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    Playing for the Commandant
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    Playing for the Commandant
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    Playing for the Commandant
    Audiobook5 hours

    Playing for the Commandant

    Written by Suzy Zail

    Narrated by Emily Foster

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A young Jewish pianist at Auschwitz, desperate to save her family, is chosen to play at the camp commandant's house. How could she know she would fall in love with the wrong boy?

    "Look after each other…and get home safe. And when you do, tell everyone what you saw and what they did to us."

    These are Hanna's father's parting words to her and her sister when their family is separated at the gates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Her father's words-and a black C-sharp piano key hidden away in the folds of her dress-are all that she has left to remind her of life before. Before, Hanna was going to be a famous concert pianist. She was going to wear her yellow dress to a dance. And she was going to dance with a boy. But then the Nazis came. Now it is up to Hanna to do all she can to keep her mother and sister alive, even if that means playing piano for the commandant and his guests. Staying alive isn't supposed to include falling in love with the commandant's son. But Karl Jager is beautiful, and his aloofness belies a secret. And war makes you do dangerous things.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 14, 2014
    ISBN9781491530733
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Playing for the Commandant

    4/5

    32 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I just finished reading this book. It gripped me from start to finish. I thought it was well written and really enjoyed it. While it is not for the faint of heart it didn't get overly detailed for the really negative parts but got the point across. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because I read it on my kindle and the formatting was rough with many words running together making it hard to read. If this was cleared up I would give it 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      I received this e-book for early review. I was hesitant to read it as it was difficult subject matter...concentration camps in WW11, but I was drawn in . The authors easy to read writing style captured me . I was soon wrapped in the confusion , horror, tenacity and innocence of the main character, a 15 year old Jewish young woman, Hanna. She is torn by grief, loss,wonder, conflicting emotions and fear. I was transported as much as one outsider can be, to the camps and the hunger and the clinging hope that kept her going. The book will bring up a rainbow of emotions and remind us of the reality of the power of hate and evil and the lengths it can take "normal" people. The e-book I received needed some editing....words were run on in some places, but it didn't take anything away from the writing. A well researched book and engaging. I recommend it.
    • 3/5
      This is a Young Adult title about Hanna, a young Jewish gifted pianist from Poland. Hanna and her family (father, mother, and older sister Erika) are taken to Auschwitz. Upon their arrival at Auschwitz, Hanna's father tells her to remember everything so she could tell about it later. But whatever else happens, he entreats her to stay safe and to return home. Hanna's only comfort is the C-sharp key she broke from their piano at home and hid in her clothing. Hanna is chosen to play the piano for the commandant of the camp. By doing so, she is able to get additional scraps of food for her mother and sister. At her young age, she becomes responsible for their lives.Hanna's dreams of becoming a concert pianist and finding love are destroyed. But while in the camp she unexpectedly finds love and is protected by an unexpected friend.The book was easy reading and story flowed well. I could feel her fear and despair. Hanna had to mature much too early. I ached for her stolen childhood. There are scenes of horrible acts upon humans by other humans, and there are acts of compassion and caring. Hanna's story is that of other young girls trapped by the Nazis. It is disturbing yet must be told.
    • 3/5
      A powerful, gripping story in many respects but also some odd choices by the author that seem incongruous and incredulous.
    • 4/5
      Although not universally critically acclaimed, this compelling historical novel shows the power of friendship and the bond of music to elevate the human spirit and to overcome seemingly unsurmountable differences as a Jewish girl plays the piano for the Commandant during the Nazi occupation.
    • 5/5
      Hanna Mendel is living in a ghetto in WWII Hungary. One horrible night she and her family are rounded up and thrown onto a truck bound for Auschwitz. This is not what Hanna had planned for her life, and things are about to take an even more unexpected turn.

      Hanna, her sister Erika, and her parents have managed to remain happy, after a fashion, since being made residents of the ghetto. Food is meagre, but they get by, and Hanna is still able to practice on her beloved piano. She had planned to become a concert pianist, but those plans had to change when the Jews in her town were made prisoners in their own homes. Late one night the Nazis enter her house and tell Hanna and her family that they are closing the ghetto and they are being "resettled". Before the soldiers return to take them away, Hanna's father takes them all into the back garden and silently counts out steps, holding his hands up with numbers to let them know how many steps he has taken. He buries the family's valuables in the earth and makes sure everyone knows where it is - all in total silence. Hanna has no idea how important this simple ritual will become for her.

      At the last minute, as the soldiers are forcing them all out the door the next day, Hanna runs back to her piano and yanks off the loose C-sharp key her father never got around to fixing. Erika helps her to sew it into the lining of her jacket so she can keep it with her. Forced onto a crowded train car, with nowhere to sit and surrounded by 200 people, Hanna and her family endure a nightmarish journey to their new "home" Auschwitz Labour Camp. In the Camp, life quickly takes bad turn after bad turn for Hanna and her family. Her father is sent to another part of the Camp and they never see him again. Hanna's mother increasingly disassociates herself from reality, reminding Hanna to practise her piano and planning her next recital. Erika becomes her rock and someone who sees the ugly truth about where they are. Mistreated by the Jewish guard in her dormitory, starving and filthy, Hanna grasps at the opportunity to play the piano when she gets it. Only one problem - she is to play for the Commandant in his house.

