Victoria Shorr

This is a very difficult novel to read, as are so many about the Holocaust and Auschwitz. Consie, a contemporary young woman, is given a letter from 1945 that indicates her great uncle may have survived and escaped from Auschwitz. The story is framed by her attempts to research his survival. It mostly follows the lives of the uncle's three daughters and their struggles to survive in the camps. There is a great deal of factual history in this book, which makes it that much more horrifying. The betrayal by Rudolf Kastner, who could have saved half a million Hungarians from the camps but sold out to Eichmann, was the most disturbing revelation, although perhaps I should have known this history by now.… (meer)

Very interesting and thought-provoking concept for a book. Two short novellas: one the story of a family who have lost their prosperity; the other the story of a family starting from nothing and gaining wealth. The stories have absolutely nothing to do with each other; however, the contrast of plots is remarkable.

Loved the idea - liked the second story best: the immigrant with nothing who starts selling scrap metal, then owns junkyards and eventually owns much of Santa Barbara. The affect of wealth and the stories that come down from generation to generation are interesting in both families - what is remembered, what is embellished, and what is passed over.… (meer)