The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
My first introduction to The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen was when I was browsing Netflix and I thought, hey, this movie that stars Kristen Dunst looks really interesting. I got it, watched it and thought it was great. Not until much
later while browsing through Deseret Industries, one of my favorite places to pick up books secondhand did I come across the book. A book! The Devil’s Arithmetic was based off of a book! Well, of course, I had to read it. On a side note, my book cover is not the same as the one shown here left. I wish it was! Mine makes you want to not read it the book cover is so bad. I’d show you but I couldn’t find it. So, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. I’m tempted to buy this one and get rid of my other one.
Written for middle graders, The Devil’s Arithmetic is an informative and enlightening read about life for the Jews during the Holocaust. From life at home to supposed resettlement, suffocating agony while traveling in cattle cars, daily life and then, ultimately death in the concentration camps. It’s sad, brutal, and depressing but of course everything surrounding the Holocaust is. I perceived Yolen’s theme as “Don’t Forget, Always Remember!”
Summary and quick review from the School Library Journal:
In this novel, Yolen attempts to answer those who question why the Holocaust should be remembered. Hannah, 12, is tired of remembering, and is embarrassed by her grandfather, who rants and raves at the mention of the Nazis. Her mother’s explanations of how her grandparents and great-aunt lost all family and friends during that time have little effect.
Then, during a Passover Seder, Hannah is chosen to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah. As she does so, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940s, where everyone thinks that she is Chaya, who has just recovered from a serious illness. She is captured by the Nazis and taken to a death camp, where she is befriended by a young girl named Rivka, who teaches her how to fight the dehumanizing processes of the camp and hold onto her identity. When at last their luck runs out and Rivka is chosen, Hannah/Chaya, in an almost impulsive act of self-sacrifice, goes in her stead. As the door to the gas chamber closes behind her, she is returned to the door of her grandparents’ apartment, waiting for Elijah.
Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to children’s understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow. –Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, Tex. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc
The following video is a compilation of clips from the movie The Devil’s Arithemtic starring Kristen Dunst which I would highly recommend watching as a companion to the book:
After reading this book, I looked up information to learn about the author as I always do. Jane Yolen has a great website that I would recommend perusing and imagine my surprise to find out that she authored the popular picture book series How Do Dinosaurs . . . . I have checked these books out multiple times from our local library and thought they are really cute. When typing in Jane Yolen under our library’s catalog I came up with 240 line items underneath her name. Prolific!
You may purchase the paperback version of The Devil’s Arithmetic for $6.29 through my Bookwise bookstore and it will be shipped quickly to you from the nearest Baker and Taylor fulfillment warehouse.
I would highly recommend this book whether your an adult or if you’d like to read along with your children. I’m sure they would have many questions. It’s scary and frightening but gives a good account of what the Jews and many others suffered through during the Holocaust.
I haven’t heard of the book or the movie, but it sounds interesting. I just read The Book Thief and loved it and really liked Number the Stars (Lois Lowry) when I was younger. Thanks for the review!
on February 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pmTrish - I loved The Book Thief! If you haven’t done so you can read my review here. I haven’t heard of Number the Stars, I shall have to look into it.
on February 27th, 2008 at 6:43 pmI’m glad you enjoyed it. I read this book when I was little - I remember it was very a difficult read, not because of the language, but because putting a modern-day girl into a Holocaust death camp just made it all so… immediate. It’s about time to reread it, I think. I didn’t realize it had been made into a movie.
(I found this review through Saturday Review of Books, which I found through a friend’s book blog…)
on March 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pmLittle Miao - I’m glad you found your way over here! You can always subscribe to my RSS feed or by email to stay up to date on all of my latest posts. This book was great. The more I think about it, the more I like it. The movie is well worth checking out as well.
on March 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pmThis sounds really good. I also like Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
on April 19th, 2008 at 9:08 pmayo dis book suked until the nazis came, then all the violence started, the olocaust iz super depressioning
on April 20th, 2008 at 5:47 pmI love it when I watch a movie and only later realize that it was a book. The only thing I find is that usually the movie doesn’t live up to the book.
on April 27th, 2008 at 5:21 amNumber the stars is a thrilling story, it is a guide to all readers
on June 4th, 2008 at 3:05 pm[…] is not a author that’s new to me, in fact I read and reviewed The Devil’s Arithmetic (my book review here) earlier this year. So I found it quite interesting that she wrote not one, but two Holocaust […]
on June 12th, 2008 at 12:03 amIn this novel, Yolen attempts to answer those who question why the Holocaust should be remembered. Hannah, 12, is tired of remembering, and is embarrassed by her grandfather, who rants and raves at the mention of the Nazis. Her mother’s explanations of how her grandparents and great-aunt lost all family and friends during that time have little effect.
Then, during a Passover Seder, Hannah is chosen to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah. As she does so, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940s, where everyone thinks that she is Chaya, who has just recovered from a serious illness. She is captured by the Nazis and taken to a death camp, where she is befriended by a young girl named Rivka, who teaches her how to fight the dehumanizing processes of the camp and hold onto her identity. When at last their luck runs out and Rivka is chosen, Hannah/Chaya, in an almost impulsive act of self-sacrifice, goes in her stead. As the door to the gas chamber closes behind her, she is returned to the door of her grandparents’ apartment, waiting for Elijah.
Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to children’s understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow.
on June 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pm