Review of Lost Roots

[Michael Valentine]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Lost Roots" by Karl von Loewe.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Lost Roots: Family, Identity and Abandoned Ancestry by Karl Von Loewe is a non-fiction book based on the grim and gruesome reality of war, precisely the first and the second world war, with the author's family at the centre of it all. The author using his family, the Kiedrowski family, gave us insights into pre-war, during the war, and post-war Europe.

Just like a million other citizens who did not die during the wars, the Kiedrowski family, who were originally Kashubians, then Poles, and then Germans, were victims of identity crises, starvation, suffering, and scarcity that ensued after the wars, more profoundly the second world war. The author's family was at the forefront of all these crises, ones emanating as far back as the early 1900s up until the late 1900s, and this family strived despite all odds and the irreparable losses suffered while maintaining a strong bond, one that could not be hampered by distance.

One of the most important positive aspects of this book is that the author gives a plausible detailed account of the most important wars in our history. More interestingly, it is an account given from a personal point of view, which in this case is that of his father. It felt like reading bits and pieces that weren't reported by the media, and I must say it was enlightening. Like all wars, the peace that followed after came with its own problems, which were chiefly starvation, scarcity, lack of employment, and surviving under a repressive government. We got to understand the extent of the scarcity and starvation in the affected countries as commodities like envelopes and shoes were very rare, food was rationed, employment was almost non-existent, and people offered services in exchange for packs of cigarettes and pounds of coffee instead of money. In the author's words, "cigarette and coffee became the coin of the occupied realm."

On the negative aspects, I found the book confusing at intervals as some of the timeframes were not adding up, and there were too many events for a reader to keep up with, of which some seemed repetitive to me. Even the most ardent of readers may find it confusing and perhaps boring. Another factor was the use of complex words, which I believe may hinder comprehension and deter the readers from going further.

Lost Roots: Family, Identity and Abandoned Ancestry by Karl Von Loewe is not your everyday novel, so I would recommend it for everyone looking to get more acquainted with the world wars. To be more specific, I would recommend it purely for research purposes. It is also finely edited with very few errors. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted a star because of the negative aspects I found in the book. I didn't give the book a lower rating because of the positive aspects I mentioned.

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Lost Roots
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[Yasmine ZM]

This is an interesting book that touches some deep aspects of war, family, identity, etc. I like historical fiction and non-fiction. It is a pity that the book is confusing; I hope they will give it another round of editing to remove the confusion. Thanks for your review.

[MahimaS]

I would love to read this for research purposes. Thanks for recommending it!