Pandemonium: A Journey to the New World

By: Apina Hrbek

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1413756670
• ISBN13: 9781413756678
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Publishamerica Inc
• Length: 205 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Review: Pandemonium A Journey to the New World by Apina Hrbek

Review by Monty R. Ferbert Author of Zorrana's Quest and Avid reader. Apina Hrbek takes you for a hair-raising ride into the reality of live under Communist oppression. Edita's callous mother was unable to cope with the lost of her wealth and took her anger out on her family. Once the walls of Berlin fell, the Soviet Union felt apart and the Velvet Revolution was in place in the new Czech Republic, Edita in vain challenges her sister Nela for some of the family's reclaimed wealth given back to them by the post Communist government. But Nela turns out to be the hypocrite Edita thought her always to be. In the end Edita realized how uncaring her mother was about her older daughter and her grandchildren. Edita's sister stops at nothing to keep the family wealth for herself. What Edita's children as adults say about dear Grandma and her indifference for them is both shocking but true to the characters in this story. A five star must read for every American that truly values freedom. Live lessons are taught throughout this heart felt story as Edita makes the ultimate choice. Freedom at all costs.

Pandemoniu A Journey to the New World

Reviewer: Carol Bennett Mo./USA (5/21/2005) Apina Hrbek, author of "Pandemonium A Journey to the New World" takes you on a journey into a world of Communist controlled Czechoslovakia, and you begin to understand the meaning of the word Pandemonium. Follow the story of Edita as she deals with a helpless dependent mother that becomes bitter when the Communist government steps in and takes her family's fortune. Edita falls victim to the backlash of her mothers madness being told that she will never be smart enough, pretty enough or good enough for anyone to love. Her kind father that refuses to conform to the Communistic way of thought is shunned by his neighbors and peers and eventually kept from practicing medicine. It is through him that she is able to think for herself and not follow policy doctrine as her sister chose to do. As neighbor turns against neighbor, and friend against friend, Edita realizes that no one can be trusted. As an adult, Edita, her husband and children escape the cruel reign of the Communist regime with dreams of a new life in America. Facing and conquering the hardships and obstacles of this new country prove to be a challenge, but Edita and her family are able to overcome. A great read that should remind Americans of how lucky we truly are.

Review -Pandemonium A Journey To The New World By Joseph Frank Baraba

7/5/2005 Review By Joseph Frank Baraba Apina Hrbek writes from the heart. Her introduction in the book is one of the best I've read in years. I urge everyone to read this, digest it and learn what it is to be " FREE." The great love Edita has for her father is very touching.But yet at the same time trying to get and receive love from a mother who could be at times cold, cruel and sadistic. At one point telling Edita she loved her sister more than she loved her. Her mother couldn't let go of the past, loosing everything to the communists and in her warped mind taking it out on Edita. Which was very sad and tragic. She couldn't see she had a loving husband and two daughters who loved her, she was blind to this fact. No matter how Edita tried to please and show her mother she loved her, she was still rejected. Edita's father was a great man, trying to do his best to ignore his wife's rants and raves. He taught Edita that there was another world out there. He gave her books to read and study. He was a very wise man full of love for his children.I don't know anyone who can feel the feelings Edita and Patric felt when they crossed into Italy into "FREEDOM." It must have been a joyous feeling. I felt their anguish and tears and yes great fear of being caught. I rooted all the way for them and their children. Fearful they wouldn't make it, but they did with God's help and their determination to be "FREE." I highly recommend this book to read. It'll bring a tear to your heart. I give it 5 *****[...]

An Inspirational Story of Freedom

Pandemonium: A Journey to the New World Written by: Apina Hrbek Personal Freedom is something that Apina Hrbek has learned to live with and without, for she was born and raised under Communist rule; however, managed to escape to freedom in America, with her husband and two children. Pandemonium: A Journey to the New World is a story that will draw the tears from deep within you. It is a story of an infant girl born shortly before the Communists take over of her country's government, which has a tremendous effect on the rest of her life. Her mother, born into wealth, loses all riches once the Communists begin their rule. Due to the loss of her wealth, the infant girl's mother begins to direct her anger onto her child, through extreme verbal, mental, and emotional abuse. Throughout her childhood, her loving and gentle father is unaware of the situation his daughter endures at the hand of his wife. . Over the course of time, this same child grows up, marries, has her own children, and escapes to freedom. Her achievement of freedom comes at a very high price of many sacrifices and dangerous predicaments. However, she faces each obstacle with determination, faith, and a zeal for the protection of her children, who are her priority in life. Though I could leave the review on this note, it would be a great injustice to the author, Apina Hrbek. This is because the book, Pandemonium: A Journey to the New World is not simply about escaping the Communist rule and achieving personal and physical freedom. In my own opinion, it is more a tale of achieving a deeper freedom within ones very being. I have a favorite quote from this book that is, "Mental oppression is all the more dangerous because it is a silent killer." Though there is a mental oppression that Edita is subjected to from her mother and their government, in reality it is deeper than that. This quote speaks to me of a mental oppression in which an individual allows himself or herself to be placed under, by surrendering their very persona through living in fear and not following their dreams, speaking their opinions, or sharing theirs thoughts. I gleaned from the book that mental oppression begins when we quit on our own ideals and beliefs, and silently follow the standards, ideals and visions of another.. Those of us fortunate enough to live in the United States of America, and enjoy the freedoms such as we do, would do well to heed the words of Apina Hrbek as she so eloquently shows us the vast difference between our freedoms and those who have survived the Communist rule. Yet, we must also ask ourselves if this is the only lesson contained in this story. I must say that I do not believe it is. Personally, I find the lesson to be more of the freedom to speak, the freedom to pursue our dreams and the freedom to choose life, in all of its beauty. It has been my honor to read this book. Apina, I have the greatest respect for you as an individual and as a citizen of t

Review: Pandemonium A Journey to the New World

In the introduction to her book, Pandemonium A Journey to the New World, Apina Hrbek writes, "Once personal freedom has been tasted, few willingly give it up," and her story illustrates just how important freedom is - no matter what the personal cost. The opening chapters of the book give a detailed account of life in Czechoslovakia after the takeover of the Czechoslovak government by Soviet forces in 1948. Anyone who dared to speak out against the State was quickly and harshly punished, as careers were put on hold and dissidents were either isolated or imprisoned. In light of such a climate of terror and intimidation, it is with irony that the author reflects on the punishment doled out by a mother to her disobedient daughter. In an enforced, controlled society, disloyalty to the family was treated with the same disdain as disloyalty to the State and nothing was more disloyal than defection to the West. In their quest for freedom, the family that took flight in the hope of finding a better life in America gave up more than just their Czech citizenship. But, as the author knows from experience, freedom always does exact a high price. Apina Hrbek has written a thoroughly absorbing book that will enlighten and entertain her readers. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone. Shelagh Watkins