Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

The Postcard by Anne Berest

17 reviews

kerri_m's review against another edition

5.0

I've read many books about the catastrophe, and this is one of the best.

It's a story about identity, survival, memory, responsibility, hope. It's about telling their story. It's about not looking away (even when the telling makes you shake and feel sick). 

While many of the details may have been imagined and the research process likely went in a slightly different order, it's miraculous that the Rabinoviches got as much information as they did. We will never hear countless stories of other lives that were stolen.

Reading it now, in 2024, feels like a call to action.

Indifference is universal. Who are you indifferent toward today, right now? Ask yourself that. Which victims living in tents, or under overpasses, or in camps way outside the cities are your ‘invisible ones’? The Vichy regime set out to remove the Jews from French society. And they succeeded.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Deportation, Violence, War, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Child death, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Body horror, Addiction, Suicide, Drug abuse, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

knit_the_resistance's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The Postcard is an extremely difficult book to read, as are most books about the Holocaust. It's dark, and sad. But it's also a complex family history, and a mystery. I enjoyed it, and I was upset by it. I recommend it as an analog book rather than a digital copy so you can go back and forth and check on who different characters are. 
Also, there are sections you shouldn't read before bedtime.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Dementia, Addiction, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Antisemitism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Deportation, Genocide, and Grief

bookworm_ohsea's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Murder, Deportation, Racism, War, Genocide, Confinement, and Xenophobia

francescaguardo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Currently a 4-4.5 but need time to think about it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Deportation, and Genocide

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Antisemitism, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual violence, Deportation, Genocide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and War

kristinj1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Wow this was a good book! It was interesting to read this with the real world backdrop of the war happening in Gaza and Israel. I have an even deeper understanding of what Jewish people have experienced, what it was like in places like Paris before deportation began, how they believed that if they followed the rules they'd be okay. I see now why, at the end of the book, she says why they don't obey orders. Oh, and the reintroduction of "returnees" to France! I hadn't read about any of that before. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Suicide, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, and War

aislinglucy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Abandonment, Drug use, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Death, Dementia, and Genocide

mishasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Deportation, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Antisemitism, Dementia, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, Genocide, Self harm, Torture, and Trafficking

ecidnac's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation, Genocide, Antisemitism, Death, and War

Minor: Suicide, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

citybookspgh's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This has been one of my favorite read of 2023. Based on an event that happened to the author’s mother, a woman receives a post card with the names of three of her relatives who were killed during the Holocaust sixty years earlier. Together with her daughter (Berest), the two women try to solve the mystery of who sent it. Suspenseful right up until the last page.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Deportation, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and War

Soooooooo good.