I've said before that I'm surprised by how many takes there can be on World War II, and on the Holocaust, in particular - and once again I'm here with another such story, Emuna Elon's House on endless waters. I hadn't heard of Elon before but, according to Wikipedia, she's an Israeli author, journalist, and women's rights … Continue reading Emuna Elon, House on endless waters (#BookReview)
Holocaust literature
Bill curates: Imre Kertesz’s Fateless or Fatelessness
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. Sue reads some striking books and writes some (many!) striking reviews, of which this is one. I'm not sure I agree with her about Holocaust fiction, but I do … Continue reading Bill curates: Imre Kertesz’s Fateless or Fatelessness
WG Sebald, Austerlitz (#BookReview)
For the first time in my reading group's 30-year history, we read a book recommended by a fictional character. It happened like this: after reading and discussing Rabih Alameddine's An unnecessary woman (my review) in January, we thought it would be interesting if we all nominated which book mentioned by the "unnecessary woman", Aaliya Saleh, that we'd … Continue reading WG Sebald, Austerlitz (#BookReview)
Susan Varga, Heddy and me (Review)
Susan Varga's biography-cum-memoir, Heddy and me, was first published back in 1994, so why am I reading it now? By a rather circuitous route, as it happens. Lesley Lebkowicz, whose The Petrov poems I've reviewed, read my post on Anna Rosner Blay's Sister, sister, and suggested to Susan Varga that she might like to send me her book to … Continue reading Susan Varga, Heddy and me (Review)
Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Some of the most vivid memories of my Sydney-based late teens and early twenties relate to spending time with Jewish people, business friends of my father. We went to parties in their homes, to weddings and bar mitzvahs. These were always happy, family-oriented occasions. I had crushes on the sons. I knew that most of these people had come … Continue reading Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Elliot Perlman, The street sweeper (Review)
Elliot Perlman's latest novel, The street sweeper, is a complex book with a pretty simple message. It's complex because of its multiple interconnecting storylines that move back and forth between World War II, the American Civil Rights era, and contemporary times. It has multiple themes, about which I'll write further, but the underlying message is … Continue reading Elliot Perlman, The street sweeper (Review)
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Arnold Zable on survival and stories
Arnold Zable is not, I believe, very well-known even in Australia, but I think he is a beautiful writer. He has a lovely way with words but, more importantly I think, his writing is warm and generous. I've read two of his novels - Cafe Scheherazade and Sea of many returns - and enjoyed them both. Zable was born in 1947 in New … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Arnold Zable on survival and stories
Herz Bergner, Between sky and sea
Book cover (Courtesy: Text Publishing) Do you read introductions to novels? And, if you do, do you read them before or after you read the novel itself? I read them, but always afterwards because I like to come to novels as objectively as I can. And so, this is what I did with Herz Bergner's … Continue reading Herz Bergner, Between sky and sea
Markus Zusak, The book thief
In one moment, there was great kindness and great cruelty, and I saw it as the perfect story of our humans are. (Zusak on the Random House website) Zusak could hardly have chosen, for The book thief, a better setting to explore the best and worst of humanity than Germany during the Holocaust. The book … Continue reading Markus Zusak, The book thief
Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
He invented stories so fantastic she had to believe. It's hard to know where to start writing about Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is illuminated, so I'll just start with a brief description of the plot. It concerns a search in the Ukraine by "the hero" (aka Jonathan Safran Foer) for the woman (Augustine?) who, he … Continue reading Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
Whispering Gums 