Friday, January 10, 2014

Far to Go by Alison Pick

It was friday afternoon, the end of a long week. Misha Bauer made one last telephone call; the operator told him there was a line through berlin.
"Our calls don't go through berlin," he said. She of all people should know that. But he did'nt want to be angry --- not at the start of the Sabbath. He was looking forward to getting home to his wife and little boy, Tomas.
"My mistake."
"Could you bok me line for monday?" he asked.
"Next monday?"
"Four o'clock." He paused. "No, four thirty."

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Of my father, I remember absolutely nothing.


~~~Page 56,Far to Go by Alison Pick

The Friday 56 is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.
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MY REVIEW FOLLOWS:

Title: Far to Go
Author: Alison Pick
ISBN: 9780062034625
Publisher: Harper Perennial/2011
Pages: 310

The novel is set in Czechoslovakia in 1938. Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia  has been invaded by Germany. The Bauers, Pavel and Annabel think they are not going to be affected by the invasion. Because they are rich and are secular Jews who do not practice Judaism. They have a nanny, Marta for their five year old son, Pepik.

Marta loves her young charge. She has secret lover, Ernst, who is Pavel's best friend. She is aghast to know that he hates the Jews. He wants the Bauers money at any cost. He is the one who betrays the Bauers and Marta, in a moment of weakness, helps him. She is worried about her future and makes this bad decision to betray them. It is too late by the time she realizes her mistake. 

The Bauers, in desperation, decide to sent Pepik to England using Kindertransport.  He does not want to go, like any child of his age but they force. They have every plan of getting him back after the war finishes. 

Told by alternatively by an unknown narrative in the present times and Marta, the novel moves forward in a good pace. At no point, I wanted to stop reading. There is no melodrama or sentimentality. It is told in a very practical manner and that is what makes the story poignant.  The emotions are palpable and reach out to the reader. It might be a work of fiction but we know all of this and more happened. Jews were killed in various concentration camps. And they took to desperate measures to save their children. I did not know much about Kindertransport. this novel made me aware of that. 

This is not a book to trifle with and a serious read. All of us ought to read about the holocaust. I highly recommend it for every reader. Yes, each one of us. Because, we must not forget. THE HOLOCAUST. 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this opening! I've been meaning to pick up this title--heard good things about it--but I kept putting it off for some reason. Maybe this year xP

Happy weekend! My Friday Book Memes

Unknown said...

Oh this one sounds good! I can't wait for a review. For some reason anything WW related I want to read.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a good weekend.

Caroline

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Love the sound of this one...and the setting. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.

Cheryl said...

Wow! Sounds like a powerful book.

Elizabeth said...

Will look for your review. Sounds good.

THANKS for sharing.

Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Book Beginnings

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Gautami,

This book has received an amazing amount of reviews and overall has met with some great acclaim.

As someone who has never come across either book or author, those first few lines already have me intrigued and wanting to know why an operator would try to connect Misha via a route she should know isn't the correct one ... perhaps she has a motive in placing the call in the wrong direction?

I am not sure just how enthusiastic you were about the book, it is a little difficult to guage from the cautious review you gave it, but it is definitely going on my reading list.

Thanks for sharing and have a good weekend.

Yvonne.

fredamans said...

An emotional read! Sounds amazing though!
Happy weekend!

sherry fundin said...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

LadyD Piano said...

Very emotional and introspective. Sometimes the reflection can be painful but necessary. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your blog link with me. Nice to meet you!

Ricki Treleaven said...

I enjoy books about WWII. What a wonderful review for a book that truly sounds fantastic!

Have you ever read City of Women? You might like it!

Great Friday 56!

xo,
RJ

JC Jones said...

It sounds like a book that might be tough to read.

guiltlessreader said...

This sounds like a great read! :) Thanks for coming over ... enjoy your weekend!

Yvonne said...

Great choice!

Have a great weekend!

Wendy Lohr said...

Great review! I had not heard of this book, but it definitely sounds like a very poignant and intense read. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my blog earlier!

Wendy @ Escape Into Fiction

Catherine @ Book Club Librarian said...

I like the opening...it has me wondering what will happen next and where the story will go.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

I liked this one but did not love it. Like you, I also did not know much about the Kindertransport and I learned more from this novel.