I am mainly a fiction book reader, particularly those that are historical in genre, about people and their lives. This book being non fiction therefore is not my usual choice of reading matter, but being a work of family history based on a collection of family letters and ephemera from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, I was quickly engaged by the story of Meyer and Sonia, the author’s grandparents and the rest of her family.
As the author unravels her family’s immigration journeys from the Pale of Settlement in Russia to South Africa, UK and the USA, we get a real insight into their hopes and fears, and the challenges of being an immigrant and refugee, which I found really engrossing.
The book also cleverly weaves the author’s own personal journey through Eastern Europe, tracing her family roots against how more recent conflicts have obscured earlier history, giving detailed, well outlined historical context whilst also drawing parallels with the modern day refugee crisis. This really helped me to further understand and have empathy with all involved .
The book is further enhanced with photographs and endnotes should the reader wish to extend their reading.
This was a very enjoyable, well written, interesting read . I recommend it to the wide audience of fiction readers of family stories as well as anyone interested in European and Jewish history and migration.