nazi romance” – an assumption made without ever reading the book.
In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Kommandant’s Girl is historical fiction, inspired by my years of working as a diplomat for the State Department in Poland on Holocaust issues and becoming close to the surviving Jewish community there, and also by the true story of the Krakow Jewish resistance movement which I learned of from two very well-known Holocaust survivors.
As a Jewish woman, a Cambridge-educated historian and law professor, I take my responsibility in writing about this most solemn of times very seriously. Indeed, I call my books “love songs to Jewish Europe and those who lived through that era.” Recognizing my intent and the sensitivity with which I have approached the material, Jewish readers across the globe have embraced The Kommandant’s Girl. It has been nominated for numerous awards, and was shortlisted for the American Library Association’s prestigious Sophie Brody Medal for Jewish Literature. I have been one of the Jewish Book Council’s most requested speakers over the past decade and of all of my books, The Kommandant’s Girl is the one those audiences praise most frequently.
I understand the sensitivity surrounding this issue, especially in light of some of the wildly inappropriate “Holocaust romances” that have been published in the past few years. The Kommandant’s Girl isn’t that. It was written not as romance, but historical fiction in the vein of Those Who Save Us and The Nightingale. I do regret if the title, cover, description or tweet caused those unfamiliar with my work to think otherwise and I urge them to read it before casting judgment.
Finally, I am so grateful for all of your support, especially from those of you who have read and loved my “first baby” over the past decade.
Warmly, Pam
This weekend I have had my most devastating experience to date as a writer. A tweet went out about the upcoming re-release of my first novel, The Kommandant’s Girl (originally published in 2007.) Some people on Twitter, seeing that the tweet was from Harlequin, expressed outrage that I had written a “Nazi romance” – an assumption made without ever reading the book.
In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Kommandant’s Girl is historical fiction, inspired by my years of working as a diplomat for the State Department in Poland on Holocaust issues and becoming close to the surviving Jewish community there, and also by the true story of the Krakow Jewish resistance movement which I learned of from two very well-known Holocaust survivors.
As a Jewish woman, a Cambridge-educated historian and law professor, I take my responsibility in writing about this most solemn of times very seriously. Indeed, I call my books “love songs to Jewish Europe and those who lived through that era.” Recognizing my intent and the sensitivity with which I have approached the material, Jewish readers across the globe have embraced The Kommandant’s Girl. It has been nominated for numerous awards, and was shortlisted for the American Library Association’s prestigious Sophie Brody Medal for Jewish Literature. I have been one of the Jewish Book Council’s most requested speakers over the past decade and of all of my books, The Kommandant’s Girl is the one those audiences praise most frequently.
I understand the sensitivity surrounding this issue, especially in light of some of the wildly inappropriate “Holocaust romances” that have been published in the past few years. The Kommandant’s Girl isn’t that. It was written not as romance, but historical fiction in the vein of Those Who Save Us and The Nightingale. I do regret if the title, cover, description or tweet caused those unfamiliar with my work to think otherwise and I urge them to read it before casting judgment.
Finally, I am so grateful for all of your support, especially from those of you who have read and loved my “first baby” over the past decade.
Warmly, Pam
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Joan
(new)
Sep 06, 2016 08:28PM
The Kommandant's Girl is an excellent book! They need to read it before making that judgement!
reply
|
flag
One of my favorite books of all time. Suspenseful and well written. Shame on them!!!
I STILL go back to the Kommandant's Girl, even though I have read many titles of this genre, as the book set during WWII that most made me think, long after I'd finished reading. I realized that we can't easily judge until we've walked in another's shoes. I review many titles for NetGalley and was recently turned down for the author's upcoming title. While I'll happily read it when it comes out (The Orphan's Tale), I was disappointed I won't get the e-ARC. Anyone who wants to judge the Kommandant's Girl before reading it is completely off base.
I'm so saddened to read this as The Kommandant's Girl still remains for me as one of the most compelling books I've had the pleasure to read and I would urge anyone who hasn't read it to do so before passing judgement. Like the previous poster, I too was turned down for the most recent offering from the author on NetGalley but having read all her previous books, I will most certainly be reading any new publications and can only recommend others do the same!
This book was excellent, Ms. Jenoff! I think it is a shame that people say something in such haste, without taking the time to read the book and become informed.
The Kommandant's Girl is one of my favorite books ever that I have read to date in my life. I have read and re-read this book so many times over the years that I could probably recite it word for word. Thank you for this work of historical fiction, Pam. I dream of the day it might become something we can appreciate visually - in a movie or series.
Pretty sure I don't want to read your stuff myself--even tho Lisa Scottoline recommends it. Nevertheless, I've Liked this post as a tiny bit of solidarity against the stupidity and ignorance deployed against you.
Book Twitter jumping the gun on a book before they even read it? I for am SHOCKED *extreme sarcasm*.
