Cries on The Wind

He Does What He Must to Survive in Thrilling War Novel

Zack did what he had to do to stay alive. As World War II sweeps across Europe, gipsies and Jews and anyone deemed different are being rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

In 1940 Poland, Zack’s family caravan has just been bombed, leaving him the only survivor. After he is captured, the stunned gipsy teenager manages to jump from his Nazi transport truck before it reaches its final destination. He isn’t sure what will happen there, but he doesn’t want to find out.

“Living skeletons with gaunt white faces surround me. The unpredictable motion of the truck sends me thudding down into this veritable graveyard of desperate souls. Those who have any strength left in them, fight for their lives in this chaotic mass of tangled limbs. The small ones or those without an ounce of spirit left, disappear beneath the scuttling hoard of bodies. The banging, jarring, grinding sounds of the truck drowns out the terrified screams and shouting voices of those around me, vibrating through the air, piercing into my soul, into whatever heart I have left after a lifetime of fighting.”

Zack has just seen his father blown to bits, and despite his shock, he knows he must fight for his life.

“I have missed laughing, the feelings of joy and the carefree existence I once had. Now, I only have worries, hunger, and hardship. Nonetheless, I have my freedom. It feeds my soul with the determination to carry on for as long as there is breathing in me.”

Zack befriends two Jewish boys and the three bond as the novel continues. The book is dedicated “To those who fight for freedom no matter the costs to oneself.”

Albert Megraw grew up in London in the latter years of World War II. “Seeing bombed-out schools, houses, and factories around our flat was a constant sight that never left me.” At 16, he joined the merchant navy, spending “five years travelling the world seeking my dream.” Now retired, he lives in Australia.