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    Melody of the Soul
    Melody of the Soul
    Melody of the Soul
    Ebook395 pages7 hours

    Melody of the Soul

    By Liz Tolsma

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    By 1943, Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost everything, including her career as a concert violinist and almost her entire family. The only person she has left is her beloved grandmother, and she's determined to keep her safe. But protecting Grandmother won't be easy--not with a Nazi officer billeted below them.

    Anna must keep a low profile. There's one thing she refuses to give up, though. Despite instruments being declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to practice her violin. She has to believe that the war will end someday and her career will be waiting. Fortunately for Anna, the officer, Horst Engel, enjoys her soothing music. It distracts him from his dissatisfaction with Nazi ideology and reminds him that beauty still exists in an increasingly ugly world.

    When his neighbors face deportation, Horst is moved to risk everything to hide them. Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals to her might break her trust and stop the music forever. . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKregel Publications
    Release dateJan 16, 2018
    ISBN9781683700418
    Melody of the Soul
    Author

    Liz Tolsma

    Bestselling author Liz Tolsma loves to write so much it’s often hard to tear her away from her computer. When she closes her laptop’s lid, she might walk her hyperactive Jack Russell terrier, weed her large perennial garden or binge on HGTV shows. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and together they adopted three children. She’s proud to be the mom of a US marine.

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    Reviews for Melody of the Soul

