"Jews do not remember with flowers; their petals wither on a grave as if the corpse is a temporal thing ... Jews remember with stones; impenetrable, mysterious, eternal"
Hi There!
I picked this book up on the recommendation of a teacher who thought that I might enjoy the unique form. As a history buff with a personal, family connection to the tragic events that took place in the 1940's before and beyond, I am equally drawn to and extremely weary of texts on the subject. Becoming depressed or overly-existential is not uncommon for me when I am faced with these recounts.
The narrative is told from the perspective of Mark Baker a Jewish boy from Melbourne who is delving into his parents past and through historical records, video recordings encapsulating fragments of memory and secondary accounts, aiming to fill gaps in memory of his mother, father and the atrocities they encountered.
I firstly can commend the synthesis of textual forms in the novel. Almost as a non-fiction novel with a wig and hat on, pretending to be prose fiction. I can appreciate the literary blend, but at times found it difficult to be engaged with the non-fiction side, as I didn't particularly expect to be interpreting Polish records.
Equally, I enjoyed the direct dialogue from the perspective of the parents. Maybe the easiest part of the book to read. But with little character development, never REALLY seeing into the current lives of the characters, that reader to character bond never really was formed. I did not feel attached to these characters regardless of what I read about their past. Whether or not they were MEANT to be adored, I am unsure. At times the fragmented form was less mysterious and more confusing.
In short. I would not recommend this book to someone looking for a light read. Rather someone who is looking to endure a labour of love for Jewish history and Australian fiction. I'm glad I got through it, but i will NOT be doing it again
All the love x
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