The Perfect Disciple

by Ken Salo

A Powerful and Honest Book of Survival!

This is the story of a young woman who met and fell in love with her soul mate the same day they were singled out to be the face of Hitler’s Youth program.  Her hardships, her beliefs, her actions were all under scrutiny during this horrendous time where rape, murder, and death were everyday occurrences and that happened without a second thought.  Kristel gives birth to a baby boy while fighting in a battle against the invading Russian army. Fortunately for Kristel, her grandmother taught her to survive during this time of horror, devastation and death.  Her grandmother was smart, worldly and amazingly independent for her time and location.  She taught Kristel a very valuable lesson which enabled her to survive – fake what you need to do in order to survive including supporting the beliefs and practices of the evil Führer.   

On her death bed, Kristel struggles to tell her life history to her son which is a telling story of strength, passion, and perseverance.  During Hitler’s reign and immediately after, she struggled through unspeakable fears and incidents that would have crippled most mentally, emotionally and physically.  All those years, she believed she was alone.  She was never alone but like her, there were many who suffered in silent fear, pretending, protecting and surviving no matter what happened.

This was a difficult story to hear and one I imagine was just as difficult to write.  The horrors that happened in this story are realistic and detailed.  The emotions are raw, filled with experiences that are ghastly and haunting.  It is amazingly well written, vivid and lays bare emotions that many choose to hide or ignore but not true for Ken Salo, the author of this book.  He lays bare the authentic and honest emotions during this abhorrent time in which reprehensible characters (Hitler, Himmler, Goebbel, power hungry German and Russian soldiers, etc.), take center stage forcing all people to participate in one form or another.    Written as a personal narrative, this story will not become a distant memory, rather it is one that will stay with you for days and perhaps weeks.

Why listen to this story?  Simple.  This is a story of survival and one that shows there are different sides to everything.  What we may have believed and was taught was passion and support for Hitler, for many may very well have been fear and survival mode.  This book gives another side to a horrible and heinous time that is all too authentic and honest.

This is a well written and powerful book that not only explains and displays wide ranging emotions but encourages the listener to experience it as well.  I look forward to hearing more books written by Ken Salo.

The narrator, Simon Maeder performed the book excellently.  He was succinct and handled the voices well.  He allowed just enough tension and fear in his voice to make it captivating.  His voice was pleasant to hear.  For a book that was only 6 hours long, you hear a lifetime of pain, love, and fear performed by Maeder’s rich voice.

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook, it was very well done.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.