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oldsimoneaccount's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up to 4. The book just didn't draw me in. Maybe it's because I read a fantastic WW2 right before that and my expectations and excitement were too high.
lenny9987's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately where the line gets blurred between the reader and the story (The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Starless Sea…). In Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters (recently released in English), it’s the writing process where the line blurs, in part, because the main character is attempting to tell an autobiographical story. Confronting the secrets of his early years as a Jew in Amsterdam during World War II and the occupation, the reader watches as research and being in the city help him to develop and shape the novel he is going to write.
Despite traveling the world for his book tours, Israeli writer Yoel Blum has always honored his late mother’s wishes that he never visits Amsterdam — despite the fact that he was born there. But when a publisher pushes and he yields, a visit to the Jewish Museum begins to reveal the secrets behind his mother’s request. Turning to his older sister for what she knows, Yoel ultimately decides to write his next book about his mother, her experiences in Amsterdam during the occupation, and how those tied back to who he became.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-Xc
Despite traveling the world for his book tours, Israeli writer Yoel Blum has always honored his late mother’s wishes that he never visits Amsterdam — despite the fact that he was born there. But when a publisher pushes and he yields, a visit to the Jewish Museum begins to reveal the secrets behind his mother’s request. Turning to his older sister for what she knows, Yoel ultimately decides to write his next book about his mother, her experiences in Amsterdam during the occupation, and how those tied back to who he became.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-Xc
book_beat's review against another edition
I tried to read this book 2-3 times. I think the farthest I got was 60-70 pages. I wouldn’t normally post a review of a book I didn’t finish, but I received an advanced reader copy via a goodreads giveaway.
I struggled with this book (if that wasn’t already obvious from my previous paragraph). I believe this was a translated work, and I think that created my big disconnect. After 70 pages, I have no idea what is happening, couldn’t tell you any of the characters’ names, and reading it felt like work.
I’m in the minority with my thoughts. And life is too short for my hobby to feel like work. On to my next book!
I struggled with this book (if that wasn’t already obvious from my previous paragraph). I believe this was a translated work, and I think that created my big disconnect. After 70 pages, I have no idea what is happening, couldn’t tell you any of the characters’ names, and reading it felt like work.
I’m in the minority with my thoughts. And life is too short for my hobby to feel like work. On to my next book!
theaudioauditor's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book review.
Really atmospheric, dark, gritty, but also emotional. I can't say I enjoyed this book outright, like it wasn't fun to read, but I appreciate what it made me think about and feel. WWII tends to be a subject I always avoid in books, but this one worked. Not my first choice for genre or subject matter, but I liked it while reading, and would recommend for anyone looking for a slower-paced wartime story that focuses less on the battle and more on the people affected.
Really atmospheric, dark, gritty, but also emotional. I can't say I enjoyed this book outright, like it wasn't fun to read, but I appreciate what it made me think about and feel. WWII tends to be a subject I always avoid in books, but this one worked. Not my first choice for genre or subject matter, but I liked it while reading, and would recommend for anyone looking for a slower-paced wartime story that focuses less on the battle and more on the people affected.
pawstoodream's review against another edition
2.0
This is my own opinion.I did not enjoy reading this book I felt like a ping pong, it is translated from Hebrew to English. Don"t know if that is the cause but the story did not have a flow.
I likded the base of the story about family secrets and the discovry of one"s past and who they are. Liked the cover of the book too.
I want to thank Netgalley,Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Emuna Elon for this advance e-copy in exchage of an honest review.
I likded the base of the story about family secrets and the discovry of one"s past and who they are. Liked the cover of the book too.
I want to thank Netgalley,Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Emuna Elon for this advance e-copy in exchage of an honest review.
nosyalien's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ggritzo's review against another edition
5.0
I can't think of a single reason to give this book fewer than five stars.
johannalm's review against another edition
3.0
House on Endless Water, Emuna Elon
Yoel Blum is one of Israel’s most famous writers, and his agent has insisted he visit Amsterdam to promote his most recent novel. Although he and his wife have travelled the world, they’ve never been to Amsterdam because of a promise Yoel made to his now deceased mother to not visit the country of his birth. But, this time, he decides to go.
During the trip he makes a visit to the Jewish Museum where he sees prewar footage of Dutch Jews. Yoel sees the face of his mother and Father in the footage as the video loops over and over. He also sees that his mother is standing with a young girl who looks like his older sister. His mother is also holding a baby, a baby who looks nothing like him. Confused and finally confronted with the past his mother never would address, Yoel spends many weeks in Amsterdam investigating what happened to his family in during WWII.
