The author survived the Holocaust as a young boy, hiding in the woods of Ukraine before joining the Red Army. He became a noted Israeli writer specializing in fictional accounts of the war. In this tale, a seventeen-year-old narrates the story of a Jewish band of partizans formed in the summer of 1942, near the Romanian-Ukrainian border. It is mostly about the day-to-day details of patrolling, gathering food and surviving. The focus is on the leader, Kamil, the cook, Tsila, and the ancient old lady, Tsirl, with a memory of everyone's grandparents. As time passes, there is less and less fighting with Germans or local police and the group's goal is to wait for the Soviets. But Kamil decides to take the offensive and begins dynamiting trains, derailing them and rescuing Jews on the way to the camps. Soon, the hilltop hideout has 172 souls. When artillery is heard far to the east, the camp fears that the Germans will finish them off before the arrival of the Red Army. The Germans shell the camp, killing many, including Kamil, before the Soviets run them off. After a few days, they descend, walk to town and bury their dead in the Jewish cemetery. They then settle in at a warehouse near the train station. Time passes and they lose their purpose and cohesiveness. Without the camp, they are no longer connected. The Ukrainians try to rob them and the decision is made to return. Not home, back to the hilltop.
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