Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Europa Editions (2023), 464 pages
Description
"Anne Berest's The Postcard is among the most acclaimed and beloved French novels of recent years. Luminous and gripping to the very last page, it is an enthralling investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and a vivid portrait of twentieth-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life. January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest's maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques--all killed at Auschwitz. Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, family members, friends, associates, a private detective, a graphologist, and many others, she embarks on a journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family: their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris. What emerges is a moving saga of a family devastated by the Holocaust and partly restored through the power of storytelling that shatters long-held certainties about Anne's family, her country, and herself." --… (more)
Awards
National Jewish Book Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2023)
Prix Renaudot des Lycéens (2021)
Prix Goncourt (1. Auswahl — 2021)
NPR: Books We Love (2023)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (2023)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2023)
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Postcard, Anne Berest, author; Barrie Kealoha narrator; Tina Kover, translator
I finished the book and asked myself, how many books is it possible to read about the Holocaust and still discover something new? For instance, I did not know that tattoos were stamped on the chest, at first, before
Although this is a novel based on the author’s family history, it is especially pertinent and poignant to read it in the current atmosphere of unexplained Jewish hate permeating society in the United States, today. Although one would have thought the memory of the Holocaust would have served to prevent another incident of horror against the Jews, it would be an incorrect assumption. We are witnessing the subtle advance of hate and the demonization of the Jews once again, by the media and the politicians in power. Slowly, the message is being corrupted so that the innocent are charged as guilty and the guilty are excused. Once again, the victim is being blamed instead of the villain.
In this is a novel, it is based on the author’s ancestry. Her grandparents settled in Palestine, the name chosen by the Brits, in the early part of the 20th century, to live a quieter more peaceful and free life, to escape the pogroms, and the rising antisemitic atmosphere in Europe. They advised their children to disperse further into Europe and to leave Russia, in order to be safer. None wanted to move with them to Palestine, however.
Unlike Lélia, who held her memories in secret and refused to revisit the time of her family’s horror, we Jews today must make sure we force everyone to remember our horrific past, and remind those who do not, or educate those that are unaware, or there will be many more Holocausts and October 7ths to follow. It is horribly sad today, to witness the offspring of many jews who do not remember our past, or have not learned from it, as they march with their very enemies, the enemy that is intent on killing them. They hope that they can change their minds, while they happily and foolishly condemn their own people. Over centuries, and now recent decades, it has been shown, again and again, that they cannot change the hearts and minds of those committed to hate them, no matter how hard they try.
In the novel, the reader follows the path of the Rabinovitch family as they travel to Palestine, Latvia, France and Israel, as their lives unravel in all of those places. The echo of the pain and suffering of the Jews travels down through the years and taints all those it touches, right into the future. The author tries to get behind the mindset that made the choices to go to one place or another, act in one way or another. This novel, that is cloaked in the true history of the Rabinovitch family, perhaps explores what it means to be a Jew, and what it is that Jewish survival entails.
In 2003, a postcard arrives at the home of the author’s mother, Lélia. Her mother refuses to think about who might have sent it or why anyone would have sent it so many years after 1942, the year that the people who are named on the card, Ephraim, Emma, Noémie and Jacques, were murdered in Auschwitz. These were the names of the author’s grandparents and two of their children. The third child, not listed, was her grandmother, Myriam, Lélia’s mother. Lélia, Anne’s mother, had always felt abandoned by Myriam. Now, in a sense, Lélia was abandoning her own daughter, the author, as she searched for answers to her past and hit a brick wall with her mother, Lélia.
A child related to survivors somehow feels and bears their scars. Anne is no different. She has always felt unsettled. Raised in a totally secular world, she had little connection with Judaism or her ancestry. She knew that she was indeed a Jew, since her mother was, even though her father was not, but she wanted to know more. Her mother discouraged her interest and research. As Anne’s thirst for the knowledge of her lineage was ignited, her mother remained silent for more than a decade. Then, Anne’s daughter Claire told her grandmother about an antisemitic incident that she was exposed to at her school. Lélia made a bargain with Anne. If Anne would take this incident to the child’s principal, no matter how fruitful or not, it would turn out, she would help her uncover her history and the identity of the person who mailed the postcard. Surely, each of us must be remembered as much as we must remember our history, in order to prevent it from happening again.
As the winds of war began again to blow in Europe, the family was faced with the prospect of moving on again, or of facing violence. This is the story of what happened to those members of the family who became trapped in Hitler’s web of barbarism, and an explanation of how and why so many became trapped and were unable to escape.
As Hitler advanced, and as time passed, the Jewish people’s activities were slowly and subtly, on occasion, more and more stifled, until finally, before they realized what had happened, they had no rights at all and were being rounded up and marched off to camps intended to cull them from society permanently. Think about this, if Hitler had succeeded, this book would not have been written. Think about what the world has lost with their loss. There were many people, good or otherwise, Jewish or otherwise, that promoted Hitler’s cause for selfish reasons. I shudder to think how like today it feels! Jews are marching with their enemies, the Palestinians, who scream from the river to the sea, essentially wanting to drive them out of Israel and the world, once again. Their message appears to be winning, so we are behooved to wonder if we have learned anything from our past. Like the Rabinovitch children, my children were called “dirty jews” in New Jersey and were subjected to antisemitic comments by a teacher in Minnesota. Once, I was told to be happy I didn’t live in Germany, by the mayor of the town of West Caldwell, New Jersey. What did I do about it? While I did address it with those in charge, I had no support and therefore failed to stop it. I was supplied with glib answers…oh the comment was just a euphemism, when the teacher told a joke about how the Jews got into the desert because someone threw in a quarter.
