The Rainbow: Absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 historical fiction based on a true story

You see reviews saying"I couldn't put this book down" etc. This is the first time I found this to be true. I had to get up in the night to finish the story. So sad, so unifying, so clever.

I could not put this book down. A heartbreaking story of one man's journey through the second world war. A story of survival, of bravery, of love. This book is not for the fainthearted; I feel heartbroken but also uplifted by this man's resilience and resolve in the face of such hatred. I thoroughly recommend this book to you. You will never be the same again. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

We never know what truly happened in the past. But books like this bring some of it to life. Telling us of people and how their lives were affected by it. War is war and it makes people do things that were alien to them.

I have been waiting for this books release since I read the final words in Carly Schabowski's "Watchmaker of Dachau" not that I knew then what this story would bring but because I fell in love with her writing with that book. And I can safely say I was not disappointed from the first description of the icy cold river numbing toes to the final carafe o of wine I was hooked in by the story of two brothers apart, of unrequited love and one of the darkest times in history.I truly cannot recommend this book enough and truly hope others enjoy it as much as I did .

This is Poland !This is quite simply, a heartfelt family story. The effects of the ravages of war on our everyday folk. The real people. The you’s and the me’s . Not those high powered, protected upper echelons of society, our simple everyday folk, who bare the brunt of political dictatorship and ambition.The prose is engaging and has momentum from page 1, and welcomes you into the life of Tomasz. A rare read for me, in that I literally could not put it down and read it in two days. My days of burning the midnight oil for a book, had long dissipated with my youth. So I thought …A good book, while cleverly written, is about making you think, of challenging your view, of teaching you, of opening your soul …I am a tourist. This book challenges me in how I look at old buildings, a scene and a setting .. to strip back the commercial view of life and look at the soul of a town and a country. To look at its history from its human exploitation. To understand.Prior to covid and this book, I had booked a Christmas trip to Krakow. World pandemics have a habit of changing that ! Now I feel my trip will have a different colour, a richer one, a sadder one, a more inspired one and definitely a more thoughtful one.I will go to Poland . I will sit on the bank of a river, my feet in the cold water, and think of this family.Thank you Carly, for sharing your story and opening my eyes to your family’ strength and resilience ❤️

I loved every word of this book..

Just goes to show what we are all capable of when we need to survive or to protect those we love. Very strong characters.

Extremely moving. This story's subject must have been the case for so many who survived the war. Unravelled by a granddaughter of today's time, she delved to uncover her granddad's true story of living and working through the war and discovered nothing is ever as straightforward as it seemsIt's beautifully written and it even offers us a touch of magical imagination with friends who didn't survive the war. It's just beautiful and I would totally recommend this book