Though Poppies Grow in Flanders Fields by Hannah Ludzker, published by Tfutza and distributed by Israel Bookshop
To say I am a fan of Hannah Ludzker is an understatement, as she has been one of the Uplift contributors since way back.
When she told me she was writing this book, I was excited to see how she would bring the subject of war and bitachon to life.
On receiving the book, the first thing that struck a chord was the front cover. A few years ago I went to the Tower of London, where they have an exhibition of the crown jewels. On that visit, they had decorated the outside with thousands of handmade red poppies. It was a poignant, beautiful sight. Seeing the picture of the poppies and the soldiers on the front cover of this book made me want to dive into its pages.
Hannah tells the story of Jake Shapiro, who with his friends enlisted in the English army in 1916. You can see the time Hannah put into researching the history of those times.
I love the way she has brought our hero to life and shown the effects of the war on him and all the other characters in the book. I especially like the way she shows that only bitachon (belief and trust in Hashem) sustains Jake through these terrible events.
I enjoyed how she interchanges the timeline in the story, weaving together different concepts, such as worried parents and shidduchim, making the book interesting for today’s readership.
As we, the Jewish nation, are once again bearing witness to war and turmoil, it gives me so much hope for the future.
I recommend that every Jewish library has this book on its shelves. I think that reading it will give us all a very real perspective on our history.
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Chani Schreibhandhttps://theupliftmagazine.com/author/chani-schreibhand/
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Chani Schreibhandhttps://theupliftmagazine.com/author/chani-schreibhand/
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Chani Schreibhandhttps://theupliftmagazine.com/author/chani-schreibhand/
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Chani Schreibhandhttps://theupliftmagazine.com/author/chani-schreibhand/
