They Went Left
Abek to Zofia. A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. This is what Zofia told her brother Abek just before they lost each other when their family was separated at Auschwitz. But at least Zofia and her little brother Abek were put in the right-hand line. The rest of their family was sent to the left line, to die in the gas chambers. Enduring the ghastly conditions of the camp, always hoping for at least a glimpse of her brother Abek, Zofia survives until the Allies liberate Auschwitz. Her life then becomes a grim set of tasks: surviving freedom and searching for her brother Abek.
After 1945, the war’s over, but nothing is simple or easy. For someone like Zofia—who has that most lethal of diseases, hope, and carries that heaviest of weights, a secret—the search for her little brother becomes a torment. Zofia’s life becomes more bearable when she meets the charming, handsome Josef, and hopes to build a future with him. But Josef, too, is concealing a deadly secret.
They Went Left is grimly realistic, and the writing is eloquent. From the opening scene to the horrifying, yet hopeful, conclusion, the powerful narrative sweeps the reader along. However, I found the plot twists predictable (I guessed the novel’s biggest secret by about page three). Nevertheless, They Went Left is an excellent novel, illuminating the post-war period for the modern reader.
