Emil and Karl Blog #3

     I started my second book club book today called Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn. The story starts out with a heart-wrenching scene in which Karl, a nine year old boy, has his mother torn from his arms after his house is infiltrated by three men. Since Karl's mother was his only link to family, Karl had learned at a young age to fend for himself. He knew that it was a matter of time before the men who captured his mom came back and captured him as well, so Karl fled his home and ran to Emil's house. Emil and his mother had not wanted Karl to interact with their family anymore, for they were Jews and knew they would be hurt and taunted for being seen around superior races. The part that I read tonight stopped right as Karl knocked on Emil's door, but based on the information given about Emil's disconnection with Karl, I predict that Emil may not allow him to enter despite Karl's horrific day.
    
     The protagonist in the story is Karl. Having no family other than his mother, Karl was raised as an independent and brave boy. All on his own, his character has to make the decision to leave his home at the age of nine. He did things that many adults would not have been able to do under the circumstances that he faced. Karl is also very smart and has his own unique beliefs. When his friend Emil was being harassed and made fun of for being a "filthy Jew," (17) Karl stuck up for him even when every other person was taunting him. I wonder how Karl's beliefs are so different from all other children at such a young age. I think some of it had to do with his mother who was an extremely open minded person. When Emil's family chose to separate themselves from Karl, she told him that he could hang out with whatever type of people he wanted to. You can tell that this was a type of person not very common to Austria during this time.

     Overall the story takes place in Vienna, Austria during WWII. The story starts in Karl's apartment where he lived with his mother. The apartment seemed fairly small in size and was fully furnished with beds, chairs, tables, and decorations such as vases and the most important decoration; a picture of Karl's father that hangs proud in the bedroom. The building of Emil's apartment is described as a dark building that seems a little creepy. There's the school that the boys go to, but not much information is given about its appearance or location. Yankev Glatshteyn doesn't bother spending much time describing details of settings, but instead takes time capturing the emotions and traits of his characters.

     So far the most extreme conflict in the story is that Karl's mother has been captured by men. Where these men come from has not yet been stated in the book, but I predict that they are either Nazis taking her away because she was communicating with Jews, or because she was possibly protecting Jews from Nazis. Another conflict is between Karl and Emil. As I stated before, Emil has attempted to separate himself from Karl completely in order to keep his family safe from harm. Karl was trying to mend his friendship with Emil, while Emil continued to disconnect from him. These conflicts ultimately evolve from the conflict of anti-Semitism. Although Karl is not a Jew, the story illustrates the war in the mind of a young Christian boy, a side that is not often portrayed when it comes to Holocaust stories.

     I'm curious to know how the story will continue to play out. I did, after all, stop at what could be a pivotal point in the two boys' relationship.