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Once, Only the Swallows Were Free
Twenty five years after she left her native land, the author, now an Australian, returns to visit her long lost half-brother, Tom. An erudite man cursed with a limp but blessed with insight.
The years of separation stand like a wall of tangled weeds between them, but he eventually opens up. In a cosy room with red Persian carpets and photographs of his mother, whom he has never known, gentle Tom shares stories of his life, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking but never self-pitying.
Though the story is factual, the author uses her strong eye for detail and the techniques of fiction to create this engaging and thought-provoking account about ordinary people who have lived through war, fascism, communism and the transition to capitalism.
The story explores issues of identity, disability, emigration and family relationships against a background of the major political events of the time, from a perspective that challenges some accepted views.
Through a gripping and beautifully written personal history, Gabrielle Gouch succeeds in creating a memoir as strange, rich and fascinating as fiction. This story moves beyond the life of a family, it depicts neighbours and friends, colourful characters who breathe life into the times.
The years of separation stand like a wall of tangled weeds between them, but he eventually opens up. In a cosy room with red Persian carpets and photographs of his mother, whom he has never known, gentle Tom shares stories of his life, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking but never self-pitying.
Though the story is factual, the author uses her strong eye for detail and the techniques of fiction to create this engaging and thought-provoking account about ordinary people who have lived through war, fascism, communism and the transition to capitalism.
The story explores issues of identity, disability, emigration and family relationships against a background of the major political events of the time, from a perspective that challenges some accepted views.
Through a gripping and beautifully written personal history, Gabrielle Gouch succeeds in creating a memoir as strange, rich and fascinating as fiction. This story moves beyond the life of a family, it depicts neighbours and friends, colourful characters who breathe life into the times.
- GenresNonfictionMemoirRomania
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
674 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Gouch
3 books5 followersI was born in Transylvania. I never met Dracula or even heard about him until I emigrated to Sydney Australia (via Israel).
Life in such disparate countries, under such disparate political systems - communism and capitalism - have given me plenty of material for my writing.
Life in such disparate countries, under such disparate political systems - communism and capitalism - have given me plenty of material for my writing.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 29, 2022
This book is the very moving memoir of a Jewish family living in Transylvania, Romania during the Communist era, desperately trying to escape to Israel. The author lived in Romania until she was twenty, then spent seven years in Israel before emigrating to Australia. The memoir shifts between her return visits to Transylvania from 1990 onwards, after the fall of communism, to her childhood there during the 1950s and 60s.
She returns to visit her half-brother Tom who was left behind there, and between them they fill in the missing pieces of the family’s story. Their father Stefan is a thinker and inventor, her mother Roza is often harsh, scarred by the poverty of her childhood and the loss of her family during the war.
I found this a very gripping memoir which vividly created the atmosphere of poverty, hardship and fear under both Stalin and Ceaușescu; the anxious waiting for passports and the constant threat from The Securitate. It also painted a picture of life for the Oleh Hadash, or new migrants, in Israel, who had effectively been bought from Romania. You can feel their relief at their escape from fear and persecution, but struggle with hardship and heat, at beginning life again penniless and lost. To have lived through the holocaust and the World Wars then Communism in Europe, only to be thrust into the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East. It also shows us the shift in Romania after communism, the relief but also the pull between the new and the old ways, the ambivalence towards the West. I found this to be an insightful, well-told memoir which I would definitely recommend reading. 4.5 stars
She returns to visit her half-brother Tom who was left behind there, and between them they fill in the missing pieces of the family’s story. Their father Stefan is a thinker and inventor, her mother Roza is often harsh, scarred by the poverty of her childhood and the loss of her family during the war.
I found this a very gripping memoir which vividly created the atmosphere of poverty, hardship and fear under both Stalin and Ceaușescu; the anxious waiting for passports and the constant threat from The Securitate. It also painted a picture of life for the Oleh Hadash, or new migrants, in Israel, who had effectively been bought from Romania. You can feel their relief at their escape from fear and persecution, but struggle with hardship and heat, at beginning life again penniless and lost. To have lived through the holocaust and the World Wars then Communism in Europe, only to be thrust into the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East. It also shows us the shift in Romania after communism, the relief but also the pull between the new and the old ways, the ambivalence towards the West. I found this to be an insightful, well-told memoir which I would definitely recommend reading. 4.5 stars
September 26, 2020
There is no better way to describe the book than Gabriel herself wrote - a book about ordinary people during turbulent times. Most of the book takes place in post-World War II in Romania.
