I survived Auschwitz

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." – George Santayana

 

A few weeks ago, some family members bought this book for me. I'm interested in history and this book reminded me of Anna Frank. I'm not sure what I expected but this book was really mindblowing. 

Note: If you are looking for a fictional story to spend some nice time, don't pick this one. 

It's not a novel so don't expect nice language or complex sentence structure. If you've written Anna Frank's diary, then you can probably imagine what this is about. However, this story begins when the writer is already caught and sent to a concentration camp. 

Krystyna (that's not the name she was born with) manages to show the reality of the camp, the difficulties, and the obstacles toward survival. She doesn't try to make things look nicer. You will read about the experiments, the tortures, the living conditions, and the relationships between the people in the camp. I liked that there were chapters dedicated to gypsies or Greek Jews, for example. 

Page after page, I felt powerless and horrified by what Krystyna and so many others had to go through. I've read history books, yes. I've watched many movies and read many novels about it, but this book is different. The writer isn't afraid to speak, to show her sorrow and her despair. But she also shows strength, optimism, and hope for a better future. 

I found out that she has written another book "Empty Water", about two decades after she wrote this one. According to this description in GoodReads because she realized that people still didn't understand what had happened in Ghettos and during the resistance. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21124626-empty-water

I recommend this book to everyone. It's eye-opening, it's real, it's the legacy of a woman who survived. Now, it's our turn. We must learn and remember the past!

Warrior Nun

What led to its cancellation? 

Note: While this review doesn't contain major spoilers, proceed at your own risk. It's not meant for those who haven't watched the show. 

Warrior Nun is an American fantasy drama created by Simon Barry and based on the comic book character Warrior Nun Areala by Ben Dunn. The series debuted on July 2, 2020, while the second season was released on November 10, 2022. 

A few hours ago, it was announced that the show is canceled and there are no plans for a third season. Immediately, the fans started an online petition asking for another season and the conclusion of the show. But why was Warrior Nun canceled?

The protagonist is Ava (Alba Baptista), a quadriplegic, who discovers she now has supernatural powers which force her to join an ancient order of warrior nuns.

The series had a slow start but after the first half of the first season, it showed its power: it's an action-packed story that deals with topics like faith, angels and demons, and the supernatural. The performances were good, the choreography was great, and if you are looking for another "the chosen one" story, this might be the one. 

The reviews of the first season were generally positive, and soon the renewal came. However, one can wonder whether the recent pandemic was one of the main reasons why the show became a hit. However, more than 2 years passed until the release of the new season, and honestly, I barely remembered how the first season ended. 

But the perfectionist binge-watcher that I am, I had to give it a try, and today -a month after the last season's release and hours after the news of the cancellation hit the internet- I managed to finish season 2. I had to skip a couple of scenes though.

The ending of season 1 was never explained: how did they escape from the blood fight? Despite this, I liked the exploration of the different characters with the relationship between Ava and Beatrice becoming the highlight of the show. Kristina Tonteri-Young's acting during the fight scenes was one of the best things of season 2. The two, new characters (Michael and Yasmine) are great additions, but it felt that the writers tried to add so much information in these last episodes. 

Season 2 took a political turn and a bigger dive into religion and the fight between good and evil. However, I didn't feel the impact of Adriel's influence to the world. Michael (Miguel) was introduced as a member of a bigger movement, whose fans appeared slightly at the end, with no further existence or explanation. 

Alba is the star of the show, but is her acting enough to save it? Well, the last couple of scenes promised another season which I would probably watch but I must admit that the news of the cancellation didn't catch me off guard. I wish the season was longer or at least, that the creators knew about the cancellation beforehand so that they could conclude the story.