Tohle je má píseň

by Richard Yaxley

Tři generace mladých lidí, jeden stín, který je zastírá… Ve 40. letech je mladý židovský hudebník Rafael Ullmann poslán do nacistického koncentračního tábora. V letech 70. žije jeho dcera, mladá dívka Anna Ullmannová, osamělý život v kanadské prérii. O tři desetiletí později si Joe Hawker neumí poradit s vlastním životem, nenachází pevnou půdu pod nohama a jeho budoucnost je značně nejistá… až do doby, kdy objeví píseň, kterou před 60 lety napsal jeho dědeček. Z ulic protektorátní Prahy, přes Terezín, Osvětim a Kanadu až do Austrálie. Šest desetiletí, tři kontinenty a příběh jedné písně a strašlivých dějinných událostí, které ovlivní víc lidí, než si dokážeme vůbec představit.

Genres: Historical, Young Adult, Family, War, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2018

About the author

I write powerful and engaging stories for all age groups. My novels are:

- Leonardo Forever (Scholastic 2023)
- Harmony (Scholastic 2021)
- A New Kind of Everything (Scholastic 2020)
- The Happiness Quest (Scholastic 2018; CBCA Notable Book for Older Readers 2019)
- This Is My Song (Scholastic 2017; ACU Book Of The Year 2019; Winner of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Literature; Finalist in the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards; also published in the Czech Republic by Albatros Media)
- Joyous and Moonbeam (Scholastic 2013; Finalist in the 2014 West Australian Premier’s Awards for Young Adult Literature)
- Spring Rain (Self-published 2011)
- Drink the Air (Strictly Literary: Winner of the 2010 Queensland Premier’s Award for Young Adult Fiction)
- Bloodlines (Strictly Literary 2009)
- The Rose Leopard (University of Queensland Press 2003)
For further information on me and my work, go to http://richardwyaxley.com

Reviews

[Christine Bongers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, lyrical and affecting. Richard Yaxley's story, spanning three generations from the horrors of Auschwitz to the quietude of a Canadian prairie to 21st century Brisbane, is a song from the heart. A lovely read that I am proud to be launching at SanSisto College tomorrow.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my song is a moving story written by Richard Yaxley. The Compelling Story of the Ullmann Family is followed over 3 Continents and time-lines. Rafael Ullmann is sent to Auchwitz during WWII, His Daughter Annie lives a lonely, quiet life in Canada, then with a powerful ending, Joe Hawker (Annie’s Son and Rafael’s Grandson) and his mother Annie discover more about Rafael’s Past after he passes away and are shown something he had never shown anyone before and uncover many secrets of his past… Read this amazing story to find out more.

[MBF · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a cute book but was underwhelmed.

[Jane Cowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winner of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Literature

This is an intensely moving novel but I think it can get lost to adult audiences by being allocated as 'Young Adult'.

It is a story told in three parts from three generations, crossing three continents and from three different points of view. It beautifully, sparingly and poignantly drives home the impact of trauma and how this is passed down the generations. It is compelling and unforgettable as the blurb on the back of the book promises and deserves much greater appreciation and readership than The Tattooist at Auschwitz by Heather Morris as it is a far better book.

To begin we meet Rafael Ullmann on the point of death who is going to break a lifetime of silence to tell his story to his daughter who has no knowledge of his background or family. And the story starts with his poor deluded father, Rafael’s place in Prague, as part of a family in the Czech Republic, his discovery of music and finishes in Auschwitz with the loss of family and with the death of music in his heart. We then meet Rafael again in the 1970s through the eyes of his daughter Annie, and through the lonely, beautiful rugged Canadian wilderness until her escape, running to more life and away from the silences of her home, with music still forbidden. And finally we meet Joe, his grandson, a Brisbane teenager locked in the mundane, a beautiful singer, the music finally bringing life.

The characters we meet along the way are all brilliantly drawn, with short sharp decisive scenes and Yaxley brilliantly uses the silences in families to demonstrate the rifts and also the unspoken love. Each of the main characters have an authentic voice that tugs at the readers emotions. In the judges words ‘It is poignant, memorable and intensely moving’.
Definitely a recommended read and would make a great Book Club novel as there is so much to discuss.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the greatest expression of song is Yaxley's exceptionally lyrical prose. This is My Song is a sweeping story told in three parts across three continents, embracing three monumental periods of time. The story of young Rafael Ullmann's rising love for music amidst the growing tensions of the 1940s is chocked with heartbreak and wrenching disappointment.

He survives the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp but at the cost of losing his passion for the thing he loved most, music. His song lies withered, abandoned and forgotten like a childhood pet that died long ago. By the time his daughter, Annie arrives, Rafi has accepted his world of silence and regret.

