Winner of the National Jewish Book Award and an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists", The Devil's Arithmetic plunges the listener into the terrible realities of the Nazi concentration camps. Chaya's tale is a celebration of the strength of the human spirit and a dramatic introduction to the darkest period of modern history.

Listening Length

4 hours and 50 minutes
Author

Jane Yolen
Narrator

Barbara Rosenblat
Audible release date

December 4, 2014
Language

English
Publisher

Recorded Books
ASIN

B00QL17FPK
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	4 hours and 50 minutes
Author	Jane Yolen
Narrator	Barbara Rosenblat
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	December 04, 2014
Publisher	Recorded Books
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00QL17FPK
Best Sellers Rank	#26,697 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #13 in Teen & Young Adult Jewish Fiction #13 in Time Travel Science Fiction for Children #16 in Religious Fiction for Children

Customer reviews

5 star		81%
4 star		10%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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scottyrates

Overall a mediocre read

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2018

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I have read at least 7 Holocaust survivor stories to my 10 and 12-year-old children over the course of the last 2 years. I was hesitant to read this book because it is fiction, but decided to go ahead and give it a try since it had such positive reviews. This book starts off slowly and I had to stop and explain the content every 2-3 pages. The author seems to assume that you have attended a Seder (I actually have- 3 times now) and have a working knowledge of the Yiddish language (I do not). Many times the Yiddish word is used to describe something or someone, with no explanation or solid context cues to figure the word out (thank you Google).

The book is very slow for the first 50-60 pages, but does get interesting and exciting when the Nazi army bursts onto the scene. The experiences that the main character experiences at the concentration camp are similar to actual occurrences I've already read in nonfiction books.

At the conclusion of the book I was left to ponder, why did I read an historical fiction account of the Holocaust when there are so many biographical accounts that are much more powerfully told?

14 people found this helpful

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fra7299

Powerful book about experiencing the Holocaust

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2021

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Although there are many Holocaust books out there that are in the young adult genre (Elie Wiesel’s Night and The Diary of Anne Frank come to mind), I had not heard of The Devil’s Arithmetic until a friend mentioned it.

In the novel, Hannah, an American Jewish teenager who is indifferent and apathetic towards her Jewish family’s past, is transported back to the 1940s to experience one of the most tragic, painful, and horrific points in history.

I felt like this book was an immensely powerful read, one that moves very quickly and one in which the reader can get into the head of the protagonist as she travels back into a dark time in history. As one from the future, Hannah knows all too painfully the horrors that await the Jewish people and those in the concentration camps.

The Devil’s Arithmetic works and fits into several genres. It is a fantasy in which a young girl must travel back in time to witness and be part of her family’s suffering to fully understand and to never forget. But, obviously, the book, while tame in its graphicness, is a very realistic portrayal of such atrocities experienced. And, while the names of the places have been changed, this does not deter from the powerfully realistic images: the awful conditions in the cattle cars, the dehumanization of individuals, the shaving of heads, the separation of loved ones, friends, and families, the lack of necessities like food, water, and proper clothing, the selection of victims.

I highlighted a quote in the afterward by the author Jane Yolen that I believe eloquently sums up the entire experience of this book:
“Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of chaos…”

This point is illustrated in Hannah’s physical and emotional journey, and spiritual transformation that she must go through.

This edition also contains an extremely helpful glossary for Jewish terms and expressions as well as an afterward by the author.

In my opinion, The Devil’s Arithmetic is powerful portrayal of a dark time in history, and it is definitely a book for anyone interested in young adult books about the Holocaust.

4 people found this helpful

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B. K.

Interesting story of the Holocaust

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016

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This historical fiction tells the story of a young disinterested Jewish girl, Hannah, who is tired of hearing her Grandfather's personal stories of the Holocaust. During the celebration of the Seder, without any warning she finds herself living in the past with family in Poland. The present and the past blur - she has knowledge that no one is willing to believe. As a result she and others are put in a concentration camp where Hannah learns first hand of what her Grandfather had been speaking for so long. The young girl returns to the present Seder dinner just as abruptly as she had left, but now with a greater appreciation of her Jewish heritage and religion, and with an understanding of the significance of the numbers tattooed on the arms of her older relatives. This is well written, with an unusual telling of the Holocaust. It is not so graphic as other books covering this subject, so is appropriate for children as young as 11 or 12; but because of the subject matter, it is important to engage them in conversation and discuss the events of the Holocaust. This is a book to be shared with our younger generation - it is important not only for the Jewish people to remember this time in their history, but also for the rest of us to remember and learn.

13 people found this helpful

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C. A. Roach

A book every YA should read

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2018

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This should be on every YA reading list. The way in which Yolen communicates the atrocities of WWII, the way she exquisitely works in how resistance was living to tell the tale is just marvellous. It evokes a deep feeling of empathy in the reader that is so crucial to develop in young adults, while being a short and easily digested story. There are not enough stars for this book.

14 people found this helpful

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PROVIDES YOUNG READERS WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOLOCAUST…

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2022

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This is a moving work of fiction about the Holocaust that is geared towards the middle school age reader but will hold the interest of even adults, such as myself. It tells the story of a thirteen year old girl from New Rochelle, NY who is at a family Passover Seder and bored by her grandfather’s rants about the Holocaust, which he personally experienced.

While playing a game during the Seder, she suddenly finds herself pulled back in time to a shtetl in 1942 Poland, where she will discover for herself, firsthand, just what the Holocaust was like, as well of the meaning of the numbers tattooed on one’s arm. It is a voyage that will prove to be unforgettable , as well as instructive.

Where Hannah’s voyage of discovery takes her, and what it will mean to her, will keep the reader turning the pages of this book. This book is a voyage of discovery for the reader, just as much as it is for its protagonist. Just enough information is provided to the young reader to give them a basic understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust and instill in them a desire to learn more.

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Top reviews from other countries

sally tarbox

"We are all heroes here"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2016

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As an adult reader, I must admit to not expecting great things, as the story opens with a modern American Jewish family celebrating Seder. "Passover.. is about remembering," Mama tells her bored, slightly spoilt daughter Hannah - the horrific WW2 losss of the older generation wash over the girl, who has heard it all before.

Then, in a deft bit of time travel, Hannah finds herself living in a Polish shtetl in 1942 with an unknown family. It's the eve of a wedding and everyone is happy, but the Nazis are close at hand... As she experiences the horrors of life in a concentration camp, she understands the desperate yearning to survive:

"Everyone knew that as long as others were processed, THEY would not be. A simple bit of mathematics, like subtraction, where one taken away from the top line becomes one added on to the bottom. The Devil's arithmetic."

With a touching ending, I thought this would be an ideal book for around the 11 - 12 age-group (but this adult liked it too!)

One person found this helpful

martinwright

time traveller to auschwitz

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2011

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I read this book after seeing the film (which was great), and found the book to be even better! The prominence of the young inmate who lets the newcomers know how to survive, the midden where the underage inmates hide - all here in the book and missing from the film - all in all a most worthwhile read.

One person found this helpful

Avantika

Must read

Reviewed in India on August 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Holocaust is one of the terrifying facts which has happened in world history & this book has depicted the same through a girl who didn't knee the gravity of the incident & had to relive her past by going through the same .This book is worth the buy & it's my 2nd time in reading it.

Anne

Compelling

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

Very well written. A good insight into the plight of the prisoners in the concentration camps.

John K Bond

Arrived Quickly

Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2022

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As advertised

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