Because we have failed to address our enemies for what they are, we are now, watching our own children marching with the screaming meemies, and the unexplained and undeserved fury will only get worse. Will Jews and others, gays and blacks, wake up and stop supporting those who actually despise them and only pretend to accept and support them because they are serving their purpose. They would just as soon stone the “loose” women or throw the lgbtq+ community from the rooftop, as they have in other countries.
The book may be asking the question, what does it mean to be Jewish? I think it is more about asking what does it means to be a human being, and sadly, I do not think many people qualify today. Denying a problem does not make it go away, it simply festers and worsens. We must face our current situation bravely, as so many faced Hitler and Hamas with courage and character. Survivor’s guilt must come to an end along with the indifference to the problems that we witness, and the refusal to believe that man’ inhumanity to man is alive and well and comes from unexpected sources. We need to end our naïvete so we can overcome our enemies. David must slay Goliath, once again.
When the author used the term “they forced you to lie, and then called you a liar, was it not eerily similar to the current justice system in the United States today? Although it was blamed on the far right during WW II, today the left seems to be using the same tactics, creating chaos, confusion and hate as rights are slowly eliminated for some and granted to others who willingly accuse the innocent of crimes they have not committed in order to advance themselves. Will we wake up in time to prevent a repeat performance of the barbarism? Slowly and subtly, in America today, some people are being silenced as others are being advantaged unfairly, once again. Open your eyes.
I finished the book and asked myself, how many books is it possible to read about the Holocaust and still discover something new? For instance, I did not know that tattoos were stamped on the chest, at first, before
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tattooed on the wrist. Therefore, my answer apparently, is that there is no number, for every book I read enlightens me a bit further. The enlightenment, however, is always horrifying, but it is important that all of the memories and facts about that awful historic time are aired in the light of day, and remembered, especially in light of the massacre that took place in Israel, on October 7th, 2023, inexplicably carried out by Hamas, even as the Israelis danced at a hopeful peace concert and those residents of border communities with Gaza, people who tried to help the Palestinians by hiring them and engaging with them, were slaughtered unmercifully. Jew-hatred and barbarism are alive and well.Although this is a novel based on the author’s family history, it is especially pertinent and poignant to read it in the current atmosphere of unexplained Jewish hate permeating society in the United States, today. Although one would have thought the memory of the Holocaust would have served to prevent another incident of horror against the Jews, it would be an incorrect assumption. We are witnessing the subtle advance of hate and the demonization of the Jews once again, by the media and the politicians in power. Slowly, the message is being corrupted so that the innocent are charged as guilty and the guilty are excused. Once again, the victim is being blamed instead of the villain.
In this is a novel, it is based on the author’s ancestry. Her grandparents settled in Palestine, the name chosen by the Brits, in the early part of the 20th century, to live a quieter more peaceful and free life, to escape the pogroms, and the rising antisemitic atmosphere in Europe. They advised their children to disperse further into Europe and to leave Russia, in order to be safer. None wanted to move with them to Palestine, however.
Unlike Lélia, who held her memories in secret and refused to revisit the time of her family’s horror, we Jews today must make sure we force everyone to remember our horrific past, and remind those who do not, or educate those that are unaware, or there will be many more Holocausts and October 7ths to follow. It is horribly sad today, to witness the offspring of many jews who do not remember our past, or have not learned from it, as they march with their very enemies, the enemy that is intent on killing them. They hope that they can change their minds, while they happily and foolishly condemn their own people. Over centuries, and now recent decades, it has been shown, again and again, that they cannot change the hearts and minds of those committed to hate them, no matter how hard they try.
In the novel, the reader follows the path of the Rabinovitch family as they travel to Palestine, Latvia, France and Israel, as their lives unravel in all of those places. The echo of the pain and suffering of the Jews travels down through the years and taints all those it touches, right into the future. The author tries to get behind the mindset that made the choices to go to one place or another, act in one way or another. This novel, that is cloaked in the true history of the Rabinovitch family, perhaps explores what it means to be a Jew, and what it is that Jewish survival entails.
In 2003, a postcard arrives at the home of the author’s mother, Lélia. Her mother refuses to think about who might have sent it or why anyone would have sent it so many years after 1942, the year that the people who are named on the card, Ephraim, Emma, Noémie and Jacques, were murdered in Auschwitz. These were the names of the author’s grandparents and two of their children. The third child, not listed, was her grandmother, Myriam, Lélia’s mother. Lélia, Anne’s mother, had always felt abandoned by Myriam. Now, in a sense, Lélia was abandoning her own daughter, the author, as she searched for answers to her past and hit a brick wall with her mother, Lélia.
