Official Review: Let There Be Light - a true story

[Aimy]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Let There Be Light - a true story" by Karolina Robinson.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Some moments leave us scarred for life. Is it only bitterness that these moments bring with them? Or there can be something else too? Karolina Robinson, the author of Let There be Light: A True Story, spent a difficult life having so many scary moments in it. However, with the passage of time, she realized that she had developed an inner strength, as she says, ‘the power in me was unbreakable, and physical strength had nothing to do with it.’

Karolina’s father was an alcoholic. After being severely beaten by him, her mother decided to move in with another man. That man, Tom, was a notorious gangster. He was the leader of a gang that worked for the Russian Mafia. When they moved in, 5-year-old Karolina was too young to understand the true nature of the danger surrounding her. Tom and his fellow gangsters were, of course, not the type of people a little girl should be with. She was too young to understand their abusive language and lustful glances. Karolina and her mother were not allowed to step outside the house without Tom’s permission, but they did. Realizing the terrible danger to Karolina’s innocence and childhood, her mother knocked Tom out with the fire logs and ran away with her little girl, leaving no trace behind. They never thought that Tom would find them soon.

Among those gangsters, there was a kind man, who showed tenderness to Karolina. Was he really a good man? Or it was his way to get things done?

This is a story of a girl who saw gang life up-close while growing up in the house of a gangster, that she referred to as ‘House of Horror’. How she survived and transformed had been an untold story until she wrote this book.

I recommend this book to those who like reading autobiographies in order to learn from the lives of other people. Also, it is a good read for people who are interested in studying criminal anthropology.

I found this book so interesting that I wanted to read it non-stop until finished. However, I admit that I read it with fear clutching at my heart, that something even worse might happen to that little girl. What I liked most was the way Karolina got herself involved in the positive activities despite all the bad things around her: excessive alcohol, heroin and unethical behaviours. She found a means of catharsis for herself—writing.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Missing ‘Table of Contents’ page made me scroll all the way down to look at the total number of chapters. Some punctuation mistakes caught my attention, especially words and phrases separated by a full stop. This is a well-written story—plot unfolded intriguingly and event description was compendious. However, it leaves the reader with some unanswered questions. I admired the way Karolina’s mother protected her initially, but what clouded her judgment later and why she made some choices that were clearly dangerous for Karolina and herself leave some questions in the reader’s mind.

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Let There Be Light - a true story
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Like Aimy's review? Post a comment saying so!

[mary waithera]

the book story line is so inspiring and educative too especially being from a perspective of a real life story am yearning to go through it all

[kandscreeley]

What she went through sounds absolutely horrific. I can't even imagine. Thanks for the review.

[Donatelloo]

Seems like a heart touching story ..Very nice review

[Aimy]

the book story line is so inspiring and educative too especially being from a perspective of a real life story am yearning to go through it all

Real-life stories appeal to me too.

-- 20 Jul 2017, 11:55 --

What she went through sounds absolutely horrific. I can't even imagine. Thanks for the review.

Yes, it was horrific indeed.

-- 20 Jul 2017, 11:56 --

Seems like a heart touching story ..Very nice review

Thanks...

[LadyClaire]

What a touching story, made more so because its a real life story. Thanks for the review, Aimy.

[Aimy]

Thank you, LadyClaire.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

Carolina's character appeals to me. She sounds like a strong person who has been through a lot! Thanks for the thorough review.

[Aimy]

Carolina's character appeals to me. She sounds like a strong person who has been through a lot! Thanks for the thorough review.

I think, difficulties make people strong.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

I couldn't agree more! Difficulties polish diamonds in the rough!

[Aimy]

It's alright. But you might agree that a diamond goes through a lot before becoming a diamond.
The thing is how that diamond is used afterwards: it can be used to kill; it can be used for adornment.

[Izesicle]

Omg lesser people would not have overcome those situations. What an inspiring story.

Thanks for stopping by my review.

[Aimy]

Welcome, Izesicle.
Your review of 'Running the Marathon with Cancer' has also been very helpful.