Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968

Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968
margaretbx avatar reviewed on + 33 more book reviews


What an amazing book this is. The author, as a Jew, suffered under the Nazis. She ESCAPED (as a girl) from a concentration camp, a great story in itself. She then lived under communism. Her husband was supportive of the new communist regime, but eventually was one of those scapegoated by the government, tried and executed for alleged treason. Such show trials were used as a way to scare people, and to explain why things weren't perfect -- it wasn't that the communist system wasn't perfect, it was that sabatouers were at work. Such a fascinating story, and so well told. A sad, but beautiful book.