A child related to survivors somehow feels and bears their scars. Anne is no different. She has always felt unsettled. Raised in a totally secular world, she had little connection with Judaism or her ancestry. She knew that she was indeed a Jew, since her mother was, even though her father was not, but she wanted to know more. Her mother discouraged her interest and research. As Anne’s thirst for the knowledge of her lineage was ignited, her mother remained silent for more than a decade. Then, Anne’s daughter Claire told her grandmother about an antisemitic incident that she was exposed to at her school. Lélia made a bargain with Anne. If Anne would take this incident to the child’s principal, no matter how fruitful or not, it would turn out, she would help her uncover her history and the identity of the person who mailed the postcard. Surely, each of us must be remembered as much as we must remember our history, in order to prevent it from happening again.
As the winds of war began again to blow in Europe, the family was faced with the prospect of moving on again, or of facing violence. This is the story of what happened to those members of the family who became trapped in Hitler’s web of barbarism, and an explanation of how and why so many became trapped and were unable to escape.
As Hitler advanced, and as time passed, the Jewish people’s activities were slowly and subtly, on occasion, more and more stifled, until finally, before they realized what had happened, they had no rights at all and were being rounded up and marched off to camps intended to cull them from society permanently. Think about this, if Hitler had succeeded, this book would not have been written. Think about what the world has lost with their loss. There were many people, good or otherwise, Jewish or otherwise, that promoted Hitler’s cause for selfish reasons. I shudder to think how like today it feels! Jews are marching with their enemies, the Palestinians, who scream from the river to the sea, essentially wanting to drive them out of Israel and the world, once again. Their message appears to be winning, so we are behooved to wonder if we have learned anything from our past. Like the Rabinovitch children, my children were called “dirty jews” in New Jersey and were subjected to antisemitic comments by a teacher in Minnesota. Once, I was told to be happy I didn’t live in Germany, by the mayor of the town of West Caldwell, New Jersey. What did I do about it? While I did address it with those in charge, I had no support and therefore failed to stop it. I was supplied with glib answers…oh the comment was just a euphemism, when the teacher told a joke about how the Jews got into the desert because someone threw in a quarter.
Because we have failed to address our enemies for what they are, we are now, watching our own children marching with the screaming meemies, and the unexplained and undeserved fury will only get worse. Will Jews and others, gays and blacks, wake up and stop supporting those who actually despise them and only pretend to accept and support them because they are serving their purpose. They would just as soon stone the “loose” women or throw the lgbtq+ community from the rooftop, as they have in other countries.
The book may be asking the question, what does it mean to be Jewish? I think it is more about asking what does it means to be a human being, and sadly, I do not think many people qualify today. Denying a problem does not make it go away, it simply festers and worsens. We must face our current situation bravely, as so many faced Hitler and Hamas with courage and character. Survivor’s guilt must come to an end along with the indifference to the problems that we witness, and the refusal to believe that man’ inhumanity to man is alive and well and comes from unexpected sources. We need to end our naïvete so we can overcome our enemies. David must slay Goliath, once again.
When the author used the term “they forced you to lie, and then called you a liar, was it not eerily similar to the current justice system in the United States today? Although it was blamed on the far right during WW II, today the left seems to be using the same tactics, creating chaos, confusion and hate as rights are slowly eliminated for some and granted to others who willingly accuse the innocent of crimes they have not committed in order to advance themselves. Will we wake up in time to prevent a repeat performance of the barbarism? Slowly and subtly, in America today, some people are being silenced as others are being advantaged unfairly, once again. Open your eyes.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
But, in the midst of this enlightened discourse, there was that word that kept returning, circling back like a dark star, like some bizarre constellation, surrounded by a halo of mystery. Jew.
from the Postcard by Anne Berest
Anne Berest has a remarkable family history. Her grandparents moved from
Each generation contended with the same legacy, each a victim of anti-Semitism. Even Berest’s daughter. 1925. 1950. 1980. “The pattern was undeniable,” Berest writes, yet wondering “What does it mean to be Jewish?”
History can not be erased or forgotten. “Every time I met someone, I’d wonder: victim or perpetrator?” Berest brings to life the world that made this question a chilling reality.
She takes us into Vichy France, to the concentration camps, into hiding and the Resistance, and the chilling scenes where the survivors, walking skeletons, are repatriated.
Her journey began with a post card, written decades before it was mailed and delivered. On it were written the names of her mother’s parents and siblings who died in the death camps. Who had sent it? Why did it take so long to be mailed?
She researched and interviewed and pressed her mother for information, seeking to recreate her family’s lives and experiences. Decades of repressed memories is a wall she must break through. She feels the legacy of trauma carried in her own body, demanding to understand what her ancestors endured.
Intensely drawn, these people come to life on the page in this shattering and haunting story.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. My review is fair and unbiased.
from the Postcard by Anne Berest
Anne Berest has a remarkable family history. Her grandparents moved from
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country to country seeking a safe harbor. Her grandmother married a Spanish Dada artist. She survived the Holocaust, worked in the Resistance, while her parents and younger siblings disappeared into the death camps. Berest’s mother was a political activist who never told her she was Jewish. Berest recalls asking about the family members with numbers on their arms and was told it was their telephone numbers.Each generation contended with the same legacy, each a victim of anti-Semitism. Even Berest’s daughter. 1925. 1950. 1980. “The pattern was undeniable,” Berest writes, yet wondering “What does it mean to be Jewish?”
