AGAINST THE WIND

When the German blitzkrieg of England begins, famed Jewish violinist Elisa Lindheim Murphy accompanies a boatload of Jewish children to safety in America, where her own children are. Narrator Bodie Thoene captures their life-threatening Atlantic journey as their story is told from Elisa’s diary entries. When the doomed ship is torpedoed by Nazi U-boats, Thoene recounts the characters’ escape to a lifeboat. Her compelling portrayal of the crew’s subsequent mutiny from food and water shortages on the lifeboat is especially believable, with the cries of children dying from thirst, illness, and hunger bringing tears. Sound effects add authenticity to a story that clearly portrays some of the costs of war—so often paid by innocents. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2011]