Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

Oh dear- I'm late on getting this thread up- please for give me all- but here we go the Additional Group read for this month is The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron. Here is the Goodreads summary-

And then came war . . .

"Today." Sera James spends most of her time arranging auctions for the art world's elite clientele. When her search to uncover an original portrait of an unknown Holocaust victim leads her to William Hanover III, they learn that this painting is much more than it seems.

"Vienna, 1942." Adele Von Bron has always known what was expected of her. As a prodigy of Vienna's vast musical heritage, this concert violinist intends to carry on her family's tradition and play with the Vienna Philharmonic. But when the Nazis learn that she helped smuggle Jews out of the city, Adele is taken from her promising future and thrust into the horrifying world of Auschwitz.

The veil of innocence is lifted to expose a shuddering presence of evil, and Adele realizes that her God-given gift is her only advantage; she must play. Becoming a member of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, she fights for survival. Adele's barbed-wire walls begin to kill her hope as the months drag into nearly two years in the camp. With surprising courage against the backdrop of murder and despair, Adele finally confronts a question that has been tugging at her heart: Even in the midst of evil, can she find hope in worshipping God with her gift?

As Sera and William learn more about the subject of the mysterious portrait--Adele--they are reminded that whatever horrors one might face, God's faithfulness never falters.

Please remember to post any spoiler comments with a warning like ***Spoiler comment*** so that those who are not finished reading it yet can skip your comment. Or you can use the (some html is ok) link at the top right of your comment box and then hide your comments all together sandwiching your comments in between the spoiler and /spoiler html link. Anyway I haven't been able to get my hands on this one yet from my library but hopefully soon!

Anyone read anything else by Kristy Cambron?

I can't wait to start this one! I'm almost finished with my current Kindle read, so I should be able to start it this weekend.

I read The Butterfly and The Violin back in July. It was incredibly enjoyable and I'll chime in to the discussion.

Cheryl, I'm pretty sure The Butterfly and the Violin was Kristy's first book, but I could be wrong.

Such a great book. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks.

Still waiting on this one as it is out on Interlibrary loan from our library. Supposed to be back the end of this week.

I got it cheaply on Kindle a while ago----it is $3.99 right now.

Staci wrote: "I read The Butterfly and The Violin back in July. It was incredibly enjoyable and I'll chime in to the discussion.

Cheryl, I'm pretty sure The Butterfly and the Violin was Kristy's first book, bu..."

Yep you are right Staci! Her second book doesn't release till next year!

And thanks Chris for letting us know that- $3.99 for the kindle version is still not too bad.

25% into it, I'm liking it! :)

I can tell it's going to tug on the heart strings!

This is my first book with the group. I'm 38% in and I really like it so far.

I just finished it and I absolutely loved it.

I'm about 70% into it, and I have to admit, I'm not in love with the story like I thought I would be. The contemporary parts are a bit boring to me, but the historical bits are really engaging.

(view spoiler)[I guess I just wasn't expecting for the modern-day parts to focus so much on the romance, I thought that they would focus on the mystery of the painting and Sera and Will really digging in to see what they can find out. But maybe I shouldn't have set my expectations that way, I don't know. (hide spoiler)]

I should be able to start this one soon. just got it from the library.

I finished this a couple of days ago and absolutely loved it. Thought the intertwining of the two story lines was excellent and the historical and art detail were incredibly well done. My favorite of the two plots was of course Adele's. Definitely brought tears to my eyes many times.

I liked this one, but didn't fall in love with it like I thought I would. I didn't find the contemporary story line engaging at all, and in fact, could have done without it for the most part.

The historical parts were beautiful! And heartbreaking at times.

Beth I think from reading Kristy's blog page that the contemporary relationship will be developed more in the next book A Sparrow in Terezin which will be released April 7 2015.

I'm not quite half way into it, but I'm really enjoying it! I agree that the modern parts aren't very developed, but they add just enough to the historical parts that keep me excited to find out more!

I agree, Adele's parts definitely overshone Sera's.

this is also the first time I have heard of Auschwitz's Canada, the Nazis recorded everything, no matter how trivial it is! If only they didn't burn the records, we would have more info on the going-ons of concentration camps.

Tanx wrote: "I agree, Adele's parts definitely overshone Sera's.

this is also the first time I have heard of Auschwitz's Canada, the Nazis recorded everything, no matter how trivial it is! If only they didn't..."

I found the info on "Canada" interesting as well, and because my parents were both Canadian wondered why they chose that for the name and if it had some sort of meaning in German.

Loraine wrote: "Tanx wrote: "I agree, Adele's parts definitely overshone Sera's.

this is also the first time I have heard of Auschwitz's Canada, the Nazis recorded everything, no matter how trivial it is! If onl..."

I thought maybe I just missed something, I never understood why it was referred to as "Canada" either.

I haven't read this book, but I saw the comments about Auschwitz's Canada & thought I'd share what little I know of it. I read about it a while back, but I can't remember where... I believe it was called Canada because all the prisoners' possessions were brought there. And "Canada was thought to be a country of great riches." (http://pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/corrup...)

Aerykah wrote: "I haven't read this book, but I saw the comments about Auschwitz's Canada & thought I'd share what little I know of it. I read about it a while back, but I can't remember where... I believe it wa..."

Wow, that is fascinating!

That isn't something I would have picked up on without it being explained, thanks for sharing that, Aerykah!

Aerykah wrote: "I haven't read this book, but I saw the comments about Auschwitz's Canada & thought I'd share what little I know of it. I read about it a while back, but I can't remember where... I believe it wa..."

Thanks for sharing that info Aerykah. Almost have to laugh as my parents came to the US from Canada right before WWII broke out and they came with next to nothing! Tells you reality and belief are not always the same.

You're welcome. :)

@Beth- It's definitely not self-explanatory, is it?

@Loraine- So true. Many people had similar misconceptions about America...

I thought Adele was pretty silly at the beginning of the book but no one should have had to go through what they did--even though her situation was better than most.
(view spoiler)[ How could parents do allow their daughter to be taken to a concentration camp when the father was a big shot Nazi?
I could see that playing music under those conditions would lead you to lose all sense of humanity or lose your mind.
(hide spoiler)]

ChrisGA wrote: "I thought Adele was pretty silly at the beginning of the book but no one should have had to go through what they did--even though her situation was better than most.
How could parents do allow th..."

In response to your question, they had been totally brainwashed and were so self-centered that their lives were more important than their daughter's. Unfortunately, we see some of this today where the parent's own lives come first instead of their children's. God says we will see these kinds of things before Christ returns again.

ChrisGA wrote: "I thought Adele was pretty silly at the beginning of the book but no one should have had to go through what they did--even though her situation was better than most.
How could parents do allow th..."

I think her treatment was considered a "favor" because of her parent's status. She had it way better than most, even though it was still horrible.

It is hard to understand that sort of turning a blind eye allegiance that they would not even bat an eyelash at her being taken away - the mother did seem upset, but we never really know if it was because her status was ruined or if she were truly upset over losing her daughter. The description of her reaction (which was "off-page" did seem genuinely because she cared for her daughter. Whereas the father was just disgusted because she didn't support "the cause." Baffling that people thought that way, and that they still do about things today.