Sown in Tears

Title: Sown in Tears
Author: Beverly Magid
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on 18 September 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Labels: Russia, Russian History, Jewish History, Early 20th Century, Revolution
Format: Paperback
Age: Adult
Pages: 194
Rating: 5 Stars

Summary:
Rural village of Koritz, Russia 1905.
Leah and her husband Morris and sons Benny and Joseph, are awakened in the night by the sound of guns firing and people screaming. They scurry out of their beds and hide in a cellar. It is a night of terror for the Jewish settlement of Koritz. The survivors will be left with painful and bitter memories. Leah with resilience scrounges to feed her sons. She is desperate to provide food and shelter and security for her family.
Captain Ivan Vaselik is in charge of the Koritz area. He worries that some of his men may have taken part in the rampages against Jewish settlements. He worries that this could lead to having soldiers that are uncontrollable, and do not obey orders. He is an officer that would like to be promoted. He has ambitions. He does not have a family, a family would become a burden to him and might get in the way of his career.

Positive Points:
Excellent beginning to story. Immediately, at the first sentence I was drawn in with my heart pounding.
Leah is a strong character. I love strong characters in women, no milky-toast female characters for me!
Leah shows fortitude, tenacity, resilience, a single focus of providing for her family. She is a character that I admired.
The vivid descriptions all through-out the book whether it is the people, the rural Russian countryside, the village life, the graphic night of terror, all were brought to life for me.
The “life” of Jewish woman became clear for me. I used the word “life” not culture, a Jew is a Jew through and through, it is who and what they are. Every thought and decision is based on being a Jew. Although Leah is not a faithful Jew in her heart, she still wrestles with her identity as a Jewish woman.
I feel more knowledgeable about life in Russia in the early 20th Century. This was before the Russian Revolution of 1917. The rumblings of revolution had already began for the people of Russia, this is depicted in the book by the groups that took part in the abuse against the Jews. These revolutionaries were angered and bitter over their life, and were looking to fault and punish someone. On the other hand the Jew’s had their own groups that met to counteract their own bitterness of life.
I read this story in ONE day. I could not put the book down!
Negative Point:
The book ends abruptly, no closure. I hope for a book two.
Thank you to Beverly Magid and Shauna Fleming of Muse Creative Marketing for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Link @ Amazon:

Paperback $12.99

 

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