Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz

She looked at her father's wet face, skin hanging from his jawbones. He had stopped crying, he was still, but he did not bother to wipe his cheeks.

Title: Displaced Persons

Author: Ghita Schwarz
ISBN: 978-0061881909
Publisher: William Morrow/2010
Pages: 340

Displaced Person is about survivors from the holocaust. It is all about overcoming sorrow with endurance and perseverance, and finally rebirth. Pavel, Fela, and Chaim Polish Jews, survivors and ending up in refugee camps and now known as displaced persons. Three people from three different social structures yet united by a common factor, that is surviving the concentration camps. They have nothing but their ingenuity. They escape to US but the past does not go away. They have new families yet the underlying tragedy does not leave them.

The displaced persons, even after finding new countries, new jobs, new families, can never find the inner peace. Their emotional turmoil is a part of them. 

No holocaust book is an easy read. Same here with Displaced Persons. A person escapes the concentration camps but he still does not feel liberated in the refugee camps. Maybe it is the guilt of surviving, maybe something else but the conflict is very much evident. Surviving is not just about staying alive. It is about emotional healing too, which does not happen.

The cover is stark. The novel is stark. And it hits hard. I strongly recommend this novel for everyone of us. Because we must not forget the Holocaust. EVER.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds sad :(
beautiful cover though
thanks for sharing

http://tiensblurb.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/teaser-tuesdays-the-yearning/

Karen and Gerard said...

Sounds sad, interesting title. Are you enjoying it? Here's ours: http://www.ourstack.blogspot.com/2014/01/tuesday-teasers-four-this-week.html

Beth F said...

Wow. Sounds like a powerful and emotional book.

collettakay said...

How sad!

Here's my teaser:

http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2014/01/teaser-tuesday-12814.html

Colletta

Harvee said...

Good tie in to the book I just reviewed for a tour, a book about conditions BEFORE the war. Both books are very revealing...

Bakey said...

Sounds sad but a book I'd like to read

Trish said...

oh wow. sounds like a really powerful book.

thanks for stopping by my tease

trish - my teaser

Nise' said...

I agree, we must never forget.

fredamans said...

Agreed. Everyone should keep the holocaust in their minds.

Unknown said...

That sounds really sad... Here is mine.

Anonymous said...

What a heart-breaking teaser but as you say a book about the Holocaust is always going to be... Is it interesting?

Unknown said...

yes, I can image that this will be an emotional read! You can already feel the rawness of it in those few words. Thanks for sharing and Happy reading.

Love Africa Book Club said...

This is a moving teaser. Thanks for sharing.

Kay xx

Ellie @ Ellie Reads All the Books said...

Seems like a very emotional, heavy book. Thanks for stopping by.

Unknown said...

How sad! I hope you're enjoying this. Nice teaser!

T.F. Walsh said...

I'm quite intrigued by that teaser... wonder what's going on. Nice selection.

Anonymous said...

This looks like an important read. Unfortunately, I can't handle stark right now!