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The Girl On the Wall: A Memoire
Who was Adler Hershi? And who was his real daughter? How do you research a dead person?
Adler Hershi, also know as Samuel, Harry, or Herman Adler, was the eldest of six brothers in the Trans-Carpathian town of Mukacheve. They were the town's taxi drivers, hoodlums, and protectors. His only daughter, Preeva is raised in the New York on tales of adventure and heroism that she can barely believe. Tormented by dreams and mysterious feelings of grief,
Using the tools of modern genealogy and old fashioned deduction, Preeva sets out to discover the truth of her father's stories, Researching on the Web and journeying through Israel, Ukraine, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, she learns the history of the region and in the process becomes more sure of herself and her Jewish identity. This book is an engaging read about a painful subject--the lasting effects of the disruption of the Shoah on modern life.
Adler Hershi, also know as Samuel, Harry, or Herman Adler, was the eldest of six brothers in the Trans-Carpathian town of Mukacheve. They were the town's taxi drivers, hoodlums, and protectors. His only daughter, Preeva is raised in the New York on tales of adventure and heroism that she can barely believe. Tormented by dreams and mysterious feelings of grief,
Using the tools of modern genealogy and old fashioned deduction, Preeva sets out to discover the truth of her father's stories, Researching on the Web and journeying through Israel, Ukraine, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, she learns the history of the region and in the process becomes more sure of herself and her Jewish identity. This book is an engaging read about a painful subject--the lasting effects of the disruption of the Shoah on modern life.
194 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2015
A wonderful memoir that sensitively examines a post-Holocaust family.
April 27, 2017
This is a quick read giving a clear look into the feelings and thoughts of the child of a survivor who feels she was loved less than than the girl in the picture her father kept above his bed--until she goes to Europe to see what that child saw in her brief life.
September 21, 2016
Interesting
A person of any religion will enjoy this book; one woman's journey to discover her very complex family history. A very interesting trek.
A person of any religion will enjoy this book; one woman's journey to discover her very complex family history. A very interesting trek.
June 6, 2015
It's the rare memoir that is as much of a gripping page turner as this one was. I am acquainted with the author and her friend Jess through Congregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto. I had some idea of her background, and knew that we were first in Israel around the same time, but her research into her family's genealogy is exhaustive - and similar to my own only in the sense that my grandparents were also from towns in the Pale of Settlement, including Bessarabia in my moms case. My dad was the son of a generation of chicken farmers in Petaluma; but a good number of his people were also Labor Zionists who escaped the brutality of the white Russian army; as well as the Holocaust in Europe. Preeva, I can't wait to read more from you!
August 24, 2016
Well written and researched... a lot of detail
Lots of detail which I'm sure is interesting to the Adler family. The writing is done so well you keep reading but at the end it dissolves into a series of incidents with no real outcome and no seeming connection, leaving you wondering why you stuck wth it. The author should have hit the Tarot cards 30 years earlier! But a good historical journal all the same with interesting insights into her family history.
Lots of detail which I'm sure is interesting to the Adler family. The writing is done so well you keep reading but at the end it dissolves into a series of incidents with no real outcome and no seeming connection, leaving you wondering why you stuck wth it. The author should have hit the Tarot cards 30 years earlier! But a good historical journal all the same with interesting insights into her family history.
March 25, 2015
An engaging story of a person coming to grips with the Shoah, with lots of light cast on Labor Zionism, atheism, family therapy, and Liberal Judaism.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews