In 2005 the legendary movie actress Lena Browning was in her late eighties and had been given a diagnosis of cancer. Even so, she was still stunning and mentally sharp. She was also a woman who had kept the secrets of her life to herself. But, this was about to change when a current popular screen star approached her about a project. Sienna Hayes wanted to direct, produce and act in a movie about Lena's life. Surprisingly, Lena agrees to work with Sienna, but there are conditions. Lena would tell her life story her way, from start to finish.
THE GODDESS OF WARSAW, by Lisa Barr, follows Lena's life from 1943 when she went by her real name of Bina Blonski and lived in the hell hole known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Before this time she had lived a privileged upper-class life. She was a Polish Jew who was a celebrated actress, married and pregnant. That all changed when the Nazis took over. In the ghetto, she had a new role that placed her in unimaginable situations and horrific circumstances. Her Aryan appearance allowed her access to places others could not go. She used her beauty for survival, hers and that of others. This continued even after the war ended. However, there was much more to her story after she found fame in Hollywood. For her the war had not really ended.
The author has created a remarkable protagonist in that she has empathy, remarkable strength, and courage. The strong secondary characters add depth to the story. The author vividly brings to life the living conditions in the ghetto. Readers are not spared any of the horrific details and in some cases, these details shaped the lives of the survivors.
There is so much about THE GODDESS OF WARSAW that is notable. It tells an important story. Exquisitely crafted, it is gripping from start to finish. I can honestly say that Bina Blonski is one fictional character I would have liked to have met. Highly recommended.
The Goddess Of Warsaw is an enthralling tale of a legendary Hollywood screen goddess with a dark secret about her life in the Warsaw Ghetto. When the famous actress is threatened by someone from her past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves, then and now.
Los Angeles, 2005. Sienna Hayes, Hollywood’s latest It Girl, has ambitions to work behind the camera. When she meets Lena Browning, the enormously mysterious and famous Golden Age movie star, Sienna sees her big break. She wants to direct a picture about Lena’s life—but the legendary actor’s murky past turns out to be even darker than Sienna dreamed. Before she was a Living Legend, Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew whose life and family were destroyed by the Nazis.
Warsaw, 1943. A member of the city’s Jewish elite, Bina Blonski and her husband, Jakub, are imprisoned in the ghastly, cramped ghetto along with the rest of Warsaw’s surviving Jews. Determined to fight back against the brutal Nazis, the beautiful, blonde Aryan-looking Bina becomes a spy, gaining information and stealing weapons outside the ghetto to protect her fellow Jews. But her dangerous circumstances grow complicated when she falls in love with Aleksander, an ally in resistance—and Jakub’s brother. While Lena accomplishes amazing feats of bravery, she sacrifices much in the process.
Over a decade after escaping the horrors of the ghetto, Bina, now known as Lena, rises to fame in Hollywood. Yet she cannot help but be reminded of her old life and hungers for revenge against the Nazis who escaped justice after the war. Her power and fame as a movie star offer Lena the chance to right the past’s wrongs . . . and perhaps even find the happy ending she never had.
A gripping page-turner of one of history’s most heroic uprisings and an actress whose personal war never ends, The Goddess Of Warsaw is filled with secrets, lies, twists and turns, and a burning pursuit of justice no matter the cost.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy