Not To Be Missed!

Schindler's Ark    
by Thomas Keneally
and Tim Liang, illustrator
Folio Society, 2009
Hardcover, illustrated, 363 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Schindler's Ark is partly the biography of Oskar Schindler, partly a story of war and atrocity, and still partly a story of humanity. In the latter part of the book, there are some very graphic scenes, making this book not for everyone. While Oskar Schindler achieved fame during World War II for his humane treatment of Jewish prisoners who worked in his munitions factory, the early part of the story makes clear that Herr Schindler was not the respectable type person you might expect... Outside the UK, this book was published as Schindler's List and also filmed under that alternate title.

As one reads through the story, one encouters some rough spots that indicate the author is not very skilled, or perhaps not too knowledgable about his subject.  Those incidents are accounted for in the introduction of this Folio Society edition where Thomas Keneally says he was not best qualified to write this story because, although he is of northern European ancestry, he was raised far away from the sights and sounds of Hitler's regime. While I am on the topic of this Folio Society edition, I must also add that it has been beautifully produced, cloth bound and the cover blocked in gold with an illustration created by the same artist who has done a wonderful job on the frontispiece and eight other interior illustrations. The publisher has chosen to use black and white illustrations inside the book. I feel this adds to the drama and helps indicate that the events depicted in the story happened long ago. The endpaper maps included in this edition help the reader unfamiliar with the locality gain some understanding of the geographical area.

The Folio Society edition follows the text of the first edition, which was published by another firm with only minor emendations, so I can't lay much blame on the Folio Society for this book being a little over-long. Still, I am deducting one star because the author or the editor employed by the original publisher could have reduced some of the less interesting parts of the story to condense it to around 250 or 275 pages; it would, at that length, have made a much better story and flowed more smoothly... Still, Poldek Pfefferberg (one of the many Jewish people whose name was on Schindler's infamous list) was right. This story needed to be told. Thomas Keneally has done a credible job, and Hollywood has actually improved the story with their strategic cutting. The film is better than the book. That's something I don't often say, yet in this case, it's so true.

Recommended, with some reservations. If you prefer a text presentation, possibly including some illustrations, to an audio/video presentation and if you're not overly sensitive to violence but interested in historical accounts, then this book could be for you. On the other hand, if you prefer visuals, the film is a must see item. Either way, Schindler's Ark, aka Schindler's List is not a story you should miss.

This review has been simultaneously published on Dragonviews and LibraryThing.