The Book of Uriel by Elyse Hofman

Uriel is a young mute Jewish boy who's entire world was destroyed when his village was burned to the ground. Uwe is a linguist who is forced to help the local Nazi police. Against all odds they find each other while Uriel tries to help his people by finding his peoples angel, Michael.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

This book is told in multiple perspectives, typically Uriel and Uwe with a few others once in awhile. It also has stories from Uriel's little golden notebook.

I really enjoyed all the biblical call backs to different stories in the Torah/ Old Testament bible. Learning more about Jewish specific mysticism was fascinating.

I also appreciated how well the author handled the way that the Germans and the Poles felt about the Jews. She didn't pull any punches and I really respect her for that. It's part of history that we need to see and understand that way it can never be repeated.

Uwe's character arc was my favorite he goes from a timid linguist determined to keep his head down to actively assisting the Jews. Uriel's character story is a story of bravery and over coming all trials due to his faith.

Over all I enjoyed this book. Admittedly it took me awhile to get into it. Getting used to the perspective switching was difficult because Uwe and Uriel have vastly different knowledge bases. Once they start to converge the story gets way more understandable in my opinion. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about WWII from a nonmilitary perspective.