In an effort to understand who he really is, Yoel’s research not only reveals his family history, but it also exposes the secret networks that helped hide Jewish children, some of whom never reconnected with parents or other family members who survived Hitler’s death camps. It also exposes the Jews who betrayed their own in the hopes of helping their families survive.
Despite the fact that Yoel is a hugely successful writer, has a loving wife, three grown daughters, grandchildren, and had a mother who fiercely loved him, Yoel feels lost now that he doesn’t understand who he is or how he came to be Yoel Blum.
The book is supposed to be a mystery where Yoel slowly discovers his true beginnings. While he’s investigating his past and Amsterdam during the war, he’s also writing the story of this family’s survival and how he, his mother and sister where able to eventually immigrate to Israel.
Meanwhile, I knew after the first few chapters who he really was. Not sure if that was intentional, or if I was among the few who figure it out right away, but it’s annoying to then have to wait for the entire book for Yoel to get there. It’s really a myster about how he came to be his mother’s son and his true origin.
The novel is sad, and learning about the Netherlands during WWII is eyeopening, especially if you are interested in that period. However, the story annoyed me because his sister tells him early on what she remembers about the war, but he doesn’t reveal that conversation. Instead, you know he knows what happened. In other words, the reader knows enough to figure out who he is, he probably knows who he is, but it’s not until the end that it’s actually revealed.
The novel is written in a convoluted way because Yoel himself is writing the story of his beginning while he is figuring it out - so the novel is two parallel and interspersed stories within chapters. The novel about his mothger’s time in Amsterdam is a much more compelling and engaging story than Yoel‘s struggles with his identity. He suffers much throughout the book trying to figure out why his mother always kept their family apart from others and why, even now, he has a hard time connecting to people. When you finally learn about the trauma he faced in early childhood you understand why he’s so annoying and lost as an adult. Maybe his mother should have told him the truth.
Yoel Blum is one of Israel’s most famous writers, and his agent has insisted he visit Amsterdam to promote his most recent novel. Although he and his wife have travelled the world, they’ve never been to Amsterdam because of a promise Yoel made to his now deceased mother to not visit the country of his birth. But, this time, he decides to go.
During the trip he makes a visit to the Jewish Museum where he sees prewar footage of Dutch Jews. Yoel sees the face of his mother and Father in the footage as the video loops over and over. He also sees that his mother is standing with a young girl who looks like his older sister. His mother is also holding a baby, a baby who looks nothing like him. Confused and finally confronted with the past his mother never would address, Yoel spends many weeks in Amsterdam investigating what happened to his family in during WWII.
In an effort to understand who he really is, Yoel’s research not only reveals his family history, but it also exposes the secret networks that helped hide Jewish children, some of whom never reconnected with parents or other family members who survived Hitler’s death camps. It also exposes the Jews who betrayed their own in the hopes of helping their families survive.
Despite the fact that Yoel is a hugely successful writer, has a loving wife, three grown daughters, grandchildren, and had a mother who fiercely loved him, Yoel feels lost now that he doesn’t understand who he is or how he came to be Yoel Blum.
The book is supposed to be a mystery where Yoel slowly discovers his true beginnings. While he’s investigating his past and Amsterdam during the war, he’s also writing the story of this family’s survival and how he, his mother and sister where able to eventually immigrate to Israel.
Meanwhile, I knew after the first few chapters who he really was. Not sure if that was intentional, or if I was among the few who figure it out right away, but it’s annoying to then have to wait for the entire book for Yoel to get there. It’s really a myster about how he came to be his mother’s son and his true origin.
The novel is sad, and learning about the Netherlands during WWII is eyeopening, especially if you are interested in that period. However, the story annoyed me because his sister tells him early on what she remembers about the war, but he doesn’t reveal that conversation. Instead, you know he knows what happened. In other words, the reader knows enough to figure out who he is, he probably knows who he is, but it’s not until the end that it’s actually revealed.
The novel is written in a convoluted way because Yoel himself is writing the story of his beginning while he is figuring it out - so the novel is two parallel and interspersed stories within chapters. The novel about his mothger’s time in Amsterdam is a much more compelling and engaging story than Yoel‘s struggles with his identity. He suffers much throughout the book trying to figure out why his mother always kept their family apart from others and why, even now, he has a hard time connecting to people. When you finally learn about the trauma he faced in early childhood you understand why he’s so annoying and lost as an adult. Maybe his mother should have told him the truth.
mimima's review against another edition
3.0
Though I didn't love the third person perspective, and usually don't enjoy dreamy writing, this one works very well and is a good story.