Kanada

By Eva Wiseman

Kanada. The name meant untold riches and promise to Jutka, a young Hungarian girl who was captivated by stories of a vast, majestic country where people were able to breathe free of hatred and prejudice. Freedom was in short supply, but hatred was everywhere in Hungary as hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps during the last year of WWII. Jutka, her friends, and her family are sent to Auschwitz.

In that hellish place, there was another Kanada. It was the ironic name given to the storehouse at Auschwitz where the possessions — clothing and jewelry — stripped from the victims were deposited, and where Jutka was put to work.

The war may have ended, but it did not end the suffering of many of the inmates of concentration camps. Many had no homes to go to, and if they did, they were not welcome. Hundreds
went back to Poland and were murdered. Famished, diseased, and homeless, they lived in the hopelessness of camps, wondering if they could ever find a home in the world. Some went to Israel, but for Jutka there was only one dream left her — the dream of a country full of hope, where she would no longer have to live in fear.

Eva Wiseman’s powerful novel describes the war and its long, difficult aftermath with compassion and tenderness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 12, 2009
• ISBN: 9781770490277

Reviews for Kanada

[sensitivemuse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is very sad to see the world through Jutka's eyes, especially when she gets separated from her friends and has to stay home as she's banned from attending school. The hatred from some of the characters just makes you want to seethe in anger at how horribly they've treated Jutka and her family. It almost wants you to jump in and throttle these people. It's very well written in the first person point of view, and Jutka is portrayed as just a normal teenage girl with friends and family she loves with the world turning upside down in a matter of months. The book is somewhat divided into several parts so you go through various stages of her life. It is tragic to read, naturally, yet the chapters are short and detail and the narration is clear and concise. Reading this book won't take long as it is very interesting, and you want to know the outcomes of some of the people she knew and the fate of Jutka herself. What I thought was interesting to see is the sudden maturity and development of Jutka the moment she enters the camp and the sudden losses she encounters. I admired her for her struggle to survive, and her ability to speak up when others stayed silent. Throughout the book she constantly dreams, especially dreams of Canada and living there. I believe those dreams were the key to her survival, and they kept her hope alive among the pain and suffering of those around her and the constant threat of death over her shoulder. I was afraid of what she was planning to do with the rest of her life, but when she came right down to her choice, I was happy for her and agreed with it. I suppose the only problem I have with this book is the outcome of Tamas. He was horrible to Jutka and thought he should have been left to rot. However, that's just my opinion. I enjoyed the ending. Unlike some of the Holocaust fiction I have read in the past, this one leaves a glimmer of hope for her, albeit bittersweet. The reader can only hope for the best for Jutka. Overall, it was a good read. It shows a great deal of strength in the face of hopelessness and suffering. We can definitely learn a lot from Jutka and what she's been through.

[gayldashersmith · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

You wouldn't think it from its title, but this is a holocaust story. The title refers to the dream this Jewish girl has repeatedly while enduring her ordeal during World War II. She has a cousin in Canada and she dreams of going there. It was a good view of the before, during and after the Holocaust experience.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set in Hungary during the last year of World War II, this tells the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of a 14 year old Hungarian Jewish girl, Jutka. The story is told in three distinct parts. Part One shows life for Jutka's family in Nazi-occupied Hungary, Part Two takes Jutka to the bowels of Hell in Auschwitz, and Part Three sees the end of the war and follows Jutka as she moves from concentration camp to refugee camp. The day before Jutka is sent to Auschwitz she receives a care package from a relative in Canada which includes a Canadian travel booklet. The scenes of the pure driven snow and happy smiling faces of Canadians populate her dreams as she journeys through this last horrific year of the war.This is a very emotional story and equally brutal. The author does not pull any punches as she shows the inhumanity of the Nazis treatment of the Jews. And yet there is hope in Jutka and humanity in the people who are joined together in their suffering. The reader is aided by the historical maps at the front of the book and the glossary and pronunciation guide found in the back. I would most definitely call this a YA book and not one for young children. It is also one of the most heart-wrenching books I've read this year and highly recommended.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jutka is a 14 year old living in a Hungarian town during World War 2. Jutka, her family and Jewish friends are discriminated against and sent to Auschwitz. Her grandmother and motehr are gassed. Jutka and Agi move bricks for no purpose except they are ordered to do so. Jutka moves to a refugee camp. Sandir tried to talk her into going to Israel. They escape over the Alps but she changes her mind. She wants to go to Canada instead.