Born Under Fire by Rina Z. Neiman is a coming of age story inspired by the life of Neiman’s mother.
Here is a quick overall synopsis of the book!
SYNOPSIS:
Born Under Fire is a historical novel that tells the story of a girl coming of age and her drive to excel despite the devastating effects of long-term war.
Born in Jerusalem under British rule in 1928, Shula grows up in a world in turmoil as Hitler rises to power and nations enter into war. Amid a landscape of ancient stone ruins next to modern Bauhaus architecture, and desert scrub ending at newly verdant farmlands, Shula grows into her independence as the State of Israel is born.
Based on historical documents and events, Born Under Fire is also about the context surrounding the founding of the State of Israel, as well as the horrors and dangers of growing up in a conflict zone. Shula battles grief and depression due to the shattering events affecting her, her family, and the entire world. Despite this struggle her resilient spirit enables her to reach great heights as a concert pianist.
THOUGHTS:
Neiman was kind enough to send me a copy of her book and I couldn’t wait to dive into it. The overall description of this story had me from day one. I have very little experience with coming of age books—a little part of me feels like To Kill A Mockingbird is really my only impressive comparison. And honestly, I got some really strong ‘Scout’ vibes toward the beginning chapters. There was a strong interest in the world around Shula and pure innocence of the divide that religion and ethnicity have within the communities around her.
However, the further into this book I got, I found myself wanting just a bit more of Shula’s emotions and thoughts. I longed for more than just hearing that she was “worried” or “angry” about the happenings around her. Shula is facing missing relatives, sick family members, a brother involved in the fighting action and clearly in the face of death, and a community that is in crisis. Diving deeper into her heart would have meant so much more to the story and allowed for better connection to the events and characters.
What was adding greatly to this story were the QR codes that were available at the bottom of a number of pages. This allowed you to follow along with the music that Shula was practicing, images of family members, and historical event coverage. To truly see the faces of the people inspiring this book and seeing the buildings and land it was covering, was a joy to have as a reader.
You can also follow along with the images, videos, and clips on the website https://www.bornunderfire.com/.
There is clearly an emotional connection to this story for the author—it being based on her own mother’s life experiences. And strong research was demonstrated to connect the timeline as well. It was truly an honor to share in Neiman’s writing and the sharing of her mother’s life. A story of true love, trials, and the strong ties and blessings of a Jewish family.
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?
I would recommend this book to capture this new perspective for WWII and Jewish lives outside of hiding, running, or concentration camps. While each story that is written within these perspectives is extremely powerful and moving, it is refreshing to add more to the story and timeline of WWII, before and even after. It is a rather quick read and moves through Shula’s life at a steady/fast pace.