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    • 5/5
      Title: The Melody of the Soul (Music of Hope Series #1)Author: Liz TolsmaPages: 315Year: 2018Publisher: Gilead PublishingMy rating is 5 out of 5 stars.The story is set in Czechoslovakia during WWII. The lead female character is Anna Zadok, a young woman in her mid-twenties who is a violinist. She was studying to become a concert violinist when the Germans invaded her country and forbade all Jews from owning musical instruments. She, her grandmother, mother, father and two sisters live in a small apartment. They have watched as their neighbors and friends have received their deportation notices, which will send them to the prison camp of Terezin, some have been dragged from their homes for failure to report with their notices and some have even been shot by the German soldiers who are occupying their city. Anna and her family are strong Christians of Jewish blood, so they are labeled as Jews. Anna’s parents and two younger sisters receive their deportation notices. Anna begs to go with them, so they can stay together. Her parents, however, ask her to stay behind and care for her grandmother. Anna reluctantly agrees, wondering if she will ever see her family again.A German officer, Horst Engel, commandeers the apartment below Anna by having the prior Jewish occupants evicted and put on deportation trucks. Anna has been sneaking playing her violin for short periods, even though this is forbidden. She continues to do so and the soldier confronts her. She fears for her life, but it turns out that he likes her music and is an aficionado of the symphony. He asks her and her grandmother to come to his apartment so she can play for him. He works to preserve and repair the architecture of Prague as part of his service to the German Army.What follows this is a harrowing tale of attempting to survive the war as well as the German soldiers out for Jewish blood. There is a resistance group that gives aide at times, but there are visits to Terezin that are heart-breaking too. Anna has a wonderful Christian role model in her grandmother. Horst also begins to remember the lessons his own mother, a devout Christian, taught him years ago. However, his father is a devoted follower of Hitler and has high expectations for his son’s military career. Horst is caught in a difficult situation that is fraught with deadly consequences. This was a great story that I couldn’t put down! I had to see how it ended. There was sadness in the story, but overriding everything was hope in the One who is in control.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
    • 5/5
      I am so emotionally drained after reading this book, that I don’t think I will ever be the same again. The atrocities that the Jewish people endured was so hurtful I cried throughout the book. The book draws readers in with details that only an author that has done extensive research could write. Her words flow with emotion across the pages. I am so upset after reading this book because the thought of people bring hunted down and murdered because of their ethnicity is barbaric. It’s part of our history that can never be erased and I’m ashamed that it happened to innocent people. The author gives us a few characters that we follow as they go through the horrors of hiding and at times some being found. Can you imagine having to hide in a little crevice hoping you would not be discovered? Anna is a wonderful character who relies on the music from her violin and God to help ease her fear and desperation. I could hear her music quietly play as hope enveloped her. Her desire to keep her family safe was so emotional, I wanted to help her hide and hug her at the same time. It is hard to allow your heart to trust during this difficult time. I often questioned if Anna was making a wise choice when she begins to trust a German soldier. Will the soldier keep Anna and her grandmother safe? I loved how the author used certain characters to illustrate the passage in the Bible about “laying your life down for a friend.” Those lives were sacrificed so others would be safe. Would you be able to give your life to save another? This has to be one of the most powerful, realistic book I’ve ever read about the unfair treatment of Jews. The author captured the truth of an historical event and wrote a story that we must never forget. “No one should be hunted because of the blood that flows in their veins. We’re all created in God’s image.”I received a copy of this book from Litfuse. The review is my own opinion.
    • 5/5
      Both man’s inhumanity and man’s compassion is revealed in Liz Tolsma’s latest novel set in WWII Europe, The Melody of The Soul. In this first novel in the Music of Hope series, Tolsma’s characters attempt to survive the soul-crushing cruelty of the Nazi regime in Prague and Terezin. This novel is a moving account that I just could not put down. Highly recommended.Violinist Anna Zadok loves her family, Prague, and music. All three have been integral parts of her life for as long as she can remember. But with the occupation of the Nazi’s she loses one after the other as the Final Solution decimates the Jewish population of the city. Faced with either boarding a transport train or trusting a Nazi officer, Anna and her grandmother take a risk that God is really protecting them.I loved the historical details that Tolsma effortlessly wove throughout The Melody of The Soul. The beauty and cultural richness of Prague is contrasted with the desperate conditions of the transition center the Nazi’s called Theresienstadt. She somehow portrays the horrible conditions of Terezin and the depraved actions of the Nazi occupiers without being too graphic. But the story still makes the heart break for all those lost in the Holocaust. The characters are very complex. Anna and Nazi officer Horst Engel struggle with their place in the drama that is unfolding around them, as well as what God is doing in their lives. Resistance fighters Particie and Georg place others above themselves. And the villain of the story, Stephan Jaeger, is a man of contrasts. Despite the hopelessness of many of the characters’ situations, they find themselves depending more and more on God and finding that He can indeed be trusted.Music plays a major role in the characters’ lives. Anna’s brother David finds himself performing during his stay in Terezin. This is what it did for him — And then the music enveloped him, carried him far from this place. He sailed above Terezin’s confines, peering down on this miserable lot. He soared above green fields, majestic mountains of blue, shimmering turquoise oceans. Away, far away from the misery of his soul. The terrible ache in his heart over the loss of his parents, of his family faded. But music can only take you so far — only God can bring real salvation.The Melody of The Soul displayed the human experience at its worst — grief, despair, fear and impotence, and at its best — sacrifice, faith, and perseverance in trial. While not always an easy read — there are many scenes I wished I could have looked away from — it is definitely a beautifully written and thought-provoking one.Highly Recommended.Audience: adults.(Thanks to Litfuse and Gilead Publishing for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
    • 5/5
      I find it quite disconcerting to read of the soul-searching inner turmoil and the bitter and senseless mistreatment of others that are found in stories that involve the treatment of Jews and those who helped them during World War II. Horrific! Inhumane! Senseless! Evil!I find, too, the strength of people faced with such calamity encouraging to my weak spirit as I read of their inner strength and faith when faced with the horrors of the time.In The Melody of the Soul the author writes of loss of faith and strength of faith. She shows us the loveliness that is found in music reaching the depths of the soul caressing and gentling it to the point that one finds themselves settled, able to cope, and renewed. The melody is not only in the music. The melody is that which is in tune with the Almighty. The God of the ages. The Saviour.This is a lovely story but it is also one that wrenches the soul and the heart. Those were times of much evil and much meanness toward those perceived and declared different. Ms. Tolsma writes with skill and gently leads the reader down the streets and into the homes and on into the heart of the characters.You may find yourself gripped with the story yet unable to continue reading because your own heart must settle before you can turn another page. No, there is no detailed ugliness in the writing. The spirit of the events is adequately presented yet not to a point of being gross.I highly recommend this book.DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and are freely given.
    • 5/5
      A very powerful read and a time that we need to never forget, it can never be repeated, but you will need to have the tissues handy.A story of survival, but also one of great faith, this life is temporary, but hard when it is being stolen from you because of your heritage. We see brutality up close and personal, and also compassion and the ultimate gift of giving one’s own life for another.We also see where there is such great hate there is also love not all are evil, and the author puts faces on these people. From the first to the last page, I couldn’t stop reading, and we don’t know whom will still be with us as we turn the last.A compelling read and when I finished, I wanted more!I received this book through Lit Fuse Publicity Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

    Book preview

    Melody of the Soul - Liz Tolsma

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