The book, written with a sharp eye and a gentle hand, led me through the intricacies of the beginning of communist era, and family events as experienced by the author from the post-war optimistic periods as a teenager to Romanian immigration two decades later.
The book is read in one breath, touching, sometimes sad and overwhelming and sometimes brings a wide smile.When I finished it, I thought "What, is that all?" I want a sequel to the story! If not for this story, then for another .
The book, written with a sharp eye and a gentle hand, led me through the intricacies of the beginning of communist era, and family events as experienced by the author from the post-war optimistic periods as a teenager to Romanian immigration two decades later.
The book is read in one breath, touching, sometimes sad and overwhelming and sometimes brings a wide smile.When I finished it, I thought "What, is that all?" I want a sequel to the story! If not for this story, then for another .
October 3, 2020
Gabrielle Gouch's book is much more than a memoir. It is a story that unites a chapter in history experienced through one ordinary family, present and past, and modernized west vs communist East during the difficult period of communism in Hungary and Romania after World War II
The sensitivity of the writer's writing manages to make you a partner in a deep emotional journey into the depths of love, anxiety, and to the essence of idealism from the perspective of an adolescent girl and her brother. it is this that leads the reader to experience the human psyche that seeks the freedom 'to be', in a battering reality. This is a true story about hope, about aspirations, about fulfilling a dream. It is a story that teaches about the power of the word, about the power of will, about reality in an impossible period.
I can only recommend to anyone who is interested in getting to know a fascinating period, to anyone who loves to read a good story and to anyone who loves exceptional writing to read Gouch's wonderful book.
The sensitivity of the writer's writing manages to make you a partner in a deep emotional journey into the depths of love, anxiety, and to the essence of idealism from the perspective of an adolescent girl and her brother. it is this that leads the reader to experience the human psyche that seeks the freedom 'to be', in a battering reality. This is a true story about hope, about aspirations, about fulfilling a dream. It is a story that teaches about the power of the word, about the power of will, about reality in an impossible period.
I can only recommend to anyone who is interested in getting to know a fascinating period, to anyone who loves to read a good story and to anyone who loves exceptional writing to read Gouch's wonderful book.
May 23, 2014
‘As our plane left Romania that day in 1965, I swore never to return.’
Gouch’s first book is a memoir of her exile from Romania during the military dictatorship that followed World War II, amidst remnants of anti-Semitism from Romania’s early alliance with Nazi Germany.
She vows never to return, and yet the pull of her native homeland is too strong. Gouch’s story begins 25 years later, as she takes her Australian family back to Romania, in the province of Transylvania. ‘Not the land of Dracula and vampires,’ she writes, ‘but of mountains and rivers and exquisite birdsong. The land where stories and legends are born.’
They are there to visit her brother Tom, who was left behind the day her parents gathered the few possessions they had (clothes, linen, blankets, shoes, three salamis and two dozen cigarettes) and travelled to Israel—The Promised Land.
‘We rarely talked about my brother, a young man with a limp and a feeble right hand, but his presence followed us like a shadow,’ she writes.
As Tom shares his story of survival without his family during the rise of Romania as a Stalinist police state and the fall of communism following the Romanian Revolution, Gouch discovers forgotten family stories of love and loss.
This book is as much Tom’s story as it is Gouch’s, each memory visually rich and artfully transcribed. But the structure—jumping from childhood to adulthood to adolescence and back again—is often jarring. Tom’s story is written in first-person narrative, with only a slightly narrower margin to let the reader know the story has abruptly switched perspective. Gouch also interrupts Tom from time to time, adding historical information and personal thoughts that often add to the confusion.
However, she does have one lovely transition between her story and Tom’s, which shows off her natural writing flair. ‘In between cigarettes and silences,’ she writes, ‘he told me his story.’
As we delve deep into Gouch’s childhood and the stories of her mother surviving the Holocaust, her English falters, as though she’s reverting back to her native Romanian. Although it’s difficult to read at times, it does give an authentic voice to the story.
Ultimately, the real treasure in this book is Romania: its allies and enemies; freedom and oppression; natural beauty and heartbreaking tragedy. The land where stories and legends are born.
