IOTA

by T. M. Doran

Hardcover, 2014

Barcode

5865

Call number

813 DOR

Status

Available

Call number

813 DOR

Pages

165

Description

Jan Skala has been arrested and imprisoned by the Russian liberators of Prague, but he does not know why. Or does he? During the Nazi occupation of the city, the journalist stayed above ground and continued to work for his father's newspaper, which had fallen into the hands of the Gestapo. What must the Russians think of Jan? But more importantly, what does Jan think of himself? The intriguing characters sharing his detention facility all have a backstory, but Jan cannot be sure if any of them is telling the truth. And what about Jan? Is he who he claims to be? Although the business of daily survival begins to trump every other concern, the men nevertheless struggle to understand their fate. Iota is a poignant drama about what men believe and how they might act accordingly. The story takes place during a two-month period immediately following World War II, in a temporary Soviet detention facility near a devastated Berlin. It is a mystery-suspense story about what it means to be human and whether it is possible to retain one's humanity in the face of evil.… (more)

Publication

San Francisco : Ignatius Press, [2014]

ISBN

9781586178543

Rating

(1 rating; 4)

User reviews

LibraryThing member judithrs
Iota. T.M. Doran. 2014. Doran is always mentioned in lists of contemporary Catholic novelists, but I’d never read him. Doug and Marinella lent me two of his books, and I must say I really enjoyed this one. It is told in a flashback, that occurs from November through December 1945 in a Russian
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prison camp near Berlin. The “prison” is an abattoir so the stench of swine underlays every other smell. Jan Skala, a Czech journalist has been arrested and put in a cage with a Pole. Jan gradually gets to know the other prisoners, a priest, a French poet, and a woman among others. All claim they do not why they’ve been arrested. Mistrust, fear, cold, lack of food imprison them all. The guards play one against the other. Prisoners disappear and new ones arrive. Jan is questioned repeatedly by the major, but claims he doesn’t know what the major wants to know. The tension bills slowly in this bleak story, but in the end we see the humanity of some of the characters when it is least expected.
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