Like Room or The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the child narrators of Mischling manage to both shield and terrify the reader with their assessment of the cruelty that has befallen them. It's a way to approach the horrors of Mengele and Auschwitz that initially seems as though it'll make the events more easy to bear, but really all that happens is that your adult mind completes the gaps in narration and understanding that Pearl and Stasha can't help but provide. Mischling succeeds by taking root in the reader's imagination and fleshing out the despair and cruelty there alone in your thoughts, from the first page to the final sentence, when it eventually releases you from the pain.

***Actual rating: 4.5/5*** “Mischling” is a bitingly affecting chronicle of fictional twins during their internment in Josef Mengele’s infamous ‘zoo’ of human specimens, including Pearl and Stasha, sisters of the inseparable kind. Shortly after I started reading I too couldn’t bear the thought of being parted from either of them for long. Nature’s duplication had categorised them as persons of interest to a physician who could locate whatever trace of belief and courage remained and test it to its limits, before tearing it apart piece by punishing piece. It’s inconceivable that the sisters should share the burdens of this unforgiving, colourless place until one day they are faced with bearing them alone. The strangeness of this unfamiliar solitude could push them toward a melancholic vacuum, or be perceived as merciful now they can no longer witness the other’s suffering. But the non-confirmation of each other’s wellbeing would also be enough to destroy the separated souls. Although the twin’s connection may be compromised, unexpected encounters with other incomplete wholes present hope as a possibility once more. As the monitors in human form kept tally of their subjects’ grief, I loved how each distinctive character endeavoured to ‘teach’ the techniques for survival they had learned long before the barbed wire surrounded them, like Bruna with her snow white hair and pink eyes, her fierceness masking her fragility. With every turn of the page I found myself willing their misery to stop. Yet it’s not just a story focussed on what is lost, but everything that can be found. In contrast to the despicable acts that occur the writing has a lyrical air, its composition resonating with an outlook that could only be achieved from a child’s perspective. The ending felt a little weaker than I’d prepared myself for, but in no way did this detract from the overall influence on my emotional state as I closed the cover for the final time – it’s one of those rare books that make you sit up, well up, and whispers never to give up. (I received a copy of this title courtesy of Reader’s First, for which it is my greatest pleasure to provide this unbiased review.)

I was quite wary about starting "Mischling" having heard how powerful and harrowing it was from fellow readers. What went on during the holocaust was without doubt inhumane, brutal and incomprehensible, however this book almost had a YA feel to it, so it tended to hold back just enough on the vivid brutalities. I loved the start to the story, beginning with the identical twins still in the womb and the thoughts of what Stasha was feeling as she and her twin Pearl were about to leave the safety of their mother. It then swiftly moves on to them arriving at Auschwitz at twelve years old and being selected by the infamous Dr Mengele for his 'zoo'. Part one of the book is set in the camp and the terrible experiments carried out on the unfortunate children. It is during this part that Pearl goes missing during a musical concert and Stasha is devastated. Part two follows the liberation of the camp and Stasha, together with her friend Feliks go in search of her twin. The story is told through Stasha's thoughts and emotions and we really get to feel her heartache and devastation when Pearl disappears. I'm not one of a twin, I don't have a sister or even a brother, so I find it hard at times to understand the love and the connection one may have with a sibling. However, through the author's vivid emotion and pure sentimentality I was able to sense what it must be like to have a twin and to feel as one body. Although the prose was highly poetic and descriptive and was obviously written by an exceedingly talented and passionate author (Affinity Konar) I'm not sure the writing style was to my complete liking - maybe a bit too artistic and flowery. This is just my opinion and from the amount of highly positive reviews I maybe in a minority. I would recommend this book, I do believe it's a story you need to read for yourself to form your own opinions, some will be more affected emotionally than others but without a doubt it is a powerful, emotional and harrowing read that really got to me and it's well worth a read. 4 stars

I was quite wary about starting "Mischling" having heard how powerful and harrowing it was from fellow readers. What went on during the holocaust was without doubt inhumane, brutal and incomprehensible, however this book almost had a YA feel to it, so it tended to hold back just enough on the vivid brutalities. I loved the start to the story, beginning with the identical twins still in the womb and the thoughts of what Stasha was feeling as she and her twin Pearl were about to leave the safety of their mother. It then swiftly moves on to them arriving at Auschwitz at twelve years old and being selected by the infamous Dr Mengele for his 'zoo'. Part one of the book is set in the camp and the terrible experiments carried out on the unfortunate children. It is during this part that Pearl goes missing during a musical concert and Stasha is devastated. Part two follows the liberation of the camp and Stasha, together with her friend Feliks go in search of her twin. The story is told through Stasha's thoughts and emotions and we really get to feel her heartache and devastation when Pearl disappears. I'm not one of a twin, I don't have a sister or even a brother, so I find it hard at times to understand the love and the connection one may have with a sibling. However, through the author's vivid emotion and pure sentimentality I was able to sense what it must be like to have a twin and to feel as one body. Although the prose was highly poetic and descriptive and was obviously written by an exceedingly talented and passionate author (Affinity Konar) I'm not sure the writing style was to my complete liking - maybe a bit too artistic and flowery. This is just my opinion and from the amount of highly positive reviews I maybe in a minority. I would recommend this book, I do believe it's a story you need to read for yourself to form your own opinions, some will be more affected emotionally than others but without a doubt it is a powerful, emotional and harrowing read that really got to me and it's well worth a read. 4 stars

s it my imagination or are fictional works about the Holocaust on the increase? I’ve always believed a writer who tackles this subject in a work of fiction extremely brave. There is just no room for sentiment or poetic licence. So any author has my admiration right away. Books like these can be difficult to read. More so if you have ever visited Auschwitz, both the main camp and Birkenau. There is a tangible evil that chills you. Stories of hope and positivity are few and far between. For every survivor account you hear of you know how many did not survive. I believe the point of writing such a book as this is to perpetuate the knowledge of the Holocaust in the vain hope that such genocide will never happen again. This novel focuses upon a specific atrocity of the Holocaust, Josef Mengele and his barbaric, sadistic, experiments. Obsessed with studying identical twins, and eye colour the two protagonists of this story are twins Pearl and Stasha. The book gives them voice with alternating chapters. Ms. Konar’s research is thorough and those students of the Holocaust will recognise descriptions that echo the testimony of Eva and Miriam Mozes and Helen Rapport and Pearl Pufeles who survived Mengele’s cruelty. (Is Konar’s Pearl based on this Pearl?) In a sense there is no new ground covered by this story rather an interpretation of how victims might act, react and interact in the face of such abominable treatment. Initially I found my self puzzled by the twins as they seemed much younger at times than they actually were and I’m not sure if that was intentional to suggest that age was of no consequence to Mengele. Pearl and Stasha could be wise one moment and childish the next but in an unbalanced way. You could argue that their circumstances were enough to unbalance anyone. The prose style is eloquent, descriptive and expansive which for me doesn’t quite work with the subject matter. It’s a bold move and I celebrate the attempt but you cannot make music where there is so little harmony. For readers ignorant of anything more than a general understanding of the Holocaust this is a shocking, disturbing read. And so it should be. It isn’t a book to be enjoyed. It’s not a pleasure to read but it does suggest that we should never stop looking for hope and redemption whatever the circumstances.