Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz, survivor of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is a brilliant writer. As I was [...]]]> Definition: Mourner’s Kaddish expresses love of God and acceptance of God’s will, even while the mourner is feeling sorrow over the death of a loved one. [See the actual English translation at the end of this review.]

Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz, survivor of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is a brilliant writer. As I was reading this short work, I found that I wanted to quote almost the entire book for this review. In the story, a man at a writer’s conference explains to a colleague why he refused his ex-wife a child because he doesn’t want to bring a child into a world where an Auschwitz is allowed to occur. In fact the very first word of the novel is “No,” a reference to a question on whether or not he has children. He then expounds on his reasons for that decision, and on his childhood, his marriage, and his survival experiences.

“No!” something screamed, howled within me, immediately and forthwith, and it was only gradually, after many, many years had quieted it down, that my cramp gave way to a quiet but persistent pain, until slowly and maliciously, like a malignant sickness, a question began to take distinct shape with me: “Were you to be a dark-eyed little girl? With pale spots of scattered freckles around your little nose? Or a stubborn boy? With cheerful, hard eyes like blue-gray pebbbles?” Yes, my existence in the context of your potentiality.

I’ve had family members also question the wisdom of bringing children into the world, and the first time it was put to me, I didn’t understand the reasoning behind this stance at all. Perhaps I was too naive then, though, because I do understand it now. I am a mother; I’m grateful to be a mother; but, unfortunately, there is much evil in this world, and while not my choice, I understand why people would question whether to subject their potential children to it.

1990, [1999 for English trans.], 95 pp.
Rating: 4.5/5

English Translation of the Mourner’s Kaddish
May His illustrious name become increasingly great and holy
In the world that He created according to His will,
and may He establish His kingdom
In your lifetime and in your days
and in the lifetime of all the house of Israel
Speedily and soon. And let us say amen.

May His illustrious name be blessed always and forever.
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled
Honoured, raised up and acclaimed
be the name of the Holy one blessed be He
beyond every blessing hymn, praise and consolation
that is uttered in the world. And let us say amen.
May abundant peace from heaven, and life
Be upon us and upon all Israel.

The story is heart-wrenching. We see how her friends and neighbors turn from loving her family to despising them. We [...]]]> This is the story of 14 year-old Jutka’s life before, during, and after World War II, with the three sections of the book dealing with those periods being titled Limbo, Hell, and Paradiso.

The story is heart-wrenching. We see how her friends and neighbors turn from loving her family to despising them. We see the horrors of the ghetto, Auschwitz, and the DP camps. Then we see Jutka and her friends struggle to find a new home for themselves when nothing is left of their old ones. While most want to relocate to Israel, Jutka dreams of being with her relatives in Canada.

The story is compelling, but I did find the writing to be a bit simplistic and choppy, thus the lower rating.

Kanada’s author, Eva Wiseman, was born in Hungary and has based this book on her parents’ and other friends’ experiences during the war. She now lives in Winnipeg.

2006, 241 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5

The Kite Runner by Khalded Hosseini starts out beautifully:

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time [...]]]>

The Kite Runner by Khalded Hosseini starts out beautifully:

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.

The description Amir tells of his childhood in Afghanistan is mesmerizing. Wanting to please his father, playing (and taunting) his friend/servant Hassan, dealing with the neighborhood boys. The first half of the book is very, very strong. However, the last third of the book I felt was too contrived, too formulaic, and too coincidental. I still became very emotional at times, but the ‘wow’ factor for me was gone. There were just too many coincidences in the end to make it a believable story. Overall, though, I did enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation. I’ll also be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2008.

2003, 371 pp.
Rating: 4

Also reviewed by:

• Melody 

Jones really knows how to write his characters. Each one was very clearly defined. I won’t give away too much of the story here but will [...]]]> The Known World by Edward P. Jones has not only won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but also the NBCC Award and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Jones really knows how to write his characters. Each one was very clearly defined. I won’t give away too much of the story here but will write a brief overview.

Henry and Caldonia Townsend are slave owners who are black themselves. Henry’s father had freed himself and his wife, and then later Henry. While Henry was still a slave under William Robbins, he became somewhat of a favorite, and was later instructed by Robbins on how to be a proper slave owner. Henry builds up quite a plantation but then dies unexpectedly. How Caldonia, along with her overseer Moses, runs the plantation afterward forms the rest of the novel.

Several issues are presented in the book. Whites’ attitudes towards blacks, both slave and free; the function of “the law;” men’s attitudes towards women (and vice versa); and the question of how and why blacks could own slaves themselves.

This is a very well-written book, and I struggled on whether to rate it a 4 or 4.5. There is some content in the book that downgrades it slightly for me. Consider it a very high 4.

2003, 388 pp.

Pulitzer Prize, NBCC Award, IMPAC Award

Rating: 4

2005, 302 pp.

Rating: 4