Reviews: THE APPLE by Penelope J. Holt

The Apple by Penelope J. Holt is a “creative nonfiction” book that tells the story of Herman Rosenblat, a Holocaust survivor whose story of first meeting his wife as she passed apples to him through the fence of a concentration camp generated a lot of attention when it was found to be a lie.

Here are excerpts from participants’ reviews; click to read the full reviews;

J.T. Oldfield from Bibliofreak says:

Disregarding the controversy, the hook of the novel, I think that Herman Rosenblat had a beautiful story of love–but of a different kind: brotherly love.  As the youngest in the family, his three older brothers took care of him in the camps, often sharing what little food they had with him, as he was still growing.

But I guess that had been done before, and people are suckers for a good romance.

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric says:

I think it is important to note that Holt does not portray Rosenblat as a saint or someone who should be pitied.  I think it was her intent to show the horrors the Nazis inflicted upon the Jews and how it might affect — but not justify — someone’s actions down the road.  It’s about balancing the lie itself and the reasons why it was told in the first place.

Check out Anna’s interview with Penelope Holt on Examiner.com.

**Please be advised that offensive comments will be deleted and will prompt us to close the comments.  A previous post about this book generated a lot of name-calling, and while everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, we will not tolerate such comments.**

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

THE APPLE by Penelope J. Holt Takes Look at Holocaust Hoax

The Apple by Penelope J. Holt, slated for release the first week of September, focuses on the Herman Rosenblat Holocaust hoax. You might remember Rosenblat as the Holocaust survivor whose memoir was a love story centering on a young girl who threw apples over the fence of the camp where his family was held captive. He claimed this young girl’s actions helped him to survive. However, it was revealed that the story of the girl with the apples wasn’t true.

In The Apple, Holt researches the Rosenblat story, detailing the things he witnessed during the war and aiming to determine the reasons why he embellished the facts. She pulls in other Holocaust resources from books like The Diary of Anne Frank to movies like Schindler’s List.

If you’re interested in The Apple, Lisa Kerber from York House Press says 5 signed copies are up for grabs. Here are the details:

**NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS BEING HELD ON THEAPPLENOVEL.COM. LEAVING A COMMENT ON THIS POST WILL NOT ENTER YOU IN THE CONTEST**

Share what you think is the most memorable piece of media about the Holocaust and why? (Books/Movies/Television/Article/Art)

And find out about the Book Giveaway of “The Apple” by Penelope Holt, based on the Oprah/Herman Rosenblat Holocaust Memoir “Hoax”.

Go to theapplenovel.com to learn more and post your comment.

Book bloggers, if you would like a link to your book blog from theapplenovel.com links page, just send an email to info@yorkhousepress or direct message yorkhousepress on Twitter.

Lisa says the giveaway is running through the month of September.