History can not be erased or forgotten. “Every time I met someone, I’d wonder: victim or perpetrator?” Berest brings to life the world that made this question a chilling reality.
She takes us into Vichy France, to the concentration camps, into hiding and the Resistance, and the chilling scenes where the survivors, walking skeletons, are repatriated.
Her journey began with a post card, written decades before it was mailed and delivered. On it were written the names of her mother’s parents and siblings who died in the death camps. Who had sent it? Why did it take so long to be mailed?
She researched and interviewed and pressed her mother for information, seeking to recreate her family’s lives and experiences. Decades of repressed memories is a wall she must break through. She feels the legacy of trauma carried in her own body, demanding to understand what her ancestors endured.
Intensely drawn, these people come to life on the page in this shattering and haunting story.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. My review is fair and unbiased.
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LibraryThing member fredreeca
A mysterious postcard was delivered to the Berest home in 2003. It had the names of Ephraïm, Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques written on it. They were all killed at Auschwitz. Now, 15 years later, Anne is determined to find out who sent it and why.
Anne is not going to let the
This is a great story full of twists and turns, heartaches and powerful memories. I was captivated by the way this story unfolded. The author really creates a tale which is riddled with secrecy and questions.
Need a good novel full of family secrets and mysteries…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Anne is not going to let the
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hesitancy of her mother stop her from finding out about her ancestors. Her mother is just not as interested in discovering the past as Anne. But Anne knows, she feels it in her heart, that she must do this, even if it opens old wounds.This is a great story full of twists and turns, heartaches and powerful memories. I was captivated by the way this story unfolded. The author really creates a tale which is riddled with secrecy and questions.
Need a good novel full of family secrets and mysteries…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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LibraryThing member pomo58
The Postcard by Anne Berest is a beautifully written (and beautifully translated by Tina Kover) work of autofiction, taking the reader through both the trauma of the holocaust and the contemporary world of thinly (sometimes) disguised hatred that shares many characteristics with the hatred of the
As I read more works that fall under the heading of autofiction, I come to appreciate what it has to offer. For example, when you read Hemingway's fiction, much of it based on personal experience, it is not a retelling of actual events but his fictionalized telling of his perception of the events. Autofiction, however, tracks much closer to a work of nonfiction but uses the tools of fiction to make the narrative flow better. Dialogue that didn't take place but could have, time compression to place events in closer proximity to emphasize connectedness, things like that. But the events are the actual events, the story is the actual story. No doubt there are times this doesn't work, but the works I've read so far have used this approach very well.
I know that many approach this as historical fiction, and it is, but because the story is confined to what actually happened, there isn't the same freedom to embellish things to make it more sensationalized, so what is gained through autofiction can also limit its appeal as historical fiction. For me, however, knowing these are actual events, not simply a story based on actual events, more than makes up for any minor shortcomings.
The timeline involving WWII era is, like most holocaust literature, heartbreaking. The knowledge that such family tragedy mirrors societal tragedy, and that this is being passed down from generation to generation (both as oral history and genetically) makes the story more powerful.
The contemporary timeline is disturbing because it seems to highlight just how little we have learned about our worst tendencies as human beings and how history, while maybe not actually repeating itself, does run in similar cycles. It is in this timeline where we can more easily relate to the characters, their lives are familiar to us, so disturbances in them make more sense to us.
Empathy is a positive emotion, but it needs to be a catalyst, not the ending point. Become an activist against hate. That doesn't necessarily mean marching in the streets, though that isn't a bad idea at times. But stand up to the comments we all hear from time to time within our own circle of friends. Don't let casual hate go unchecked just because confronting it might be uncomfortable. Silence is usually taken as agreement when comments are made. We don't need hate thinking it is the majority.
There were times I thought maybe the book dragged, but I couldn't think of anything I wanted to potentially not have known. I also found that the pacing often reflected what was happening in the lives. While looking back it seems like things progressed rapidly, and in a historical sense they did, the lived experience was gradual. A little at a time so there wouldn't be much resistance. The writing during these periods reflect that. We don't go from a growing family to concentration camps and murder in a few short pages. We experience it gradually, and painfully, similar to how it was for the characters. So, ultimately, I think both the length and the pacing work very well here.
I would highly recommend this to any reader who enjoys living in the novel they're reading and not just watching a quick synopsis of the characters' lives. Any readers who simply can't stay focused on a book over a couple hundred pages might want to skip it, this is meant to be experienced, not breezed through, so you probably won't enjoy it.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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past.As I read more works that fall under the heading of autofiction, I come to appreciate what it has to offer. For example, when you read Hemingway's fiction, much of it based on personal experience, it is not a retelling of actual events but his fictionalized telling of his perception of the events. Autofiction, however, tracks much closer to a work of nonfiction but uses the tools of fiction to make the narrative flow better. Dialogue that didn't take place but could have, time compression to place events in closer proximity to emphasize connectedness, things like that. But the events are the actual events, the story is the actual story. No doubt there are times this doesn't work, but the works I've read so far have used this approach very well.
