The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die: A Graphic Memoir

這是一部深刻動人的回憶錄，講述彼得在1944至1945年間，從匈牙利出發，與父母一同穿越戰火中的歐洲，途經奧地利與德國，經歷飢餓、死亡與恐懼，卻依舊懷抱希望與愛。這不僅是關於戰爭的紀錄，更是一段母子情深、勇氣與求生意志交織的真實旅程。書中以孩童視角看世界，在轟炸聲中學數學、在集中營中捕捉短暫的童年時光，讓人揪心不已。作者彼得・藍托斯為神經科學家，也是大屠殺倖存者之一。他以清澈的筆觸，為下一代留下了珍貴見證。

A story of survival - and of enduring hope in the face of unspeakable hardship - on an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 45. Peter soon realises that this new adventure is really a nightmare, watching bombs falling from the blue sky outside Vienna, and learning maths from his mother in Belsen.
 

“Deeply moving” - Booktrust

“A gripping story of love, courage and triumph over evil” - The Bookseller

“Can, and should, be read by an audience of any age.” - Jewish News

A story of survival, of love between mother and son and of enduring hope in the face of unspeakable hardship. An important read.
The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die describes an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945.

Peter and his parents set out from a small Hungarian town, travelling through Austria and then Germany together. Along the way, unforgettable images of adventure flash one after another: sleeping in a tent and then under the sky, discovering a disused brick factory, catching butterflies in the meadows - and as Peter realises that this adventure is really a nightmare - watching bombs falling from the blue sky outside Vienna, learning maths from his mother in Belsen.

All this is drawn against a background of terror, starvation, infection and, inevitably, death, before Peter and his mother can return home.

*Author Professor Peter Lantos is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in his previous life was an internationally renowned clinical neuroscientist. His memoir, Parallel Lines (Arcadia Books, 2006) was translated into Hungarian, German and Italian. Closed Horizon (Arcadia, 2012) was his first novel.
*Peter was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2020 for ‘services to Holocaust education and awareness’.
*He is one of the last of the generation of survivors and this – his first book for children – will serve as a testimony to his experience.
*Peter lives in London.
 

MORE REVIEWS OF THE BOY WHO DIDN'T WANT TO DIE

"the book [is] absolutely compelling, partly because it is a true story of extraordinary resilience and survival in unimaginable circumstances, but also because Lantos' stark recollections make very powerful reading." Gaby Wine, The Jewish Chronicle