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The Cut Out Girl
The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found | Bart van Es
13 posts | 14 read | 24 to read
The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish girl in Holland under Nazi occupation who finds refuge in the homes of an underground network of foster families, one of them the author's grandparents Bart van Es left Holland for England many years ago, but one story from his Dutch childhood never left him. It was a mystery of sorts: a young Jewish girl named Lientje had been taken in during the war by relatives and hidden from the Nazis, handed over by her parents, who understood the danger they were in all too well. The girl had been raised by her foster family as one of their own, but then, well after the war, there was a falling out, and they were no longer in touch. What was the girl's side of the story, Bart wondered? What really happened during the war, and after? So began an investigation that would consume Bart van Es's life, and change it. After some sleuthing, he learned that Lientje was now in her 80s and living in Amsterdam. Somewhat reluctantly, she agreed to meet him, and eventually they struck up a remarkable friendship, even a partnership. The Cut Out Girl braids together a powerful recreation of that intensely harrowing childhood story of Lientje's with the present-day account of Bart's efforts to piece that story together, including bringing some old ghosts back into the light. It is a story rich with contradictions. There is great bravery and generosity--first Lientje's parents, giving up their beloved daughter, and then the Dutch families who face great danger from the Nazi occupation for taking Lientje and other Jewish children in. And there are more mundane sacrifices a family under brutal occupation must make to provide for even the family they already have. But tidy Holland also must face a darker truth, namely that it was more cooperative in rounding up its Jews for the Nazis than any other Western European country; that is part of Lientje's story too. Her time in hiding was made much more terrifying by the energetic efforts of the local Dutch authorities, zealous accomplices in the mission of sending every Jew, man, woman and child, East to their extermination. And Lientje was not always particularly well treated, and sometimes, Bart learned, she was very badly treated indeed. The Cut Out Girl is an astonishment, a deeply moving reckoning with a young girl's struggle for survival during war, a story about the powerful love of foster families but also the powerful challenges, and about the ways our most painful experiences define us but also can be redefined, on a more honest level, even many years after the fact. A triumph of subtlety, decency and unflinching observation, The Cut Out Girl is a triumphant marriage of many keys of writing, ultimately blending them into an extraordinary new harmony, and a deeper truth.
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rachaich
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Mehso-so

Undecided about this.
Simple read but a little haphazard at times and not flowing as I expected.
The actual content is interesting and very new to me. Her life has been very up and down and I was saddened by all the horrudness she's experienced.

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rachaich
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Working through my pile before I get new books!
I heard a podcast about this last year so rather keen to read it.

12 likes1 stack add
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JillR
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Pickpick

The author tracks down the Jewish girl who joined his family after her parents gave her to a non-Jewish family to shelter her during the war. Her parents never returned and Lien is left at the mercy of those who will take her in, never sure of her own identity or whether she is loved. The author gives a balanced view of his own family‘s history and the qualities and faults of all involved. Emotional, but I felt a disconnect with the writing.

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squirrelbrain
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Pickpick

A compelling non-fiction read about a young Jewish girl in The Netherlands, who was hidden with a few different families during WWII.

At the start I struggled with the biographical style, as I couldn‘t connect the author to his subject. Once I reached the point at which Lien was fostered by the author‘s grandparents, the story became more understandable to me. I found the exploration of how the family became estranged very interesting.
4⭐️

TrishB Have this on the kindle 👍🏻 might get to it soon! 5y
70 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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JillR
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I‘m feeling very lucky with my birthday book haul - the Margaret Atwoods I asked for, the others were chosen for me by my husband and mum. I admit I‘m a book-control-freak and often panic “but that‘s not on my list!” but so often the books that others choose for me end up being ones I love 💫

Cathythoughts Nice haul & Happy Birthday 👍🏻♥️ 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Looks like a great haul! 📚 5y
JillR Thank you @Cathythoughts ! 5y
38 likes3 comments
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squirrelbrain
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Just noticed that this is 99p on Kindle today....

TrishB Bugger....brought it last week!! 5y
Cathythoughts I have the book ... I‘d snap it up otherwise 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 5y
62 likes3 comments
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JennyM
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Oooo, this book is so good.

Cathythoughts Did you read it ? I have it & am looking forward to it ... (edited) 5y
LeeRHarry Stacked! 😊 5y
JennyM @Cathythoughts I‘ve about 50 pages left. It‘s excellent & worthy of all the 🌟 I think you‘ll enjoy it. 5y
See All 6 Comments
JennyM @LeeRHarry I think you‘ll enjoy. It‘s a remarkable story about a little girl‘s survival during WWII in The Netherlands ❤️ 5y
Tanisha_A I remember seeing this, it won 2018 Costa under Biography category. Looking forward to read it one day. 5y
JennyM @Tanisha_A you are correct...good memory! It‘s fascinating, but also sad. She endured too much at a young age 💔 5y
66 likes7 stack adds6 comments
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Cathythoughts
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I‘ve been to town & bought the dinner 😋.... and these two books 📚 📚📚

Tanisha_A Fine accompaniments! 👏💚 5y
Cathythoughts @Tanisha_A yes! We will have books as a side dish 💕😉 5y
JennyM 😆😆😆 5y
Cathythoughts @JennyM 😉😂😂 5y
65 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Tonton
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readtheworld
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Pickpick

The fascinating and heartbreaking true story of a young Jewish girl who lived with the author‘s grandparents in the Netherlands during World War II. It‘s great on audio, though I may need to find a hard copy in order to see if it has photos in it.

I started this yesterday and am now on to my second audiobook of #24in48, Let‘s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris.

#audiobook #readathon #wwii #nonfiction

54 likes1 stack add
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rmaclean4
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Pickpick

What an amazing January I am having. Third 5 🌟 read this month. This book about a girl that was hidden during WWII in Holland is so compelling. I zoomed through it. Highly recommend!! Costa award winner.

24 likes2 stack adds
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rmaclean4
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Started this last night and am all in!! Enjoying my Costa Short List reading!

17 likes1 stack add