I know that many approach this as historical fiction, and it is, but because the story is confined to what actually happened, there isn't the same freedom to embellish things to make it more sensationalized, so what is gained through autofiction can also limit its appeal as historical fiction. For me, however, knowing these are actual events, not simply a story based on actual events, more than makes up for any minor shortcomings.
The timeline involving WWII era is, like most holocaust literature, heartbreaking. The knowledge that such family tragedy mirrors societal tragedy, and that this is being passed down from generation to generation (both as oral history and genetically) makes the story more powerful.
The contemporary timeline is disturbing because it seems to highlight just how little we have learned about our worst tendencies as human beings and how history, while maybe not actually repeating itself, does run in similar cycles. It is in this timeline where we can more easily relate to the characters, their lives are familiar to us, so disturbances in them make more sense to us.
Empathy is a positive emotion, but it needs to be a catalyst, not the ending point. Become an activist against hate. That doesn't necessarily mean marching in the streets, though that isn't a bad idea at times. But stand up to the comments we all hear from time to time within our own circle of friends. Don't let casual hate go unchecked just because confronting it might be uncomfortable. Silence is usually taken as agreement when comments are made. We don't need hate thinking it is the majority.
There were times I thought maybe the book dragged, but I couldn't think of anything I wanted to potentially not have known. I also found that the pacing often reflected what was happening in the lives. While looking back it seems like things progressed rapidly, and in a historical sense they did, the lived experience was gradual. A little at a time so there wouldn't be much resistance. The writing during these periods reflect that. We don't go from a growing family to concentration camps and murder in a few short pages. We experience it gradually, and painfully, similar to how it was for the characters. So, ultimately, I think both the length and the pacing work very well here.
I would highly recommend this to any reader who enjoys living in the novel they're reading and not just watching a quick synopsis of the characters' lives. Any readers who simply can't stay focused on a book over a couple hundred pages might want to skip it, this is meant to be experienced, not breezed through, so you probably won't enjoy it.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member suesbooks
I read this too quickly to really incorporate many of the details, but I thought it was a very good description of how difficult it is for those who are in comfortable situations to believe that fascism and hate can overtake their land. I especially liked how the author provided many details, but
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not so many that I was not frequently surprised by a turn of events. This book also showed so well how people are so complicated and deal with grief and trauma in so many different ways. The amount of research that was undertaken for this book was also very impressive. This was the story of a family who moved all over the world searching for safety and never really found it. The past if, unfortunately, not so different from the present. Show Less
LibraryThing member srms.reads
In January 2003, an unsigned postcard is delivered to the Berest home with a picture of the Opera Garnier in Paris addressed to the author’s late grandmother. Handwritten, on the back of the postcard were four names – Ephraïm, Emma, Jacques, and Noémie – the names of four members of the
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Rabinovitch family, all of whom lost their lives during the Holocaust at Auschwitz. Ephraïm and Emma were the parents of Anne’s grandmother Myriam who was the only member of the Rabinovitch family who survived the Holocaust. However, that traumatic era in family history was seldom discussed at the Berest home and though Anne and her mother were Jewish, faith did not play a significant role in Anne’s upbringing. In fact, after the postcard arrived, it was filed away without much thought given to it. This novel is inspired by the author’s investigation of her family’s history.Fifteen years later, after an uncomfortable Passover gathering at a friend's home and an unfortunate incident with her six-year-old daughter at school, Anne begins to ponder over her family history and more importantly her identity as a Jew. She recalls the postcard with the names of her ancestors and decides to use that as a starting point for research realizing that by understanding her painful family history and the struggles her mother and grandmother endured will she be able to begin to understand her legacy and how it has impacted her life. What follows is an in-depth exploration of the history of the Rabinovich family spanning four generations from 1918-19 to the present day. Anne’s research begins with whatever information she can glean from her mother, existing documentation and her mother’s own research into Myriam’s family. Anne’s journey is one of looking backward in an effort to move forward.
“I found myself confronted with a latent contradiction. On one side, there was the utopia my parents described as a model society to be built, instilling in us, day after day, the idea that religion was an evil to be fought against. And on the other side, hidden away in some dark crevice of our family life, was the existence of a hidden identity, a mysterious heritage, a strange lineage that drew its raison d’être from the very heart of religion. We were all one big family, no matter the color of our skin or our country of origin; we were all connected to one another through our humanity. But, in the midst of this enlightened discourse, there was that word that kept returning, circling back like a dark star, like some bizarre constellation, surrounded by a halo of mystery. Jew.”
