| Title: | BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest |
| Notice: | 1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration |
| Moderator: | SMURF::FENSTER |
| Created: | Mon Feb 03 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1524 |
| Total number of notes: | 18709 |
If you've ever wondered what life is REALLY like in Russia, read the novel Metro by Alexander Kaletski. The book -- which appears to be autobiographical -- is the story of life as it is really lived in Moscow. I'm not sure how to describe it, perhaps as a musical comedy by Kafka coreographed by The Three Stooges. The book begins when the hero has to get to Moscow to start in the University. Of course he doesn't have a ticket for the train. He goes to the station and looks for the most hung-over conductor. He approaches him, opens his jacket to show a bottle of "hard currency" and whispers the magic words "Can we work something out." Whatever you do, don't read the book where your giggling will disturb others. As to the relevance of the book to BAGELS -- that would be spoiling the story. Martin.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180.1 | Jewels and Ashes | KAHALA::JOHNSON_L | Leslie Ann Johnson | Wed Dec 14 1994 19:11 | 30 |
Jewels and Ashes
----------------
by Arnold Zable
publishers: Harcourt and Brace & Co.
copyright: 1991
I've been riveted to this book the last couple of days, avidly
"devouring" its pages every spare moment I get, and I recommend
it highly to all Baglers - both Jewish and non-Jewish. Its a
collage of memories and impressions of the author's parents,
family friends, and people he meets, told as the author relates
the course of his journey and experiences retracing family history
and roots in Poland. The author's imagery, metaphors, and narratives
are both poetic and powerful as he explores the places and experiences
of his Jewish family, most of whom were annilated in the holocaust.
His parents had immigrated to Melbourne, Australia shortly before
WWII, but they left behind friends, family, and a way of life that
had been dear to them. Both the people and the way of life were
soon to be no more as Nazi pograms and "aktions" were carried out
against the towns, shtetls, and ghettoes that made up the familiar
world of his ancestors. Though much of what Zable relates is painful
and horrific beyond belief, here and there, there are brighter
glimpses of the joy and beauty that one can also find in life. And
the language of the book is so well-crafted that it is a treasure to
read.
Leslie
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