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lillygm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexual assault
cassafrassandfries's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Though she calls it a novel, this is so thoroughly researched and so deeply personal that it should really be called a memoir. In January of 2003, Anne’s mother receives a postcard to the Berest family home. It’s tucked in with the expected holiday cards, but is anything but expected. On the front is a picture of the Opera Garnier in Paris. On the back the postcard is addressed to Anne’s maternal great-grandparents and their children. The catch - Ephraim, Emma, Noemie, and Jacques were all killed at Auschwitz over 60 years before that card was delivered. Fifteen years after this mysterious postcard is dropped into Anne and her mother’s lives, Anne is moved to discover who sent it and why. This mystery-memoir is a stunning depiction of Nazi-occupied France. With meticulous research from her chain-smoking mother, Anne delves into the brutal realities of Hitler’s Europe, she follows the ghosts of her Rabinovitch family in their sojourn from Russia, through Palestine, and ultimately their deaths in Germany. All the while grappling with the historical and present-day context of what it means to be Jewish.
I purchased this at Completely Booked in Murrysville, in preparation for a book club discussion on this fantastic novel. This book shattered me. It’s separated into four sections, the first a memoir-like history of the Rabinovitch family and their travels from the early 1900s up to the point of the second world war. It ends with (no spoiler here) the deaths of Noemie, Jacques, Ephraim, and Emma at Auschwitz. The second part delves into Anne’s own relationship with being a Jewish woman with little obvious connection to the Jewish faith and customs. This was a deeply personal portion of the book that was in one way telling the story of how she begins to unravel the mystery of the postcard, but even more so how she unravels the complexities of being a Jewish woman raised without much connection to being Jewish. The third part is quite short, and is really just two letters between Anne and her sister, as they reflect on being namesakes to their maternal grandmother, Myriam (the only of the Rabinovitch family to survive) and their maternal great-aunt, Noemie (the one killed at Auschwitz). The last part is Myriam’s tale of survival under the Vichy Regime, and then German-occupied France. Culminating in the discovery of who sent the postcard to Anne’s mother, more than 60 years after the people it was addressed to were killed. I learned so much about this historical context of this time period, of how the rounding up and killing of Jews took place without much intervention from the French government, of how pervasive the propaganda was during this time, of what happened after the war… Anne minces no words and the horrors of the Holocaust are bluntly depicted. I also loved the interjection of modern day conversation between Anne and her mother. The growth of that relationship through this book made it not just historically interesting, but intensely personal, too. Throughout the book I found myself deeply moved by the story of the Rabinovitch family. I found myself wondering what it must be like to read this as a Jewish woman. I found myself heart broken by Myriam’s realizations on life, death, and womanhood. This book was all together shattering and hopeful in the most odd way. But mostly it was a reminder that horrors can creep into society in ways that can be overlooked - until they can’t. It was a reminder that the suffering of ‘a group’ is suffering of individual humans with lives, futures, dreams, and family generations that are stopped in their tracks. Anne’s writing is stunningly beautiful and difficult to put down. My only deterrents with this book was some of the overly abundant detail included in tangential parts of the story - but even those, Anne managed to make them feel some how very important to the overall saga. Truly loved this and can’t recommend it enough.
I purchased this at Completely Booked in Murrysville, in preparation for a book club discussion on this fantastic novel. This book shattered me. It’s separated into four sections, the first a memoir-like history of the Rabinovitch family and their travels from the early 1900s up to the point of the second world war. It ends with (no spoiler here) the deaths of Noemie, Jacques, Ephraim, and Emma at Auschwitz. The second part delves into Anne’s own relationship with being a Jewish woman with little obvious connection to the Jewish faith and customs. This was a deeply personal portion of the book that was in one way telling the story of how she begins to unravel the mystery of the postcard, but even more so how she unravels the complexities of being a Jewish woman raised without much connection to being Jewish. The third part is quite short, and is really just two letters between Anne and her sister, as they reflect on being namesakes to their maternal grandmother, Myriam (the only of the Rabinovitch family to survive) and their maternal great-aunt, Noemie (the one killed at Auschwitz). The last part is Myriam’s tale of survival under the Vichy Regime, and then German-occupied France. Culminating in the discovery of who sent the postcard to Anne’s mother, more than 60 years after the people it was addressed to were killed. I learned so much about this historical context of this time period, of how the rounding up and killing of Jews took place without much intervention from the French government, of how pervasive the propaganda was during this time, of what happened after the war… Anne minces no words and the horrors of the Holocaust are bluntly depicted. I also loved the interjection of modern day conversation between Anne and her mother. The growth of that relationship through this book made it not just historically interesting, but intensely personal, too. Throughout the book I found myself deeply moved by the story of the Rabinovitch family. I found myself wondering what it must be like to read this as a Jewish woman. I found myself heart broken by Myriam’s realizations on life, death, and womanhood. This book was all together shattering and hopeful in the most odd way. But mostly it was a reminder that horrors can creep into society in ways that can be overlooked - until they can’t. It was a reminder that the suffering of ‘a group’ is suffering of individual humans with lives, futures, dreams, and family generations that are stopped in their tracks. Anne’s writing is stunningly beautiful and difficult to put down. My only deterrents with this book was some of the overly abundant detail included in tangential parts of the story - but even those, Anne managed to make them feel some how very important to the overall saga. Truly loved this and can’t recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
lostinthelibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn't sure at the start but this book really grew on me. There are a lot of themes around identity, citizenship generational trauma, family relationships and more. Although it does jump around a lot, once I got the hang of it I appreciated the present characters reflecting on the past (although I was always keen to get back to Miriam's story.) the scenes at the concentration camps and of detainees returning to Paris were visceral and a highlight of the novel . I feel like I learnt a lot more about a period of history that can be overdone in literature and it all felt very personal to the author (potentially semi-autobiographical given that she shares a name with the protagonist). I did become less invested in the mystery of the postcard as the story went on but the way it was concluded was just perfect! Overall a very worthwhile read that I look forward to discussing with my book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Genocide, and Death
jesstaurant's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Dementia, Genocide, War, Suicide, Addiction, Antisemitism, and Grief
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.
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.
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
theresa_timber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Racial slurs, Child death, Grief, Confinement, Sexual content, Bullying, Dementia, War, Death, Murder, and Racism
ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
I sometimes found it slightly confusing with the way it's structured, but it's an incredibly moving story. I really enjoyed the first part, felt it slowed a little after that, but then by the end I was gripped again. Beautifully translated too...no badly chosen words, all just quite beautiful, even though the subject matter was often painful and horrifying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Genocide
deltadam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Antisemitism, Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, War, and Racial slurs
smsegal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Genocide
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.
Also, there are sections you shouldn't read before bedtime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Dementia, Addiction, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Antisemitism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Deportation, Genocide, and Grief