I received a copy of this book from the NSW Writers' Centre for review on their blog: www.nswwc.org.au/2014/04/book-review-...
Gouch’s first book is a memoir of her exile from Romania during the military dictatorship that followed World War II, amidst remnants of anti-Semitism from Romania’s early alliance with Nazi Germany.
She vows never to return, and yet the pull of her native homeland is too strong. Gouch’s story begins 25 years later, as she takes her Australian family back to Romania, in the province of Transylvania. ‘Not the land of Dracula and vampires,’ she writes, ‘but of mountains and rivers and exquisite birdsong. The land where stories and legends are born.’
They are there to visit her brother Tom, who was left behind the day her parents gathered the few possessions they had (clothes, linen, blankets, shoes, three salamis and two dozen cigarettes) and travelled to Israel—The Promised Land.
‘We rarely talked about my brother, a young man with a limp and a feeble right hand, but his presence followed us like a shadow,’ she writes.
As Tom shares his story of survival without his family during the rise of Romania as a Stalinist police state and the fall of communism following the Romanian Revolution, Gouch discovers forgotten family stories of love and loss.
This book is as much Tom’s story as it is Gouch’s, each memory visually rich and artfully transcribed. But the structure—jumping from childhood to adulthood to adolescence and back again—is often jarring. Tom’s story is written in first-person narrative, with only a slightly narrower margin to let the reader know the story has abruptly switched perspective. Gouch also interrupts Tom from time to time, adding historical information and personal thoughts that often add to the confusion.
However, she does have one lovely transition between her story and Tom’s, which shows off her natural writing flair. ‘In between cigarettes and silences,’ she writes, ‘he told me his story.’
As we delve deep into Gouch’s childhood and the stories of her mother surviving the Holocaust, her English falters, as though she’s reverting back to her native Romanian. Although it’s difficult to read at times, it does give an authentic voice to the story.
Ultimately, the real treasure in this book is Romania: its allies and enemies; freedom and oppression; natural beauty and heartbreaking tragedy. The land where stories and legends are born.
I received a copy of this book from the NSW Writers' Centre for review on their blog: www.nswwc.org.au/2014/04/book-review-...
August 3, 2016
Once, Only the Swallows Were Free is a memoir by Gabrielle Gouch as she reflects on her life,on her return to her homeland to visit her brother.
Gabrielle and her family wait day after day in hope for a letter from the Romanian Government to say their application to emmigrate to Israel had been accepted. The family dreamt of a new start away from communism and the persecution of Jews.
After many years they did get to emmigrate to Israel. However they were not permitted to take any money or valuables with them. They left destitute but eager to start their new free life.Leaving behind everything they owned did not worry them but leaving behind a son and brother was a heart wrenching decision.
Gabrielle is now, after many years apart, starting a new relationship with her brother.As she gets to know her brother again she also obtains insight into her father and mother and their life.
This is more than just a story about gabrielle's life but more a combination of Tom's story and his parents story plus their father Stefan and Gabrielle's mother Roza's story. Sometimes the stories are seperate and at other times they all converge into one.
Gabrielle reflects on her fathers passing.
A man who was a Jew but not Jewish enough, an Israeli but not quite, a Hungarian Jew among Romanians and a Jew among Hungarians.
She felt like he never really quite belonged anywhere. There was no "real" place for him.
Gabrielle writes with warmth and joy. Telling of love found and lost. Having to constantly live in fear of being persecuted for saying the wrong thing. However, she puts a lot of emphasis on the good times and the fun she had with her older brother when she was young.
Her journey back to Romania is a journey of making peace with her past.
This is not a depressing story but a story full of courage, hope and dreams.A very moving read.
I received this book through Goodreads first reads to read and review.
Gabrielle and her family wait day after day in hope for a letter from the Romanian Government to say their application to emmigrate to Israel had been accepted. The family dreamt of a new start away from communism and the persecution of Jews.
After many years they did get to emmigrate to Israel. However they were not permitted to take any money or valuables with them. They left destitute but eager to start their new free life.Leaving behind everything they owned did not worry them but leaving behind a son and brother was a heart wrenching decision.
Gabrielle is now, after many years apart, starting a new relationship with her brother.As she gets to know her brother again she also obtains insight into her father and mother and their life.
