The Holocaust timeline occurs in Hungary, invaded late in the war, in 1944. As Sharon comments, this “represents the negligent attitude of many Jews toward their heritage.” A telling symbol is their menorah, which the parents bring up for Chanukah and then forget to light it. In our modern timeline in the 1960’s, the family of Suzy Kohn, whose connections to Artur Mandelkorn are later revealed, has become assimilated in Toronto. Sharon notes, “the ripples continue in various forms: survivor guilt, desire to escape one’s Jewish identity ‘blaming the victim’ syndrome extremist religious piety antagonism to religion hostility to all forms of nationalism, etc. The inherited trauma, which research shows stretches to the 3rd generation as well, affects many areas of life. Many previously unknown questions are answered, although when dealing with the horrors of the Holocaust, not much can be resolved. Without a spoiler, the timelines meet after the Six Day War. Israel and briefly the UK in the years after WWII, and in Canada in the 1960’s following Suzy Kohn. The story takes place on two time lines, following Artur Mandelkorn in Hungary during the war, moving to I wanted to explore the question: what was the element in their lives that gave them the strength to go on after all they have lost?” The Historical Novel Society selected this superbly written and well-researched novel as their Editor’s Choice Book. I think that (on an unconscious level) I was trying to understand them by writing this book. The author told me, “The Holocaust survivors I have known have always intrigued me– especially their ability to live relatively ‘normal’ lives after the war. Come Back for Me by Sharon Hart-Green reveals the ripple effects of the Holocaust on two generations of a Jewish family.
0 kommentar(er)
