Wartime Lies: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Louis Begley
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 202262
Media: Paperback
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0449001172
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780449001172
ASIN: 0449001172
Publication Date: October 15, 1997
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Condition: BRAND NEW BOOK WITH SOME SCUFF MARKS TO THE PAPERBACK COVER. WE SHIP 6 DAYS A WEEK.
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Product Description
"Extraordinary...Rich in irony and regret...[the] people and settings are vividly realized and his prose [is] compelling in its simplicity."brTHE WALL STREET JOURNALbrAs the world slips into the throes of war in 1939, young Maciek's once closetted existence outside Warsaw is no more. When Warsaw falls, Maciek escapes with his aunt Tania. Together they endure the war, running, hiding, changing their names, forging documents to secure their temporary lives#8212;as the insistent drum of the Nazi march moves ever closer to them and to their secret wartime lies.brbrbriFrom the Paperback edition./i
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Survival rendered hollow March 25, 2005
beth black (usa)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Louis Begley is able to convincingly write of survival as seen through the innocence and straightforwardness of a young Jewish boy. A boy whose life gradually becomes a web of lies and inward and outward loss. Loss which he will ultimately not be able to ever recover from. This is a short book with appeal to adults and young adults given the young protagonist and appropriate content.
The war ends; the lies and sadness don't. May 31, 2004
abt1950 (usa)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This affecting autobiographical novel chronicles the life of a little Jewish boy and his family during World War II Poland. It is narrated by the now grown boy, who begins by reflecting on his adult life and his attachment to the Aeneid, whose eponymous character likewise escaped the destruction of the world he knew. But unlike Aeneas, who survived to found the city of Rome, Begley's narrator finds no new home for himself--all he had and, even all he was, was ripped away by the lies that allowed him to survive.pMaciek, the little boy the narrator once was, is a Jewish child who grows up cosseted and loved by his family. The outbreak of the war changes all that, as the family's survival depends on moving from one place to another, always hiding their Jewish identity and blending in with the general population. One by one, most of his family die or vanish. Maciek and his Aunt Tania somehow survive, cautiously maintaining a fearful distance from those around them in order to keep from being discovered. But survival takes its toll--after the war is over, the lies have become protective coloration and aren't so easily disposed of. The little boy Maciek was is no longer. pWartime Lies has its moments of suspense, but those aren't what linger at the end. The true impact of the book comes from the child's matter-of-fact narration. Many of the situations in the book should be emotionally charged, but the flatness of the narrative doesn't reflect this. It's as if the adult narrator is talking about a different person, and in many ways he is. The distance between child and adult reflects the true tragedy of the story. In order to survive physically, the child's psyche has been irreparably damaged. pAll told, Wartime Lies is a stunning book, quietly moving. It is one of the best Holocaust novels that I have read.
Old Story, New Twist October 29, 2002
John Zakrzewski (Philadelphia, PA)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Louis Begley's novel, Wartime Lies, is set during the German invasion of Poland in World War II. After the Nazis take over their town and send them to a ghetto, Maciek-a young Jewish boy-and his family must to take on new identities in order to survive the German occupation. The family is forced to separate and only Maciek and his aunt Tania are left together, posing as a widowed mother and her son while they travel through Poland looking for refuge. pI don't tend to dwell much on my ethnic background. I'm an American. I was born in America, as were my parents and my parent's parents. Still, if you ask me what nationalities I am, I'll tell you. I'm half Polish, with the other half being mostly Irish, with some English, and Welsh. I don't look stereotypically Polish or Irish, and both my families come from Christian backgrounds, so I don't look Jewish. I've never been to any of these countries, I don't speak their languages, and I'm not particularly well versed in their histories. I'm just your average American, with a very Polish last name, Zakrzewski. My family simplified the pronunciation to "Za-crew-ski," though it sounds quite different in Polish. I'd like to know more about my family's background and what brought both branches here to America. I could ask my Grandmothers and I know they'd tell me, but it just isn't something that we seem to talk about in my family. Out of the two countries, I probably know the least about Poland. If my last named started with "Mc" or "Mac" maybe I wouldn't care as much, but since I'll always be identified first as Polish, I have some deep, unfulfilled interest in this nation.pIt's not everyday I read about Poland. I've learned about World War II, and the atrocities of the Holocaust. I know about Germany's invasion of Poland and of Auschwitz, but it's all textbook knowledge and documentaries from the Discovery Channel. Most of the information I know is cold and sterile. As someone who wasn't born until 1981, the closest thing I can get to a first hand experience is usually from a survivor of a concentration camp. Rarely does myself-or anyone for that matter-get a fist hand look at what it was to live during these times, outside the nazi camps and Jewish ghettos. Bagley does a fine job in showing us what it meant to be a Jew in Poland during World War II from a perspective greatly different from those poor souls who ended up in Hitler's death camps.pLike Dante's pseudo-self in his Divine Comedy, Maciek-the hero of Bagley's tale-wanders around his own hell with his aunt Tania as a protector and guide. Just like Dante, Maciek is immune to the actual terrors of the German invasion, due to his forged documents stating he is of Aryan decent, and must travel through his ravished homeland as an outsider observing the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Since Maciek is only one person, the purpose of his journey isn't to change his homeland. His task is to inform the rest of his country, and the world, of what actually occurred in Poland, so that it can hopefully never happen again. He is merely a tool used to relate these horrors.pAs I've already said, I know very little about Poland and its people. Most of what I do know centers around the county's tendency to be conquered by other nations, but probably the most widely known chapter in Poland's history occurred during the Nazi Holocaust. Bagley's novel is the first time I've every encountered these events related from an objective view. This book has given me a better understanding of what actually transpired during the German occupation then any other source I've ever encountered. Wartime Lies not only gives us a chronological history of events, but also an emotional history of a person who lived through them. This marriage of history and personal exploration paints a more vivid picture then any textbook or documentary could.pEven after the war, Maciek and the remains of his family still lived under false pretenses, fearing what still might occur if their Jewish heritage were discovered. While I have no fear of others knowing I'm Polish, in some ways I understand the feeling of not being true to ones background. While I don't attempt to hide my ethnic background, I make no strides in exposing it either. If anything, Bagley has not only kindled in me a desire to learn more about my own family and nationality, but his book has also given me a new perspective on events that I thought I knew all to well.