This is more than just a story about gabrielle's life but more a combination of Tom's story and his parents story plus their father Stefan and Gabrielle's mother Roza's story. Sometimes the stories are seperate and at other times they all converge into one.
Gabrielle reflects on her fathers passing.
A man who was a Jew but not Jewish enough, an Israeli but not quite, a Hungarian Jew among Romanians and a Jew among Hungarians.
She felt like he never really quite belonged anywhere. There was no "real" place for him.
Gabrielle writes with warmth and joy. Telling of love found and lost. Having to constantly live in fear of being persecuted for saying the wrong thing. However, she puts a lot of emphasis on the good times and the fun she had with her older brother when she was young.
Her journey back to Romania is a journey of making peace with her past.
This is not a depressing story but a story full of courage, hope and dreams.A very moving read.
I received this book through Goodreads first reads to read and review.
November 27, 2013
"ONCE, ONLY THE SWALLOWS WERE FREE" successfully depicts the daily hardship and struggles of a secular Jewish family in communist Romania after the Second World War. In addition, it touches the lives of their friends and neighbours as well, people who under the "proletarian dictatorship" lived in fear of the regime and its administrative arm - the communist apparatchiks.
After years of waiting for passports the family emigrates to Israel but not without heartaches as Tom, the author's brother, is left behind.
During the communism era the contact between the brother and sister was restricted to a few letters. It was almost impossible to penetrate the walls of the Iron Curtain at that time. After the fall of the the communism the author embarked on a monumental voyage of finding her brother and rebuilding the lost relationship between them.
The main core of this book is dedicated to Tom, a unique character with great sense of humour. Life has not very kind to him. Nevertheless his optimism and strong will to survive any situation remained intact. Gabrielle Gouch managed to put in words the the struggle and the triumph of good over bad.
On a personal level the reading of this book brought back childhood memories of growing up in Romania and latter in Israel As for those who have never known the evil of ruthless dictatorial regimes, this book will be an eye opener as well as a history lesson.
WELL DONE. The book makes an interesting and educational reading.
After years of waiting for passports the family emigrates to Israel but not without heartaches as Tom, the author's brother, is left behind.
During the communism era the contact between the brother and sister was restricted to a few letters. It was almost impossible to penetrate the walls of the Iron Curtain at that time. After the fall of the the communism the author embarked on a monumental voyage of finding her brother and rebuilding the lost relationship between them.
The main core of this book is dedicated to Tom, a unique character with great sense of humour. Life has not very kind to him. Nevertheless his optimism and strong will to survive any situation remained intact. Gabrielle Gouch managed to put in words the the struggle and the triumph of good over bad.
On a personal level the reading of this book brought back childhood memories of growing up in Romania and latter in Israel As for those who have never known the evil of ruthless dictatorial regimes, this book will be an eye opener as well as a history lesson.
WELL DONE. The book makes an interesting and educational reading.
November 2, 2013
Once, Only the Swallows Were Free
The sweeping events of 20th Century Europe confront familial love, chance and fate in this beautifully written treatment of ordinary lives in extraordinary times. Gabrielle Gouch's book is a deeply personal account of the journey her family must take to survive with the dream one day they will thrive, in Romania, Israel and Australia. Her sympathetic treatment of life with its impossible challenges, its deep disappointments, but its satisfaction in loves shared and opportunities grabbed, both big and small, so that purposeful, and in the end heroic people are made, resonates across cultures and borders.
A usual reader of fiction, I loved this book for its characters, its elegant style, and its simply stated insights into politics and modern life. But most surprising of all was its depiction of the author. Gabrielle is passionate, caring and aware that the peace and comforts we share are lights amongst the darkness, resting on a thin veneer in need of diligent maintenance.
Once, Only the Swallows Were Free is written in the traditions of oral history, making the events and outcomes more poignant for their influence on people's lives and the manner of their reflection. But it all stops too soon! Can't wait for the next instalment.
Richard Matheson
The sweeping events of 20th Century Europe confront familial love, chance and fate in this beautifully written treatment of ordinary lives in extraordinary times. Gabrielle Gouch's book is a deeply personal account of the journey her family must take to survive with the dream one day they will thrive, in Romania, Israel and Australia. Her sympathetic treatment of life with its impossible challenges, its deep disappointments, but its satisfaction in loves shared and opportunities grabbed, both big and small, so that purposeful, and in the end heroic people are made, resonates across cultures and borders.
