At June’s book club we discussed The Man Who Broke Into 
by Denis Avey with Rob Broomby
It was a deep and thoughtful text which had us not only discussing the nature of war material, but of biographies as a whole.
This was the first book club’s biography and it was certainly a baptism of fire as we dealt with the tragic period of the Holocaust.
The text touched upon all issues to do with war and raised questions that we as civilians rarely think of. We asked ourselves what we would have done in Denis Avey’s place. Would we have been brave enough to fight in a war, let alone infiltrate a concentration camp? If We were in Avey’s place, would we have been silenced by depression and fear too?
We also questioned how society deals with soldiers and those who in conflict and asked whether we really want to know about the horrors of war, or whether it is simply something we sweep under the carpet.
Post traumatic stress disorder was an issue that was brought up throughout the text. We reflected upon how terrible it must have been for Avey, and many others, who had to deal with such an affliction before it was even recognised.
Most poignantly, we shared our own experiences. With two of our book club members closely related to those who had either fought in WWII or who had survived a concentration camp, this made for a truly emotional discussion.
All in all the group were deeply touched by the real life tale of a man who had experienced so much and whose bravery changed the lives of the people he encountered.
The next novel on our list is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night and we will be meeting to discuss it (this time earlier on in the month) on Tuesday 10 July at 7pm.