This is an incredibly moving story about the enduring love & bond between two young women deported to a German concentration camp.
In 1944 two young Dutch women, Julia and Suzanne, are both sent to the German concentration camp for so-called privileged Jews at Theresienstadt. As an antidote to their appalling conditions, they begin to write a novel. At first, their novel is just an escape an imaginary world into which they can withdraw and find comfort but as their story unfolds, it becomes the way they communicate their feelings to each other and, ultimately, confront their own demons. They become convinced that the war will end when they finish their story, but it is the frenzied last year of the Final Solution.
As the darkness gathers around them, they find themselves in a race not just to finish the novel but to find a means of survival. The Paradise Ghetto is the story of two people whose lives are drawn together in unimaginable circumstances, and a reflection on the part that books play in our lives.
*Film rights to this book are currently available. To learn more, see:
About the Author:
‘The Sunday Business Post’ has described Fergus O’Connell as having ‘more strings to his bow than a Stradivarius’.
His 2002 novel, ‘Call The Swallow’, was described by The Irish Times as ‘better than Schindler’s Ark’. The book was short listed for the 2002 Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Prize and nominated for the Hughes & Hughes / Sunday Independent Novel of the Year.
Fergus is also the author of fifteen business books. The first of these, ‘How to Run Successful Projects – the Silver Bullet’, has become both a bestseller and a classic and has been constantly in print for over twenty years. His book on common sense entitled ‘Simply Brilliant’ – also a bestseller and now in its fourth edition – was runner-up in the W H Smith Book Awards 2002. His books have been translated into nearly thirty languages.
For more about this author and his various publications, see:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fergus-OConnell/e/B000APF0KK
Reviews on Amazon:
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius beautiful writing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom
Genius beautiful writing that transports you into two worlds and takes you on a journey that we will never experience in our lifetime. You are placed in a world that became reality for millions of people. You are led on this journey through the lives of two women, Julia and Susanne who, to escape the inhumanity of their daily existence, write a book and while doing so, transports you, yet again, to a different time.
A rollercoaster of emotions is an apt description, a book that cannot be put down until you are finished and then you want to read again.
5.0 out of 5 stars Two stories in one!
Reviewed in the United States
What a fantastic book! It was actually two books in one as the main characters wrote a story as well. I found BOTH books to be excellent reads reflecting strength, determination, and hope in the face of brutal situations. I found the stories to be suspenseful; they pull you in and you can’t put the book down. Written with great skill, the book moves at a perfect cadence amid well-researched times in our history. I definitely recommend this!
“The Paradise Ghetto” (2nd edition) is available in hardback from Amazon UK at:
This incredibly moving historical fiction novel is available in paperback from:
This novel can also be downloaded as an e-book from:
Press/Media Contact Details:
Darin Jewell
Managing Director
The Inspira Group Literary Agency (Fergus O’Connell’s literary agent)
Tel. 0208 292 5163
E-mail: darin@theinspiragroup.com
Bound 4 Escape 