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The Good Doctor of Warsaw

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The Good Doctor of Warsaw

By: Elisabeth Gifford
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Deeply in love and about to marry, students Misha and Sophia flee a Warsaw under Nazi occupation for a chance at freedom. Forced to return to the Warsaw ghetto, they help Misha's mentor, Dr Korczak, care for the 200 children in his orphanage.

As the noose tightens around the ghetto, Misha and Sophia are torn from one another, forcing them to face their worst fears alone.

Meanwhile, refusing to leave the children unprotected, Korczak must confront a terrible darkness.

©2018 Elisabeth Gifford (P)2018 W.F. Howes Ltd 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Jewish Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Romance Military War Holocaust
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This is a story I'd never heard of - even vaguely - so I had no real idea how things would end up in the case of these specific people.

But it's a recounting of events seen from several points of view, and with just enough exposition to allow you to keep track of the overall arc. Elisabeth Gifford's characterisations are memorable, and memorably realised by Peter Noble (both artists in their respective fields that I'd seek out again)

Hard to know what else to say; the period and description frame things so that you know there are only so many ways things can unfold. But it's resolved in a way that is respectful to the true story and still hopeful. Not something I thought it would be possible to pull off. In some respects, what you can realistically take away as comforting as a reader runs in parallel with the diminishing options faced by the protagonists; things become pared down to necessity at a suddenly accelerating rate.

I'm surprised to see the book was ~9hrs long when I came to review. I felt I'd spent far more time in the company of these people by the end, and it's a tribute to the writing and performing styles. No wasted prose, no longueurs.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting

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This book show how different people can be- kind caring loving in a time of horror and hate. With tears in my eyes I listened to the last chapters remembering my visit to Warsaw and the museum and former prison there. Everyone should read this book which told gently and in an atmosphere of kind shows how hate invaded the city of Warsaw and the world.

Humanity and inhumanity

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A beautiful but harrowing novel to listen to, but an important one I think, that we should learn what cruelty, harshness, brutality and vile racist warped opinions can cause to innocent people in this world, and to our own minds. I've recently watched the Pianist, set in Warsaw under the German occupation, which moved me so much, an excellent account of the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman a Jewish man who against all the odds managed to survive the war. I've also just listened to his book on Audible too. I've watched the film, Irene Sendler who is mentioned in this novel, a woman with a truly beautiful heart that saved many Jewish children during this time. I knew nothing of Janusz Korczak, what a beautiful man he was, and what he would do for the children in his care. He was so right, you need to understand a child and treat and nurture a child well, this is how humans develop into a happy, caring adult who goes on to live a fulfilling life. I loved the characters of Sophia and Misha, their love story amongst such turbulent and frightening times. Will we ever learn what war does to one another, will we ever learn what arguments and unkind words do to one another, and why we should not do this, I do hope so. This is my second novel by Elisabeth Gifford, I've also just listened to The Lost Lights of St Kilda, highly recommend that one too. Elisabeth has such a beautiful way of portraying a story and you are captived by her exquisite writing and her research. The narrator Peter Noble I thought was excellent at reading this novel too.

A Beautiful Novel

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I’ve read many WW2 books this one really touched me and is a remarkable book. It’s a must read!
The narrator is brilliant, he brings so much to the read, his interpretation is very real.

Such a heartbreaking read

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