Day after night by Anita Diamont: Well written yet I failed to connect with the story

Posted on April 13, 2014 Updated on April 13, 2014

Second World War dominated the history of wars in the 20^th century and had a huge impact on  the world. Now it is almost 70 years since then and yet movies (Monument men) and  books(Unbroken) get released about the war times.
‘Day after night’ is set at the very  end of WW2, in an Israeli camp at Atlit where Jews without paper identities await their future. There is no threat of death in this camp that is governed by the British command. Food, clothing and shelter is provided. Five young girls, few still in their teens, from different parts of Europe find themselves at this camp. They all have lost family, friends, fortune and the sense of smell! Their future is uncertain yet they try and make something out of the days that stretch ahead of them.
I found it difficult to connect with the characters in this book. The characters are well developed but do not leave a long lasting impact on the reader’s mind. I also felt that in order to have a mix of characters that represented Europe of those times, the author picked up Shayndel  from Poland, the beauty Leonie from Paris,  a tall Dutch Tedi and German Zorah who survived Auschwitz. The stories of these girls are not intertwined and because there is no imminent death threat, the books fails to reach a nail biting climax when everyone escapes to a nearby Kibbutz.
I think if you have a personal connection to Jewish families, to Israel or to the World War 2, then this would be an interesting book. I don’t have any of these connections so I could not get immersed in the story of the book.
Coming to the strengths of the book, let me hasten to add that Anita Diamont, the author writes very well and has the power to bring the camp alive for the readers. I could picture the barbed fenced camp with hot humid air and the ongoing life of the people held in the camp. Sadly the people in the camp did not become fully alive through the pages of the book, to stay in the reader’s mind for a long time.
Recommendation for the book? I’m non-committal. The book has got great reviews from many readers and I can understand that; but I’m not joining those readers.