Full Review to post on the My Precious Blog www.thecallwayfam.com 
 INITIAL THOUGHTS: 
 This was a story I would have never read if not for the Contemporary Challenge I was trying to complete. It took me a while to really become vested in the story. I found it very difficult to read about the sufferings of all the characters. It was eye opening. I was appalled that humans could treat each other so cruelly. I cannot imagine being in any of the main characters positions. If I was I don't know if I would have be able to endure all they did. The conditions they were meant to live in were ridiculous. I don't know how they survived on their meager ration of one small piece of bread. They labored extremely hard, put up with unsanitary conditions and had lice crawling all over them, but somehow they persevered. Unbelievable!