"[An] unforgettable odyssey through the hell of the Holocaust, a felicitous blend of personal recollection and keen observation."—Booklist
"A historical account of a tragedy. . . . A David and Goliath story of a young girl's determination to escape the clutches of a seemingly unbeatable evil force. . . . Clever, unself-conscious and meaningful."—Jewish Observer
"A true work of literature."—Multicultural Review
"Ganor's book, a collection of four letters, is her legacy to those years, a legacy which needs to be read and remembered."—Story Circle Book Reviews
Description
The evocation of memory is wrought with emotional and historical significance in this distinctive holocaust memoir. With lyrical prose and remarkable candor, Helena Ganor narrates her story through a series of recently penned letters to the significant people in her life during her wartime girlhood: her sister, mother, father, and stepmother. Both Ganor’s mother and sister perished during the war.
The author’s letters reveal much about living in pre-war Lvov, Poland. Her descriptions of relationships between local Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, and Gypsies in Lvov lend a broad historical context to the Holocaust. Ganor combines deeply personal reminiscences of trying to survive as a secular Jew under Nazi occupation with reflections on the varied ways that humans respond in the face of utter catastrophe. Punctuating her letters with poems, Ganor’s story is an inspiring contribution to Holocaust literature.
About the Author
Helena Ganor was born in Lvov in southeastern Poland (now Ukraine) and lived in Warsaw after World War II. After earning an M.D. degree in 1957, she practiced internal medicine in Warsaw. In 1969 she emigrated to the United States with her husband and two daughters, settling in southern California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. She recently retired from the practice of medicine. She was awarded second prize for her poetry by the International Society of Poetry.
November 2007