Why Didn't They Leave?

This is such a beautoful book that follows a jewish family from Czechoslovakia being persecuted by both the Naxis and the communists. It was a heartbreaking and hopeful story that I simply could not put down. It was breathtaking. I loved it

I have so many mixed feelings about this book and give it 2.5 stars. From the description I thought I would love it, but it was the opposite. If it wasn't for the last part of the book I would have given it 2 stars. There were so many characters to keep track of and at times it got confusing. I HATED the characters, mainly Magda. Magda was awful. She was a terrible mother. I hated the way she talked to her daughter. Magda liked her mom Franzi living with her so that she could do all the housework, cook and take care of Zuzana. If Zuzana didn't emigrate, she probably would have killed her mother. There was no way they could live together. I don't know how Zuzana's husband and in-laws didn't see the true Magda. How could they miss the insults she gave Adam and Zuzana. The racism was also hard to ignore. It felt like what the family went through during the war was glossed over and was the shortest part of the book. The Stein family was pretty lucky, since they were so wealthy. They didn't seem to suffer as much as some families after the war. They also had the luxury of constantly traveling. For me, the book was more about the terrible family relationships than WWII and what happened to Czechoslovakia after the War. The best part of the book was when Zuzana visits her relatives in the United States.

Definitely recommend giving the book a try. I'm in the minority with my thoughts. I look forward to reading more books by the author

I received a complimentary copy of this book from The Book Guild, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story started out very interesting for me but it kind of dragged on towards the end. I felt some parts were unnecessary and it seems to take away the essence of the story which is a shame cause I really enjoyed the premise of the story.

The main character, nineteen year old Zuzana, learnt that she was Jewish when she visited a synagogue with her family and they began looking for names of their lost relatives. She felt betrayed her mother, Magda, never told her but she didn’t understand what her family went through during the Holocaust. Magda only wanted her to have a better life. Zuzana never got along with Magda and she isn’t always the best mother but they learnt to tolerate each other as best as they could.

I loved reading about Zuzana’s family history and what her family went through. Hnizdo takes us back in time when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. She takes us through three generations of this Czech Jewish family, why some chose to stay and why some chose to leave. We learned what happened to those who survived the Holocaust and how the trauma had affected their lives over the years.

More than that, Hnizdo also wrote about the strained relationship between Magda and Zuzana. She eventually left the clutches of her mother and seek for a better life in the UK. Zuzana tried hard to rediscover herself and uncover all that she didn’t know by reconnecting with lost family members.

I may not have enjoyed this story as much but I would still recommend giving this story a go if you enjoy historical fiction and family stories that spans generations. Thank you Netgalley and The Book Guild for the arc.

I dont want to say anything negative about this book as I am aware that it is based on a the author's own personal history of loss and grief. I will say, though, that the book felt quite overwhelming to me with the multiple family trees at the beginning. I thought it was going to be exclusively about the wartime experiences, but it actually expanded on into generations to come, telling the story through Magda's eyes. I felt quite emotionally exhausted by the end of reading it, its a story that deserves and needs to be told again and again

Thinly disguised as fiction this book has its roots in family history and autobiography. Reading it was an emotional rollercoaster, at times heart-breaking, and other times heart-warming. It traces a large Jewish Czech family from the rise of Nazism to the beginning of this century. The diaspora caused first by the Nazis and later by the Soviet regime is all-too authentic and a harrowing reminder of Ukraine today.
The author writes with honesty and integrity, in bold and brave brush strokes, flinching from nothing. An important memoir of times we must never forget.

Overall this was a fun, exciting book that gave me several hours of escapism. Id definitely read other books released by this author.