 Lost Innocence October 29, 2002
Jen (Philadelphia, PA)
Louis Begley's Wartime Lies paints a vivid picture of the life of a nine-year-old boy, Maciek, and his aunt, Tania, during World War II. The novel snares the reader from the very first page. Maciek is representative of most pre-pubescent boys until the Germans begin to take control of his home. This novel unfolds like an adventure story, containing violence, suspense, and drama; however, the reader must remind himself that, although the characters are fictitious, the story remains similar to that of many victims of the Holocaust. The terror that plagues the hearts of the characters is almost palpable. Since Maciek narrates the story, the war is seen through the eyes of this young boy. He recounts the "wartime lies" he and his aunt had to fabricate in order to live and all the while confesses his guilt of being a liar and hypocrite. His innocence is both touching and heart-wrenching. "She and I had to get used to the idea that we were quite alone: Tania and Maciek against the world. This was not an easy lesson to learn, but probably the world would beat it into our heads." And the world did. The voice of an adult Maciek concludes the novel. This man bears no resemblance to the child he once was. He is unable to speak of his childhood; rather, he prefers to keep it buried amidst the rubble of a past that he no longer acknowledges. Upon reading this powerful conclusion, the reader can't help feeling a mix of emotions. Maciek has survived the war, but what has his survival brought him? Wartime Lies should be read to not only teach about the Holocaust, but also to allow the reader to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the Holocaust.
 Wartime Criminals October 29, 2002
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Through the voice of an immature pre-pubescent boy, Maciek, LouisbrBegley illustrates the Jewish-Pole population of South Pole by dragging the reader through the horrible streets of his past. Louis Begley, having survived the turmoil of World War II reminisces of the familial bonds with his Aunt Tania and his grandfather whom he loved so dear. As an attorney of law in New York City, this is Begley's first novel and it is incredibly a portrayal of what was his battle with Nazi Germany during WWII. But, as the novel unfolds we are uncertain of where the narrator is going to take us, dancing into the dream that was his cruel past. Begley retells the events of his history in the form of a story, one which he remembers so clearly, one which he can't forget. Begley's descriptions are vivid and often remind me of things I was told not to say, 'out loud', conversation that boys and girls have alone. A fun young Maciek is no later spoiled by the brutal circumstances of Hitler and his army of destruction. His youth is stolen to the war and his only life is wiht his aunt. Aunt Tania, plays an essential role model as a maternal figure, while disguising both she and Maciek's true identities.brThe narrator tells the events in the form of prose, remembering so clearly that which has ailed his memories. The young boy, Maciek is the Jew that 'was not', concealing himself down to the foreskin, covering who he was, as well as protecting his life from eminent death. Tania and Maciek travel from the country to the city avoiding notice or recognition by a family member or colleague, perfecting native dialect and practicing safe word use and or communication. The bulk of the novel is simply the two main characters, Tania and Maciek, chasing down their fears, by disguising them, hiding from the government and its people.brAs Begley points back to the past, to Greeks, gods and goddesses, to the Aenied, he remains devastated by the tragedy which has befallen to him and many others. Being a Pole, he was of very few to haved survived to tell their story. Eating anything that was left about, or to spare and surviving many bouts with pneumonia and liver jaundice, this young man emegered to shed light on his sacrifices and let the burden of his truths be the past.brCompiling a series of giddy childhood memories with obscene accounts of a genocidal war, Begley writes to tell of his "Inferno", the moments that he outlasted the damned, even as a criminal of the law he overcame the wrong doers. Although, I do find this type of history horrifying, I take very little interest in Begley's descriptions as they give too much silly detail and not enough truth or evidence behind the ordeal. The moral of the novel, is however,a poignant one, surviving the wretches of cold brutality may be overcome by emerging anew, unmasking the infection of such painful wounds releases the evil.
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