      When she "audtitions" for the Commandant in his house, Hanna thinks she has no chance of being selected, but the Commandant's son, Karl, chooses her. This decision will change the course of her life - not only in the camp, but for the rest of her life - period. She receives new clothes. but she can only wear them in the Commandant's house. Hanna receives extra rations, which she tried to share with her sister, only to find her sister is persecuted by the rest of the female prisoners for having extra food. Hanna's life is lived between the house and the camp. The Commandant likes her piano playing and she is there a lot. His son Karl usually sits in the corner, sullen and not making eye contact with her at all. She thinks he hates Jews. She is wrong.

      I don't want to tell you anymore of the plot because it is yours to discover, but the second half of the book becomes filled with suspense and tragedy. I was unable to put it down for the last 80 pages or so - I just had to find out what happened. This is not an easy book to read at times, but it is sensitively written and Hanna is a fantastic, real, central character. The story raises all sorts of questions about people's expectations of one another based on the most basic of details and also about how just one person can make a difference. This book will stay with me for a long time.

      Recommended for ages 12 and up.
    • 5/5
      Well worth the wait! I was concerned that this book would get too serious, but Zail balances the very sensitive historical narratives of concentration camp survivors, with the coming of age tale of a young girl who just wants to share her amazing gift with the world. There are amazingly written passages here; words so colorful that it transports the reader to the space Hanna occupies. This needs to be read by every schoolkid in America.
    • 4/5
      Hanna Mendel aspires to be a world class pianist, she is the second daughter of a Hungarian Jewish family. In World War II the Budapest Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps un beknown to them. The Mendel family are sent to Birkenau where Hanna, her mother and sister are separated from her father. Her mother becomes increasingly mentally ill until she too is taken away somewhere. Her sister Erika is slowly starving to death. Hanna is a naive 15-year-old but when presented with the opportunity to play piano for the camp commandant, she is desperate to be chosen. She goes each day under guard to the commandant's house and stands waiting in case the commandant should want her to play. Also living in the house is the commandant's son, Karl. A handsome young man who seems completely disengaged from what is happening around him. Hanna despises him as he sits drawing in the music room. But the longer Hanna goes to the house, the more she realises there are other things going on. Secret things. Karl may not be the person she thinks he is. Before she knows it she has fallen in love with the wrong boy. A strong story of survival .
    • 4/5
      "The Wrong Boy" is a gritty little novel about fifteen-year-old Hanna who, along with her family, is taken from her home and sent to Auschwitz. The reader is given an awful insight into the life of this camp, the cruelties, degradations, horrors and struggles to just stay alive. Hanna is a very likeable character. Throughout the book she feels shame, fear, guilt and hopelessness, but at all times she remains determined, determined to stay alive and tell the world about what she and the other women have had to endure. Although there is a romance woven through the plot, it is only of a secondary nature. "The Wrong Boy" is another well-written holocaust story and is a good companion to Boyne's "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and Gleitzman's "Once".
    • 5/5
      Hanna is a talented pianist, and the protected second daughter of middle class Hungarian Jews. Relatively late in World War II the Budapest Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Hanna and her mother and sister are separated from her father. Her mother becomes increasingly mentally ill until she too is taken away somewhere. Her sister Erika is slowly starving to death. Hanna is quite a naïve 15-year-old but when presented with the opportunity to play piano for the camp commander, she is desperate to be chosen. She goes each day under guard to the commander’s house and stands waiting in case the commander should want some music. Also living in the house is the commander’s son, Karl. A handsome young man who seems completely disengaged from what is happening around him. Hanna hates him as he sits drawing in the music room. But the longer Hanna goes to the house, the more she realises there are other things going on. Secret things. Karl may not be the person she thinks he is. Before she knows it she has fallen in love with the wrong boy.(
    • 4/5
      An amazing story of survival, this book kept me spellbound at the horrors this young girl had to endure. I liked that the author didn't hesitate to drop the reader right into the middle of Auschwitz and the tearful separation between family members. The author incorporated a ton of details about the camp itself and the experience of the prisoners. The research required for such a work as this was evident throughout the book.At the beginning, I did feel the lack a bit of an introduction to Hanna and her family. Yet, as the story went along, that lack didn't seem to matter so much. The author does a fantastic job in introducing her characters and letting her readers get to know them throughout the narrative. As a result, I felt every emotion, heartache, and burst of hope after all the horrors were over.I felt like I got to know the character of Hanna, just as well as if she was my own little sister experiencing this trial. She’s a thoughtful character who’s devoted to her family and artistic craft. She dedicated herself to helping her sister when she got the opportunity to get a better job and was broken when she couldn't always follow-up on that dedication. Yet, there were also moments where the young, innocent teenager showed through as well: her undying belief that her parents are alive and just somewhere else in the camp and her momentary flashes of selfishness when she just eats the food available rather than saving it to split with Erika.I do have a bit of an issue with this book being touted as a “romance”, though. Sure, there is tenderness between Karl and Hanna, and I enjoyed that journey toward what might have been called “romance” in the future. What scenes they had together were powerful in their subtlety and hints at what could be/might have been. But at the end of the day, it just feels that the power of Hanna’s survival story and her piano talents were the star of the story (not that that’s a bad thing, it’s a great story!). Karl almost seems sidelined as a secondary thought, which is a sad point as he had a ton of potential.Beyond a bit of wrong billing and a lack of introduction to the book’s players, this book was a fantastic look at a young girl’s journey through hell, out to the other side. The author does a fantastic job at characterization for her main character and in creating a setting of true horror that transported this reader smack dab into that hell. Don’t let the fact that this isn't really a romance turn you off; the story of a young girl navigating the Holocaust stands firm on its own as a fantastic reason to read this book. Recommended for readers of Holocaust fiction, especially the YA readers, and for the 70th anniversary it Auschwitz's liberation.