Title: The Ark
Author: Margot Benary-Isbert
Series: The Ark series, book 1
Major Themes: Germany, World War II, Refugees, Farm Life, Dogs, Family, Friends
Synopsis: In the aftermath of World War II in Germany, the Lechow family were delighted to find two bare rooms to live in.
Thirty-odd years ago, one of my sisters discovered a book in our local library by Margot Benary-Isbert. We loved it, and started requesting other books by this author through Interlibrary Loan. One of them was The Ark, and I liked it nearly as well as the first (I think that was The Long Road Home). For many years now, I have been wishing I could read these books to my children, but wasn’t able to source any of them until now—Purple House Press has reprinted two of them! The day after they arrived at our house, one of my children chose The Ark for me to read aloud. I’ll put this in here—just to hold this book is a treat; the copy I bought is a solid Smythe-sewn hardcover with sturdy pages and a beautiful dust jacket. I’m delighted with it!
Publisher’s description:
Two rooms all to themselves—it was almost too good to be true! For this was postwar Germany, filled with starving, homeless people trying to stay alive amidst the rubble, and to the Lechows the two freezing attic rooms in Mrs. Verduz’ house on Parsley Street were an unbelievable stroke of luck. No matter that every stick of furniture and even the cracked dishes were borrowed from a grudging but kind landlady, that food was so scarce they were nearly always hungry, that Matthias, loving the stars and growing things, was assigned to construction work by the Labor Office. Now that there was a roof over their heads, Joey and Andrea could attend school, and perhaps Father, if he was still alive, would find his way to them from the prison camp in Russia.
It was a makeshift arrangement at best, but somehow Mother made the cheerless rooms homelike, and soon there were good friends—lovable, half-wild Hans Ulrich, who treasure hunted with Joey in the ruins of bombed-out houses; musical Dieter; and plump, cheerful Lenchen—to share their meager but merry Christmas celebration. Only shy, lonely Margret, who felt that half herself had died with her twin brother Christian in East Germany, made no special friend, unless one counted Caliph, Mrs. Verduz’ cat. But eventually it was Margret’s love of animals that led her to sprightly Mrs. Almut and Rowan Farm and, before the next Christmas, Matthias had exchanged his hated job for the hard but satisfying work of the farm. Margret, too, happily caring for Mrs. Almut’s Great Danes, was beginning to understand the inexorable cycle of life and death, and the Ark, an old railroad car on the farm converted into a home, was ready to receive a reunited family.
The Ark paints an honest, realistic picture of the terrible aftermath of war in a defeated country. Most of all, it is the story of courage—the courage of real people who, caught up in the adversity that shattered their lives, can still look at the future with hope and at the past without bitterness.
My thoughts:
The Ark is a delightful story. It is a story of a family enduring hardship and sorrow, and sticking together. They helped each other and those around them, and maintained their faith in God even when everything seemed bleak. I loved the way the author portrayed real life and the hard things that happen, while showing how people can survive and even thrive when hard times go on and on. Margret loved the animals she was caring for, but had to watch some of them die, and learned that life still goes on. In fact, working with the animals, caring for them, living and dying, helped her to heal from the death of her brother.
I love this glimpse into life in Germany after World War II. Because it was written by someone who was there and experienced it, this story rings true. It feels real. We were drawn into the lives of the Lechow family, and felt happy or sad for them, depending on what was happening in each chapter. One thing that this book brought to life for us was the amount of time it took for families to be reunited. It took years for prisoners of war to make their way home! One of the things that was hardest for the Lechow family was not knowing what had happened to their father—where was he, and would he ever return to them?
WARNING: Chapter 1: Someone hoped for a ghost in a house, mention of Christian being killed, girl calls a woman a witch. Chapter 4: Gee. Chapter 5: Gosh, the devil of a time. Chapter 7: Gee. Chapter 8: Holy smoke, memory of dead brother, threat of killing crippled lamb. Chapter 9: Woman called a witch. Chapter 10: Mention of people killed in bombing, gee. Chapter 12: Dogs die. Chapter 14: Gosh.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