A usual reader of fiction, I loved this book for its characters, its elegant style, and its simply stated insights into politics and modern life. But most surprising of all was its depiction of the author. Gabrielle is passionate, caring and aware that the peace and comforts we share are lights amongst the darkness, resting on a thin veneer in need of diligent maintenance.
Once, Only the Swallows Were Free is written in the traditions of oral history, making the events and outcomes more poignant for their influence on people's lives and the manner of their reflection. But it all stops too soon! Can't wait for the next instalment.
Richard Matheson
December 18, 2013
This book is easy to read but it covers meaningful subject matter. At first it shows a window into the life of a family in Soviet controlled Romania as seen by a young Jewish girl. Both a member of society but separate from society because of her family's minority status. With the family hoping to be able to leave and emigrate to a better life in Israel but having to wait many years for the chance while they try to make their way in the communist regime of post war Romania. They still had to interact with their neighbors, their community and avoid notice from the state operatives. But when they left Romania they left behind a brother who chose not to leave. The book describes the re-establishing of contact with the brother once the communist regime had collapsed and not only communication was re-established but travel for visits become possible. In these visits and during the following years more of the story of the family is revealed through the eyes of her and other family members. The good times of childhood, the sacrifices made to escape the interest of the state operatives, survival in a non caring state and the impact of the recent holocaust on the attitudes of those who were fortunate enough to escape the worst of it. All in all it is a good read with some thought provoking tales.
April 28, 2014
Gabrielle Gouch left Romania with her family in 1965 to immigrate to Israel. 25 years later she goes back to meet her brother that was left behind. The book is a memoir of her family.
It was more than I expected as I thought that it will be mainly a story of the immigration, but the book talks just as much about Tom who was left behind the iron curtain as well as what she found out about the lives of her parents when they were younger.
A very well written and interesting book. It was interesting to read about Romania of those times and what life was back then. The author is great at capturing the atmosphere of the events, be it the time when her family was waiting years for a permission to immigrate or when she gets to know her estranged brother again.
*I got this book for free through giveaways in exchange for an honest review*
It was more than I expected as I thought that it will be mainly a story of the immigration, but the book talks just as much about Tom who was left behind the iron curtain as well as what she found out about the lives of her parents when they were younger.
A very well written and interesting book. It was interesting to read about Romania of those times and what life was back then. The author is great at capturing the atmosphere of the events, be it the time when her family was waiting years for a permission to immigrate or when she gets to know her estranged brother again.
*I got this book for free through giveaways in exchange for an honest review*
June 12, 2014
Once, Only the Swallows Were Free is a memoir by Gabrielle Gouch. She reflects on life as a Jewish family in Communist Romania. For years the family wait in hope for their application to emigrate to Israel to be accepted by the Romanian Government. Eventually they get to emigrate, leaving their old life behind them, including a son and brother.
Many years later, Gabrielle returns to Romania to reconnect with Tom, the brother left behind.
Tom shares his story of his life in Romania without his family.
This is not just Gabrielle's story, it's Tom's story too.
It was easy to read, an interesting and moving story.
(I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review)
Many years later, Gabrielle returns to Romania to reconnect with Tom, the brother left behind.
Tom shares his story of his life in Romania without his family.
This is not just Gabrielle's story, it's Tom's story too.
It was easy to read, an interesting and moving story.
(I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review)
February 17, 2014
I was intrigued by the memoir "Once Only the Swallows Were Free" by Gabrielle Gouch, not only for it's historical value but also the vivid picture she was able to portray of her family's plight and in particular her childhood in Romania & Israel.
Gabrielle's reconnection with her half brother Tom, and his past, must have been quite emotional especially when the family was separated during these difficult times. The effect of communism on her family's struggles for a better life made this book an absorbing read.
I would recommend "Once Only the Swallows Were Free" be read by everyone living in a democratic society, in particular young Australians, who might take for granted freedom & the opportunities it provides.
Gabrielle's reconnection with her half brother Tom, and his past, must have been quite emotional especially when the family was separated during these difficult times. The effect of communism on her family's struggles for a better life made this book an absorbing read.
I would recommend "Once Only the Swallows Were Free" be read by everyone living in a democratic society, in particular young Australians, who might take for granted freedom & the opportunities it provides.
