Book Review

Mila 18

Now here comes a little taste of historical novels, a very popular genre. We expect your comments!

By Mar Moure

The book I chose to make a review of has the particularity of being a brave mixture of History an imagination. This historical novel, by the American writer, Leon Uris, is named Mila 18 after a famous street in Warsaw (Poland) centre which carries the same name.

The context in this novel is, as in every historical book, the essential part of it; the story unfolds itself in the time of the World War II, starting a few days previous the German campaign to occupy the polish corridor, through the months of the German ruling and the gradual isolation of Jew people into what would later become the Warsaw Ghetto. Of course, the story of this particular ghetto is well known for its tragic final, and so it is evident that whatever ending the author would write couldn’t be a “they lived happily ever after”; it is more of the bittersweet variety. The novel has plenty sub-plots that helps keeping the reader’s attention completely focused, like several romances, affairs, drama, action and so on. The structure of the book is very inspiring too; it is divided into four massive chapters: Twilight, dusk, night and dawn. Each of these titles match the mood of the chapter so perfectly that by the time you are about to start ‘Night’ your nerves are all perked up, waiting for the worst. For it is a very crude book, with passages bordering on gruesome, but so it was the war and if your guts can take it you would be, I can assure, too thrilled by the story that putting the book down with almost cause physical pain.

The fantastic part of the book is, as well, utterly marvelous. Uris is well renowned for filling his novels with very well developed characters with so much personality that it is quite common to miss them once the book is finished like you would miss a dear friend. From the courageous and stern Ari Ben Canaan that went through a thousand and more intrepid adventures in Exodus (and was played in the silver screen by the 60’s heartthrob Paul Newman) to Captain Andrei Androfksi, chivalrous and handsome chief of the Seventh Unit of the Ullanys in Mila 18, all his characters maintain such a fierce compelling attitude that makes the scenes so much more intense. Some of the other main characters are the ever level-headed and solemn Alexander Brandel; the fierce young couple that fought together for their love, Karen and Wolf; the American-Polish girlfriend of Androfski, Gabriela Rak; the Italian- American ladies-man journalist, Christopher Di Monti and his hard-working assistant Ervin Rosembum, these amongst many other characters that go in and out of the story, contributing with whatever amount of angst or comic relief to the plotline. Although all characters have a life of their own, my favourite one is by far Captain Andrei Androfski; he is the kind of man who jumps head first into his problems and goes out of a limb to help others. Besides, he’s got that magnetic appeal of someone so sure of himself but at the same time so innocent. He is, as a matter of fact, one of the most complete and charismatic characters I’ve ever read about.I really enjoyed myself while reading this piece of literature, because you don’t only get to read a novel with a good plot and interesting character, but also get acquainted with how things went on during the Holocaust, and even unconsciously learn important facts- as dates, battles and important people- of History. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with a particular taste for historical novels. It is a one-of- a-kind piece of work.