Meticulously researched, informative and insightful, thought-provoking and profoundly moving, The Postcard by Anne Berest (translated by Tina Kover from the original French) is the story of a family, the story of war-torn Europe, the Holocaust and the story of survival and generational trauma. The author also explores anti-Semitism both in the context of the Holocaust as well as in contemporary times. The narrative moves between past and present with the past timeline tracing the family history beginning in the pre-WWII years and how Ephraim and Emma moved their family from Russia to Latvia, with a few years in Palestine, and finally, France from where they were deported to Auschwitz, where they perished in 1942. The author vividly describes the oppression of Jews in Nazi-occupied France and the atrocities exacted upon the Jewish population per the dictates of the Nazi regime. Myriam’s story in the later years of the war gives us a glimpse into the Resistance movement in France and the post-war years after the liberation of the concentration camps. Much of what we learn of Myriam's later life is from memories shared by Lelia. The present-day timeline follows Anne and Lelia as they leave no stone unturned in trying to track down the identity of the person who sent the postcard. The author skillfully weaves the different timelines and characters into a gripping and well-paced narrative. Part –memoir, part historical fiction, this is an important book that I would not hesitate to recommend. A must-read for those who enjoy historical fiction with an element of mystery and appreciate stories inspired by true events.
Many thanks to Europa Editions and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this extraordinary novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
“I see obstacles where others do not. I struggle endlessly to make a connection between the thought of my family and the mythologized occurrence that is genocide. And that struggle is what constitutes me. It is the thing that defines me. For almost forty years, I have tried to draw a shape that resembles me, but without success. Today, though, I can connect those disparate dots. I can see, in the constellation of fragments scattered over the page, a silhouette in which I recognize myself at last: I am the daughter, and the granddaughter, of survivors.”
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LibraryThing member TTAISI-Editor
This book is really wonderful, a remarkable combination of diligently researched and beautifully written (as translated). It is, for such a complicated and often heavy set of subjects, very accessible and readable. Highly recommend it!
LibraryThing member HandelmanLibraryTINR
The author pieces together stories of her ancestors who were lost at Auschwitz..The journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family, their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris and their ultimate demise.
LibraryThing member maryreinert
A Holocaust story and more. Although the book states it is fiction, the characters in the story are apparently a part of the author's real family so it is more of a family memoir. The Berest family are Jewish, but they are not practicing Jews. The children grow up knowing almost nothing of the
The story starts with Ephraim and Emma Rabinovitch who were raised as Russian Jews. Ephraim completely turns away from his Jewishness believing in Socialism . He's good looking, smart, and wants to live a completely secular life. After not being allowed to marry a girl he wants, he marries a cousin selected by his family. They have three children: Myriam, Noemie, and Jacques after leaving Russian. Ever optimistic that his Jewishness is not a problem, Ephraim eventually does leave France and lives in Palestine for a while where Emma's family had settled.
The story is so evolved and so realistic regarding how this family approached the Nazi threat. Noemie and Jacques are eventually killed as is Ephraim and Emma. Myriam survives, marries an artist, Vincente, from an eccentric family, and gives birth to Lelia whose daughter is telling the story. It is 2003 and Lelia has received an old postcard from Paris with only the names of Noemie, Jacques, Ephraim, and Emma written on the front.
The first part of the book tells the story of the families experiences during the war. The second part tells of the author's search for who sent the postcard. Was it a threat?
I loved the way this story is told - the background of what happened to the family and the mystery in the search for the sender of the card - which is found out at the very end of the book (and it makes so much sense).
Great story.
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Jewish culture. The story starts with Ephraim and Emma Rabinovitch who were raised as Russian Jews. Ephraim completely turns away from his Jewishness believing in Socialism . He's good looking, smart, and wants to live a completely secular life. After not being allowed to marry a girl he wants, he marries a cousin selected by his family. They have three children: Myriam, Noemie, and Jacques after leaving Russian. Ever optimistic that his Jewishness is not a problem, Ephraim eventually does leave France and lives in Palestine for a while where Emma's family had settled.
The story is so evolved and so realistic regarding how this family approached the Nazi threat. Noemie and Jacques are eventually killed as is Ephraim and Emma. Myriam survives, marries an artist, Vincente, from an eccentric family, and gives birth to Lelia whose daughter is telling the story. It is 2003 and Lelia has received an old postcard from Paris with only the names of Noemie, Jacques, Ephraim, and Emma written on the front.
The first part of the book tells the story of the families experiences during the war. The second part tells of the author's search for who sent the postcard. Was it a threat?
I loved the way this story is told - the background of what happened to the family and the mystery in the search for the sender of the card - which is found out at the very end of the book (and it makes so much sense).
Great story.
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LibraryThing member almin
Highly Recommend: I don't need to reiterate the evils of The Holocaust and the Nazis. It's all in the book.
This is part historical fiction and epistolary non-fiction, I preferred the non-fiction parts, but that doesn't take away how much I enjoyed this book. The investigation taken on by the
I read most of the book, but listen to the audio for a bit, I recommend reading the book, I wasn't impressed with the audio version.
This is part historical fiction and epistolary non-fiction, I preferred the non-fiction parts, but that doesn't take away how much I enjoyed this book. The investigation taken on by the
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author and her mother were the parts that kept me reading for hours; she was tenacious about finding answers. Her self-examination of why she had to be pushed to report an anti-semitic incident experience by her daughter was explored throughout the book, the answer was interesting and beautifully written. There is so much more to this book than what I wrote, highly recommend....I read most of the book, but listen to the audio for a bit, I recommend reading the book, I wasn't impressed with the audio version.