August 13, 2016
This book was pretty captivating. It’s a memoir, so it’s pretty emotional. You feel that throughout the whole book. Not just because of the atmosphere, but also because of the language. You have lines like “There was always a price to pay to get out of Romania.” Or “Most days he was quite well dressed, but that outfit looked as if it had been made for him. Of course it wasn’t.” It’s very realistic and painful. Yet beautiful and sometimes very funny.
Even though this is a bit too serious and real for me, I do recommend it. It’s really good.
*I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads*
Even though this is a bit too serious and real for me, I do recommend it. It’s really good.
*I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads*
November 23, 2013
I think that this was a really good memoir. I thought it was fascinating what this family over came when they were dislocated to Romania. Even more fascinating is the hope they had for life in Israel. I had never really thought about all the displaced families after WWII, and this really opened my eyes to that. It was incredibly well written, and the writing made it seem like you were in their place which this is one of the few times I've felt that way when reading a memoir. I highly recommend this memoir as it's really a joy to read, and it really was eye opening in my opinion.
August 12, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyable! This is a beautifully crafted memoir. The skill of the writer is evident on every page. I was drawn into the story right from the first pages. The tells her own story of childhood and adolescence in communist Romania, and later, through her interaction with the older half-brother who remained when the rest of the family emigrated. Spanning some of the most turbulent times of our century Gouch brings to life the reality of both her own life, and the atmosphere of the times and places in which she lived. Highly recommended!
November 12, 2014
This book gives an insight into firstly, life during communism in Romania and then life as a migrant living in Israel. Gabrielle Gouch leaves Israel for Australia (she doesn't discuss this much) and then mostly writes about her trips back to Romania to visit her step brother Tom. Through these visits the reader gains insight into her life when she was younger and also Tom's life in Romania as he didn't leave with the rest of the family. She also finds out about her mothers life before she was married. A well written book.
June 12, 2014
I won this book in the Goodreads Giveaways. The book is an exceptional read. Is spans significant historical period of post World War II Transylvania/Romania and Israel. Gabrielle's writing vividly captures critical details of her life and experiences enriching the reader with insights few have touched on before. The read was most enjoyable, the content insightful and the experience transporting. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2014
This a memoir of the author's and her Jewish family's life in Communist Romania and later in Israel. I won this book in a Good Reads giveaway. I was somewhat disappointed in this novel. It was not what I thought it would be. The story was told in a somewhat plodding manner. The author's story was not that unusual, but somewhat interesting. I guess you can tell I have mixed feelings about this one.
October 30, 2013
An excellent read. A vivdly engaging window into a time and place rarely touched upon. Life in Transylvania under austere communism post World War II then emigration to the new State of Israel. Reconnections with Gabrielle's living family and exploration of the family's background plays out admists divergent locales.
January 11, 2014
An excellent read. I really enjoyed this interesting story about the life of a family who migrated from communist Romania to Israel. This is much more than a migrant story with insight into the lives in the Eastern Europe after the WWII, their struggles, dreams, hopes and expectations. Beautifully written and moving.
April 24, 2014
Really enjoyed reading this both as a story and to understand the recent history of Romania.
This shows the struggles of being a jewish family in the mid 20th century trying to get out of Romania and the perceived views of the West and then coming back after communism but still with the same struggles.
Look forward to reading more from Gabrielle
This shows the struggles of being a jewish family in the mid 20th century trying to get out of Romania and the perceived views of the West and then coming back after communism but still with the same struggles.
Look forward to reading more from Gabrielle
December 6, 2013
Beautifully written, I found this memoir both compelling and moving. A real insight into the daily hardships of living under a communist regime. It seemed that refuge in Israel would be a relief but the harsh conditions of that new country made it almost worse that the life they had fled.
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February 7, 2014Final Draft's Kate Booth spoke with Gabrielle about Once Only the Swallows Were Free and you can catch it on this weeks show; Saturday the 8th of February, or on the podcast...
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March 5, 2015
I won this book on Goodreads and I'd probably not have bought it otherwise, which is a shame. The memoir is very insightful and full of stories that I never even thought of. It's engaging and a very interesting book, a delight to read!
February 10, 2014
Interesting and well written book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and look forward to Ms Gouch's next books.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews