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A review by screen_memory
Night and Hope by Arnošt Lustig, George Theiner
4.0
I'm largely disinterested in short stories even by authors that I love, yet I still took a chance on Lustig's Night and Hope even after having never read him before (bought this and Darkness together).
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading each story, and what I thought particularly interesting was the exploration into the lives of a character who made only a brief and minor appearance in a previous story.
The most touching was the second, Rose Street, which tells the story of a Jewish store owner who is continually harassed by Nazi officers. One of the officers, fraught with guilt, returns to her store, much to the woman's fright, and leaves her a bizarre gift as a token of his apologies before making his exit in silence.
“For forgetfulness, he thought, was the burying place of human folly in which all words and deeds were interred."
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading each story, and what I thought particularly interesting was the exploration into the lives of a character who made only a brief and minor appearance in a previous story.
The most touching was the second, Rose Street, which tells the story of a Jewish store owner who is continually harassed by Nazi officers. One of the officers, fraught with guilt, returns to her store, much to the woman's fright, and leaves her a bizarre gift as a token of his apologies before making his exit in silence.
“For forgetfulness, he thought, was the burying place of human folly in which all words and deeds were interred."