Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Win a copy of The Apple by Penelope J. Holt

The Apple by Penelope J. Holt, slated for release the first week of September, focuses on the Herman Rosenblat Holocaust hoax. You might remember Rosenblat as the Holocaust survivor whose memoir was a love story centering on a young girl who threw apples over the fence of the camp where his family was held captive. He claimed this young girl's actions helped him to survive. However, it was revealed that the story of the girl with the apples wasn't true.

In The Apple, Holt researches the Rosenblat story, detailing the things he witnessed during the war and aiming to determine the reasons why he embellished the facts. She pulls in other Holocaust resources from books like The Diary of Anne Frank to movies like Schindler's List.

I haven't read this book yet, but there's a review copy making its way to me. I remember reading about Rosenblat before the hoax was revealed, and I remember how disappointed I was when the scandal broke. I can't wait to read the fruits of Holt's research.

If you're interested in The Apple, Lisa Kerber from York House Press says 5 signed copies are up for grabs. Here are the details:

**NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS BEING HELD ON THEAPPLENOVEL.COM. LEAVING A COMMENT ON THIS POST WILL NOT ENTER YOU IN THE CONTEST**

Share what you think is the most memorable piece of media about the Holocaust and why? (Books/Movies/Television/Article/Art)

And find out about the Book Giveaway of "The Apple" by Penelope Holt, based on the Oprah/Herman Rosenblat Holocaust Memoir “Hoax”.

Go to theapplenovel.com to learn more and post your comment.

Book bloggers, if you would like a link to your book blog from theapplenovel.com links page, just send an email to info@yorkhousepress or direct message yorkhousepress on Twitter.

Lisa says the giveaway is running through the month of September. Good luck!

9 comments:

Serena said...

This sounds like a fascinating look into this hoax and the reasons behind it. Maybe I'll enter.

Tricia said...

I didn't know about this hoax. Sounds interesting!

christina said...

I'm not to familiar with the hoax itself. Did he ever say why he made it up? I wonder if he had to create that situation in his head (and truly believe it himself) as a defense mechanism to survive?

gautami tripathy said...

I remember reading about the Hoax. This books sounds good to me!

Alyce said...

Thanks for sharing the info about the giveaway! I remember hearing about the hoax, but really didn't know a lot of the details of the story prior to that.

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

Yes, I was SO disappointed when it was revealed that the story wasn't true. Interesting that a story-behind-the-story has been written.

Anonymous said...

This research sound really interesting. I hadn't heard about this hoax but I can imagine how disappointing it must have been.

Anonymous said...

wonderful pictures of ms. holt and herman rosenblat on youtube. god bless them both.

link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aju4dybTZsc

Anna said...

~Serena: I thought it was good. I hope you read it at some point.

~Tricia: Very interesting, and I had no idea how controversial when I first posted this!

~christina: The reasoning behind why he told the lie is sort of explained in this book. Holt says that no one really knows exactly why he did it, but his reasoning is more along the lines of wanting to give people hope. Personally, I think it was a coping mechanism, though I'm against the fact that he lied.

~gautami: Hope you get a chance to read it.

~Alyce: I didn't know the details either, just the tidbits I'd seen on CNN.com.

~Dawn: Definitely was a downer. This book is an interesting take on the whole situation.

~justicejenniferreads: Holt actually talked to Rosenblat during the process of writing the book. It's definitely interesting.

~Anonymous: Thanks for the link.