Twenty years after his mother and father jumped to their deaths from a balcony, Philippe Grimbert has written a gripping novel about the hidden mem...
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Jun 24, 2008
C(h)ristine
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A good friend of mine recommended this book, one of her favorite books of all time, to me. She said it could possibly change my life to read it. I don’t know about you, but I am all for reading books that could shake the psychic ground beneath me.
And so I immediately bought it. It is a tiny book, less than 150 pages and the pages are about 6″x4″, the size of large index cards–but oh my, it covers so much psychic and narrative ground in that spare ground! It is full of soul. And it m More...
And so I immediately bought it. It is a tiny book, less than 150 pages and the pages are about 6″x4″, the size of large index cards–but oh my, it covers so much psychic and narrative ground in that spare ground! It is full of soul. And it m More...
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Dec 02, 2008
Denis
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Extremely moving. Brings back in our life the past that we, as French people, cannot get away from, and which comes back to haunt us, no matter what. History through the lense of a very personal and intimate story always seems more poignant. Grimbert's story, told in simple, effective ways, avoids the fake pathos that would spoil the emotion, and delivers a brutally powerful tale.
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Feb 02, 2011
Christie
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Although Philippe Grimbert’s book, Memory, claims to be a novel, the story has the ring of truth.
Although an only child, for many years I had a brother. Holiday friends and casual acquaintances had no option but to take my word for it. I had a brother. Stronger and better looking. An older brother, invisible and glorious.
Grimbert’s novel is the story of a family. The narrator, a sickly child of athletic and beautiful parents whose “every muscle had been buffed and toned More...
Although an only child, for many years I had a brother. Holiday friends and casual acquaintances had no option but to take my word for it. I had a brother. Stronger and better looking. An older brother, invisible and glorious.
Grimbert’s novel is the story of a family. The narrator, a sickly child of athletic and beautiful parents whose “every muscle had been buffed and toned More...
Aug 13, 2010
Jay
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“Memory”
(Originally published as Secret)
A novel by Philippe Grimbert
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Though this novel is small (a mere 160 pages) and could easily fit into the palm of your hand—the enormity of its significance will haunt you in a very big way.
Often times, when happening upon one of these novella’s, I turn to the first page with an almost I dare you attitude of just you try and make me read on. I read and read and read—twice! Th More...
(Originally published as Secret)
A novel by Philippe Grimbert
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Though this novel is small (a mere 160 pages) and could easily fit into the palm of your hand—the enormity of its significance will haunt you in a very big way.
Often times, when happening upon one of these novella’s, I turn to the first page with an almost I dare you attitude of just you try and make me read on. I read and read and read—twice! Th More...
Jul 17, 2009
Mari
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A slim novel, Memory is translated from the original French. It was published first in the UK in English as "Secret." It's a novel that reads like a memoir, especially because the subject's first name is never spoken but his family name is the same as the author's. The timing/age of the author based on his jacket photo also make it confusing.
It's a novel about a family secret having to do with The Holocaust and missing family members. Some clunky writing in places, likely d More...
It's a novel about a family secret having to do with The Holocaust and missing family members. Some clunky writing in places, likely d More...
Jun 25, 2009
Sophia
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It's easy to finish this slim volume in one sitting. But resist that urge--Memory is best savored over several sessions. Previously published as Secret, this little book is a catharsis for a deep family secret.
Philippe Grimert, a Parisian psychoanalyst, blurs fiction and autobiography in a sparse, lyrical telling of growing up as the sickly only child of beautifully athletic parents in postwar France. On his fifteenth birthday he learns from an old family friend about his family's surviva
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Oct 08, 2009
Kathy
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A very short but powerful novel (much of which I believe is actually autobiographical) about a fifteen year old boy who learns about his family's sorrow and history during the Holocaust. Self described as weak and sickly, Phillipe has always imagined an older brother - stronger, athletic (like his parents), and protective. He learns from a neighbor and family friend that the carefully constructed life his parents told him was fiction, and his dreams of a brother were true. Translated from Fre
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Jul 08, 2008
Miranda
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Why it received multiple awards I'm still trying to figure that out... the character development lacked authenticity.
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Feb 16, 2009
Roben
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The storyteller weaves a tale of living two lives with an ambition to integrate the contradiction. One a certain existence in Paris after WWII with parents and beloved extended family members, another with dark reflections of echoes from past events before birth. Memories and conversations with family members slowly reveal the truth to the author, in a short but richly told saga, as a people struggle with their personal flaws along side the deeper and more disturbing flaw of a public caught i
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Jan 25, 2011
Melissa
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As much as they are disturbing, it is always important to sober yourself up to the way people can be brainwashed to believe and follow crazy ideas... i.e. Hitler
This was literally, "a good read" - a quick easy to read, not wanting to put down fictionalized acct. of some people of Jewish descent escaping concentration camps... hidden stories in the family that even the children didn't know. I really liked the way the story was told and the way you traveled through the events.
This was literally, "a good read" - a quick easy to read, not wanting to put down fictionalized acct. of some people of Jewish descent escaping concentration camps... hidden stories in the family that even the children didn't know. I really liked the way the story was told and the way you traveled through the events.
Sep 11, 2011
Jennifer
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I love this kind of novel where the writing is straightforward and spare, with just enough description to let the reader fill in the details and let their imagination weave together with the words. This is a powerful little book about boy who discovers the truth about his family's past experience during world war two and the secret that was kept for him for the first fifteen years of his life. Like many holocaust stories, there is horror and healing in Memory.
Mar 26, 2009
Brenna
rated it: 
Unlike the French, apparently, I found this book awfully flat. There is the constant foreshadowing of a grand, astonishing secret which never unravels, really. However, if you are looking to read a personal story of how the Holocaust effected one family and a kind of psychoanalysis (Grimbert is a psychoanalyst) of the tolls such an experience has on a person and how it affects the choices of the rest of their life then, it's a quick read.