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LibraryThing member kjuliff
Lost in Narration
The Postcard - Audible version
I was wary of reviewing this book, because I didn’t enjoy it - though “enjoy” isn’t a word one could normally apply to any Holocaust book.
Maybe I should say that I never became invested in the book, although that’s not strictly true either.
I’d see their mothers and grandmothers daily on the tram-rides on the way to and from school in Melbourne. I saw the tattoos and turned my head knowing what they were, what they signified.
And so it was because of this that I thought that the reason I wasn’t “enjoying” the book was because of my memory of the girls. Women now and I’m in touch with a couple of them still. They have made good lives.
But it could not have been only that. I’ve read many Holocaust books and not felt so uncomfortable. So I researched. I looked beyond the glowing reviews on LT and checked out the Audible reviews.
The book appears to have been badly read. I had realised that the narrator had not sufficiently changed voice when changing characters. There were many mispronunciations, so much so that even I noticed some in French, and with the little Yiddish I do know, felt something was awry. But I hadn’t realised the extent.
One Audible reader wrote …some of the pronunciations, particularly in Hebrew and Yiddish come out were so far off base as to being an embarrassment. How hard can it be to get it right? Even some of the English was catastrophically bad. - Don Jacobson
Another I find Kealoha’s voice glib and grating, a particularly bad fit for a story, based in fact, about the Shoah - AEB
I cannot recommend this as an Audible book. I’m pretty sure I would feel differently about it had I read it in print.
The Postcard - Audible version
I was wary of reviewing this book, because I didn’t enjoy it - though “enjoy” isn’t a word one could normally apply to any Holocaust book.
Maybe I should say that I never became invested in the book, although that’s not strictly true either.
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There were times when the children of the heads of the family, their young girls Myriam and Noémie were at school in France where I became definitely invested, and that was because in part of my own experiences. It was when I was at school that I first met Holocaust survivors. And those survivors, my peers at school, were around the same age as those of The Postcard’s Myriam and Noémie as they appeared early in the book.I’d see their mothers and grandmothers daily on the tram-rides on the way to and from school in Melbourne. I saw the tattoos and turned my head knowing what they were, what they signified.
And so it was because of this that I thought that the reason I wasn’t “enjoying” the book was because of my memory of the girls. Women now and I’m in touch with a couple of them still. They have made good lives.
But it could not have been only that. I’ve read many Holocaust books and not felt so uncomfortable. So I researched. I looked beyond the glowing reviews on LT and checked out the Audible reviews.
The book appears to have been badly read. I had realised that the narrator had not sufficiently changed voice when changing characters. There were many mispronunciations, so much so that even I noticed some in French, and with the little Yiddish I do know, felt something was awry. But I hadn’t realised the extent.
One Audible reader wrote …some of the pronunciations, particularly in Hebrew and Yiddish come out were so far off base as to being an embarrassment. How hard can it be to get it right? Even some of the English was catastrophically bad. - Don Jacobson
Another I find Kealoha’s voice glib and grating, a particularly bad fit for a story, based in fact, about the Shoah - AEB
I cannot recommend this as an Audible book. I’m pretty sure I would feel differently about it had I read it in print.
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
What does it mean to be Jewish?"
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"I carry it within me, inscribed in the very cells of my body, the memory of an experience of danger so violent that sometimes I think I really lived it myself, or that I'll be forced to relive it one day. To me, death always feels near. I
This is an example of what seems to be an increasingly popular form (genre?) of book described as "autofiction." At least it seems to be the type of book I am reading more frequently than I have encountered in the past.
In 2003 Anne Berest's mother Leila received an anonymous postcard on which the only inscription was four names, Ephraim and Emma (Leila's grandparents), and their children Noemie and Jacques (Leila's aunt and uncle). All four of these people died at Auschwitz. Of the family, only the third child, Myriam, the mother of Leila and grandmother of Anne, survived.
Anne was always aware that she was Jewish, but she was raised nonobservant. When Leila received the postcard, she and Anne puzzled over it, but did nothing for several years. Then, an anti-semitic incident involving Anne's young daughter as well as an incident at a seder attended by Anne caused her to want to explore her heritage and to discover more about the history of her family and what actually happened to them, as well as to find out who sent the postcard in 2003 and why. The book describes Anne's family history as well as a step by step detailing of her search for answers to the mystery of the postcard.
At the time I read this in September, I noted that it was one of the best books I have read this year, and that is still the case. It is a deep dive into what it means to be Jewish, and a reinforcement of the message that the world can never be allowed to forget what happened in the Holocaust. I was amazed by how long it took France to recognize the the damages done to its Jewish population during WW II by the Nazis and their French collaborators. It wasn't until 1997 with the Matteoli Commission that an investigation began to study the conditions under which the property belonging to Jews in France was confiscated or otherwise taken from the Jews. This was in addition to the failure of France to acknowledge the responsibility of the French government for the deportation of thousands of Jews to the death camps during WW II until 2009.
Highly recommended, 4 1/2 stars
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"I carry it within me, inscribed in the very cells of my body, the memory of an experience of danger so violent that sometimes I think I really lived it myself, or that I'll be forced to relive it one day. To me, death always feels near. I
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have a sense of being hunted. I often feel subjected to a kind of self-obliteration."This is an example of what seems to be an increasingly popular form (genre?) of book described as "autofiction." At least it seems to be the type of book I am reading more frequently than I have encountered in the past.
