The Man From the Other Side

This book talks about the Second World War and is narrated by a 14-year-old narrator, his name is Marek. Marek at the request of his stepfather began to smuggle food and guns, through the sewers and took them to the Jewish people. Although Marek’s mother did not agree as she believed it was dangerous for him, Marek and his father managed to convince her to accept this. Marek’s mother realized that he stole money from a Jew and she felt very disappointed in him. Afterward, Marek finds out from his mother that his father was Jewish and that nobody knew. Marek’s father was 3 months in jail before he died in a shooting in there.

Time later, Marek meets a Jew named Pan Jozek who crossed the wrong path and leads him back, underground, during the heroic ghetto uprising. Marek, without knowing it, is about to start the best trip of his life and that such a trip will put to the test his loyalty and courage. An uprising starts in the little ghetto and Pan Jozek goes to help and he dies. An uprising begins in the small ghetto and Pan Jozek goes to help and dies. Marek continues to help the Jews escape his stepfather, and Antony is involved in a shootout with German cops and is shot in the leg. This happens almost at the end of World War II in Germany, near a ghetto in a small town and in the ghetto. This book is based on a true story told to Israeli author Yuri Orlev by a survivor of the war and is a riveting account of a small sliver of Holocaust history.

Main Characters:
Marek: A boy of only 14 years, but with the mind of a boy of 20. Decided to win the war against the Germans, and decided to help his friend Pan Jozek.

Marek mother: A Cristian women.

Antony: Marek’s stepfather, who loves to drink and is never emotional.

Pan Jozek: A Jewish man, who took the wrong path and meets Marek, who promises to help him. When an uprising begins in the small ghetto, Pan Josek goes to help and dies.

New Words and Definitions:

Rashness: the trait of acting rashly and without prudence.

Bargainer: negotiator of the terms of a transaction.

Paternoster: a type of lift having a chain of open compartments that move continually in an endless loop so those (agile) passengers can step on or off at each floor.

Stairwell: a vertical well around which there is a stairway.

Struck: (used in combination) affected by something overwhelming.

Nodded: show, express or direct through movement.

Scrubb: When you scrub something, you wash it forcefully. You might scrub your dirty bathtub with a brush and some bleach, for example.

Right-wing: believing in or supporting tenets of the political right.

Quotes.
” I looked around me. There were old men and women, families with babies, mothers with children of all ages, even people who looked educated and distinguished”(p.157). Marek says that since he says that his mom and Anthony, talked a lot about the ghetto. He never imagined that the people of the ghetto were normal people, like them. I think that there, Marek learned not to criticize people just because of the place where they live or because of their appearances and that was a good lesson for him.
“It must have been the only time in my life that I saw him get emotional without being drunk”(p.186). I think Marek says that since he believes that Antony changed after everything they experienced. Since the only way to see Antony emotional, was when he was taken. And now being sober, he asked for permission to adopt him. I think this book is about how experiences and situations change people’s way of thinking.

Recommendations.
Well, at first the book seems a bit boring. Because I did not find anything interesting and I was starting to get bored. Until the end, it was when it started to look interesting and also when I understood the message that the book has, which in my opinion is not to criticize people just because of their physical appearance, where they live, and even not criticize someone without knowing that situation is found. Also from this book, I understood that people change depending on the situation and experiences they face. Actually, it is not a very interesting book if you do not like history, but if you like history and want to know more about the Second World War, this book is highly recommended.