I Live A Thousand Years Reflection

How would you feel if you were in a horrible never ending nightmare concentration camp where people are dying all around you and you are forced to do hard labour? In the book I Have Lived A Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson that’s mostly what this book is about. Elli the main character who is a 13 year-old girl who in the book is in a concentration camp in Auschwitz called Plaszow with her family and is in a desperate attempt to survive. All throughout the book Elli and her family go through a series of tragic events that test her strength and perseverance. This book is a perfect example of the theme finding light in the darkness.

“ My stories are of gas chambers, shootings, electrified fences,Torture, scorching Sun, mental abuse and

Elli’s brother, Bubi getting shot in the head caused Elli to grow because even though he got shot in the head, he lived. The result of this is that Elli now believes miracles are real and that even though this was a horrible and egregious incident that happened Elli realizes that it could be much worse and while the mass shooting was happening Elli and her mother weren’t shot and got out alive and unharmed. During the middle of the book,The author Livia Bitton-Jackson writes, “Mommy and I are covered in blood, but neither of us was hit. Bubi lies unconscious but he 's alive: He is breathing, but blood is seeping through the rag Mommy tied about his head. He is also bleeding at the right elbow.” ( Bitton-Jackson 194) Also Bitton-Jackson writes “I didn’t know. How wrong I was! He is alive. Oh, my god.I start to weep and my tears are dripping on Bubi’s head as I drag him by the shoulders.”(Bitton-Jackson 196) I think this quote is important because it shows how grateful and relieved Elli was to know that her brother was still alive even after getting shot in the head and bleeding out

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate this book “I have lived a thousand years” by Livia Bitton Jackson a 7 out of ten because this book is definitely an eye-opener and makes you appreciate what you because your life could be a lot worse. This book even though in some parts you felt like you were in the book there were parts in the book that didn’t make sense and were random and confusing for example towards the end of the book it writes. -“I am here! Kill me! Kill me! You killed my two sisters. My two beautiful, talented sisters. And you spared me, a cripple. Why didn’t you spare them? Why didn’t you kill me instead? Kill me now! I don’t want to live.” (Bitton-Jackson 197) This was confusing to me because throughout the whole book Elli talked about surviving and never giving up but then she’s begging to get killed. This Is why I rate this book a 7 out of 10. Overall this book was very informing and interesting and I would gladly read it again some time in the