In 2003 Anne Berest's mother Leila received an anonymous postcard on which the only inscription was four names, Ephraim and Emma (Leila's grandparents), and their children Noemie and Jacques (Leila's aunt and uncle). All four of these people died at Auschwitz. Of the family, only the third child, Myriam, the mother of Leila and grandmother of Anne, survived.
Anne was always aware that she was Jewish, but she was raised nonobservant. When Leila received the postcard, she and Anne puzzled over it, but did nothing for several years. Then, an anti-semitic incident involving Anne's young daughter as well as an incident at a seder attended by Anne caused her to want to explore her heritage and to discover more about the history of her family and what actually happened to them, as well as to find out who sent the postcard in 2003 and why. The book describes Anne's family history as well as a step by step detailing of her search for answers to the mystery of the postcard.
At the time I read this in September, I noted that it was one of the best books I have read this year, and that is still the case. It is a deep dive into what it means to be Jewish, and a reinforcement of the message that the world can never be allowed to forget what happened in the Holocaust. I was amazed by how long it took France to recognize the the damages done to its Jewish population during WW II by the Nazis and their French collaborators. It wasn't until 1997 with the Matteoli Commission that an investigation began to study the conditions under which the property belonging to Jews in France was confiscated or otherwise taken from the Jews. This was in addition to the failure of France to acknowledge the responsibility of the French government for the deportation of thousands of Jews to the death camps during WW II until 2009.
Highly recommended, 4 1/2 stars
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LibraryThing member rmarcin
Anne Berest writes a beautiful novel, in which she tells of her family's history, and what it means to be Jewish. Much of this has truth and facts behind it, but is written as fiction.
In 2003, Anne's mother receives a postcard. On the postcard are the names of her grandparents and her aunt and
In 2003, Anne's mother receives a postcard. On the postcard are the names of her grandparents and her aunt and
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uncle. Just 4 names, nothing else. This starts a conversation between Anne and her mother. Then in 2019, Anne decides to try to determine who sent the postcard. This has her searching her family history, and learning about the hardships they endured. She comes to terms with her heritage. Interesting discovery is who sent the postcard and why. Show Less
LibraryThing member bell7
A slightly fictionalized story of Anne's own family, who received a postcard in 2003 with four names: Ephraim, Emma, Noémie and Jacques. Anne's mother, Lélia, tells her that Ephraim and Emma were her mother, Myriam's, parents and Noémie and Jacques her siblings. All four died in concentration
The Postcard is divided into four parts: the first, Lélia telling Anne the story of her great-grandparents, Noémie and Jacques; the second, about six years later in the narrative present, Anne learns that something happened to her daughter at school and begins researching who might have sent the postcard; the third, an email exchange between Anne and her sister; the fourth, Myriam's - the survivor's - story. It starts out somewhat straightforward historical fiction, but becomes ever more complicated as Lélia's and Anne's research intertwines, and Anne reflects on both generational trauma and her own Jewishness, as one who doesn't practice and never has, but who nevertheless is a descendant of those murdered by the Nazis. It's not easy to read. It does not shy away from the horrors of the German occupation and the collaboration of the French government and people. A powerful read.
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camps in World War 2. Some time later, Anne is pregnant with her daughter and becomes interested in the story, so Lélia begins telling her the results of her research.The Postcard is divided into four parts: the first, Lélia telling Anne the story of her great-grandparents, Noémie and Jacques; the second, about six years later in the narrative present, Anne learns that something happened to her daughter at school and begins researching who might have sent the postcard; the third, an email exchange between Anne and her sister; the fourth, Myriam's - the survivor's - story. It starts out somewhat straightforward historical fiction, but becomes ever more complicated as Lélia's and Anne's research intertwines, and Anne reflects on both generational trauma and her own Jewishness, as one who doesn't practice and never has, but who nevertheless is a descendant of those murdered by the Nazis. It's not easy to read. It does not shy away from the horrors of the German occupation and the collaboration of the French government and people. A powerful read.
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LibraryThing member Faradaydon
Breathtakingly brilliant!
LibraryThing member LynnB
The author has done a lot of research and, at times, it seemed like she was more interested in showing what she'd learned than telling a story. But, somehow, she made it work...a real tribute to her. Her main character, Anne's, reflections on intergenerational trauma and her own Jewishness --
The resolution of who sent the title Postcard was, I thought, weak. But I still appreciated the unique perspective this book brought to my knowledge of this terrible episode of human history.
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secular, but descended from Holocaust survivors, told a often-told story in a new way. I saw more about individual families, struggling with whether to leave Germany or not, wondering if they were safe there, or would be safe anywhere. Wrestling whether to comply with requirements to register as a Jew or not. Trying, in the face of so much uncertainty, to make what would turn out to be life and death decisions. The resolution of who sent the title Postcard was, I thought, weak. But I still appreciated the unique perspective this book brought to my knowledge of this terrible episode of human history.
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ISBN
1609458389 / 9781609458386