Nov 14, 2009
Lauren
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 28, 2009
Laren
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I was not brave enough to read this book in the original French language so I settled for the English translation which was still a nice read. The main character has always felt that he had a brother, and one day he discovers that he was correct. But he was not correct about much else, as his neighbor unfolds the story and reveals that his family history is not at all what he thought it was. To say much else would spoil the story, so you'll have to read it to uncover the mysteries for yoursel
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Jun 14, 2011
Mark
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With a spare, almost matter-of-fact style, Grimbert explores how secrets haunt even the descendents of those who held closely to themselves some dark and horrifying past. In the release of those secrets comes personal understanding and strength.
Grimbert, in a mixture of fiction and autobiography, writes of the Holocaust's effect on his parents and, ultimately, himself.
A powerful and hauntingly written book.
Grimbert, in a mixture of fiction and autobiography, writes of the Holocaust's effect on his parents and, ultimately, himself.
A powerful and hauntingly written book.
Jul 27, 2009
Jill
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Quick read, though assigning the term 'quick' to a book centered around the Holocaust seems a bit wrong. The story is different in that it's told through the eyes of the author, whose parents went through the period but who himself was born after WWII ended. Though perhaps told a bit too quickly, it maintains an outsider feel without getting to bogged down in tragic prose or details. Worth a read.
Aug 09, 2011
Sienna
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I loved the sparseness to Philippe Grimbert's writing. It seems to be a frequent characteristic in French writing. His writing is very thoughtful. He does not approach the subject of the Holocaust with a victimization angle. His approach is rather explorative. He tackles the subjects of family, history, and identity. He writes with a subtle grace. This novel is very haunting.
Apr 04, 2009
Kerry
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I expected more of a WWII story, and that was at the root of it, but it ended up being more of a personal story of an affair that began his parent's relationship. I just thought I was signing up for a different kind of story, so I think it disappointed me a little that what this was was somewhat different. Not bad, just not what I thought I would be getting.
May 18, 2011
Rachael
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This was a gorgeous novella/short story, and powerfully written, but I worry that maybe some things were lost in translation. The prose sometimes feel flat -- this is a story that was, in every sense of the word, told. It was told to him by a woman who witnessed it and he tells it to us. There is no mystery, no unfolding, and in that it loses some of its power. Nonetheless, it's sorrowful and a tightly woven story.
Jan 12, 2010
Kasa
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About half-way through this searing memory piece, I realized I had seen the movie based on the same story. It was no less haunting, powerful and sad. The movie, "A Secret," was like this book, based on Philippe Grimbert's devastating family history. So slim it can be read in a single sitting, yet it packs a punch stronger than many books twice its length.
Oct 22, 2009
Naomi
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I found this to be a very short, but powerful and thought-provoking book. The story is about a young boy (with the same last name as the author), who uncovers a family secret about how his parents got together. This book reminded me of how the tragedies of the Holocaust were superimposed on pre-existing, and often complicated and conflicted relationships.
Jun 26, 2009
Yannick
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AT beginning you think that you are reading a simple love story between 2 perfects people. Page after page of your reading, you learn that the story is more complicated that you thought.
Even if you try to forget your past, one day or an other is coming to haunt you, because you have always witness of your act in order to remember you the event.
Even if you try to forget your past, one day or an other is coming to haunt you, because you have always witness of your act in order to remember you the event.
Jan 14, 2009
This haunting novel was one of my favorites of last year. Based on the author's own family history, it's the story of a family haunted by the secrets of their past: an illicit love affair,a lost child, and a devastating betrayal dating back to the Second World War. Now in paperback, it's a perfect choice for book groups.
Wendy
Wendy
Oct 13, 2010
Juli
rated it:
This was a beautifully written book about a daunting subject - a true story, no less. It was translated from French, so it took me a chapter or two before I got the flow of the language (keeping in mind that chapters are never more than 3-4 pages long). A very easy read that took me less than a day.
Jan 11, 2010
Sapna
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A compelling story,mostly autobiographical, about the Holocaust, written by a Frenchman. The English translation is very good and while the book is short, the imagery and symbolism used causes the reader to stay focussed on each word. I enjoyed it on many levels--the writing was very clever.
Oct 24, 2009
Francesca
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Fascinating little book; beautifully written and shockingly true (based on author's life and the family secret that was too painful to share). This is a must-read for those interested in Holocaust fiction. The author is French and the story takes place in Paris before/during/after World War II.
Sep 06, 2009
Jennifer
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This is a short but interesting novel, loosely based on the author's true experience. At age 15, he discovers his parents' true past and Jewish background that they had hidden from him. They had created a whole false past of what had happened during WWII.
Aug 05, 2009
Morgan
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A very quick read, but powerfully tragic. My heart breaks for the main character because of the way he uses his bits of memory and imagination to create the tragic love story of his parents. Simple yet meaningful. One of my favorite historical novels ever (more like a novella though)
A definite must read.
A definite must read.
Apr 08, 2009
Karen
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Another novel on how a family survived (or didn't) WWII. The narrator is a young man discovering the truths about his parents and the rest of his family. Captivating and a very easy read. I look forward to watching the movie adaptation- Un Secret.
Mar 06, 2008
April
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I was surprised at what a quick read this was. Although it was quick it touches on very deep issues. While all books concerning the treatment of Jewish people in areas of Europe during WWII are devastating and sad this book didn't go into the more depressing and gory aspects of the experience which lots of books do. Of course, like any book with this topic its story was sad and touching but it contained the element of healing on the part of the narrator which was a touching element to the boo
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