Annie is a child of the sweeping isolation of the Canadian prairie lands, yet she is a bird eager to fly and seeks a freedom she cannot enjoy with her parents. It is her son, Joe, an uncertain modern-day Aussie youth seeking a solid sense of self from a history he knows nothing about, that eventually helps them all reunite with the song the bounds them together forever.

This is a fascinating and achingly beautiful story about family, surviving emotional and physical conflict and finding ones voice that rises and falls with the same heart-swelling cadence of a musical score. Each character harbours hurts that plead for sympathy but never pity. Instead our love for them matures as we realise they are all contributors to their song; their history, their family, their reasons to be. It is a song we all share or could share no matter what language it is sung in for we are all legacies of the music of life.

Powerful and evocatively written with the gentle touch of a master of emotion, This is My Song resonates the need to 'give peace a chance' in the most emphatic way. Loved it.

[Rennai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard book to rate when some of it was wonderful and other parts seemed off track. Probably a 3.5 stars from me. The story is first told by Jewish holocaust survivor, Rafael. He is retelling his past for/to his "child". As a child, he and his family were herded into a ghetto - spoiler... only he and his father survive this only to be taken to Auschwitz. Rafael's story is harrowing, not only because of the deprivation he had to endure but because of the cruel demise of his mother, sister and father. The story then moves to Annie (1970's). It covers her story from childhood to young adult. Annie is the daughter of Rafael. The story is then taken over by Annie's teenaged son Joe. We find out that Annie has been divorced and forced to move from the land with her son Joe. Rafael comes to live with them but quickly ends up in a nursing home with rapidly declining health. Annie had not seen her father since she left their home in Canada and knows nothing of his background. At the end, she and Joe find out a little but I don't know what happened to Raphael's story (the one he was penning at the start of the novel). This story was obviously for Annie but it is not amongst his belongings. Although Annie's story held some interest for me I do question the relevance of quite a bit of it. I guess that is where my rating lowered. Overall to me, it is a poignant relationship story more than a holcaust story. It certainly brought a tear to my eye at the end.

[zabiik · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Jistota je dočasná."

[Stephen Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some stories are irrevocable, immutable; needing to be told again and again. Such is Richard Yaxley's tripartite novel, This is my song, a story that grows out of the Holocaust, spreads its ripples across place and time.
Sometime after World War II Rafael Ullmann writes to a son or daughter unspecified about the time before; of a family sullied not only by an impractical father who loves the German poet Rilke but by history. The Ullmanns are Jewish. In the 1940s, the Nazis send them from Prague to a ghetto called Terazin and ultimately to Auschwitz. Only Rafael—inmate number B4198, a once upon a time musician—survives. In the 1970s, Annie, the daughter, we think, of Rafael Ullmann, lives in a Canadian cabin with her father and mother. In Annie's mind, there is no time before her birth for any of the family for she knows nothing of their past. Ultimately, she flees her isolation and becomes—marriage failed—single mother to Joe Hawker. We meet them both in Brisbane about three decades later. Joe is a "freak", isolated in a school, someone who values only his music teacher and his chances to sing… When Rafael dies in an old person's home in Brisbane, an unperformed song comes to light.
Yaxley's lyrical account compellingly connects a reader with the awful consequences of tyranny. Musical motifs tie the three parts together, an arpeggio of sax, secret phonographs and semi quavers; segueing through a dirge that notes the consequences of unspeakable horror. At times, you want truths to become more evident to the story's players, for Rafael to sit his errant 1970s daughter down so that he can reveal his hell (would she have fled then?), for the discovery by Annie and Joe of Rafael's post WW2 tale, along with that song of birds and freedom… These comfortable connections are not made, and that of course is the point of horror; that it has too often chiefly silent witnesses.

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written story of the long lasting effects on a family affected by the Holocaust. I liked the way this story was a little different to other Holocaust stories - set across three generations in the different countries. A beautiful story for mature upper primary readers and lower secondary students.

[Ginny Heinze · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Is My Song crosses three continents and time-lines, chanting the need for each of us to find our own music, to sing to those we love most. This compelling and unforgettable story, by award-winner Richard Yaxley, that will strike a chord and pluck the heartstrings.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yaxley's writing about the effect of trauma across generations is brilliant. Empathy, connections, who are we until we know our history?

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Affecting and resonate. I still have questions.

[Marek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kniha je vyprávěna z pohledu Rafaela, Annie (jeho dcery) a Joea (jejího syna). Všechny osoby spojuje láska k hudbě. První část knihy na mne působila nejsmutněji, Rafael zažije hodně smutných okamžiků před válkou a také v koncentračním táboře. Druhá část knihy se odehrává v Kanadě a třetí část v Austrálii.

Když člověk miluje literaturu, tak se může stát, že jakoby zapomene na všechno ostatní, nevnímá skutečnost, neuvědomuje si dostatečně, jaká je doopravdy situace, ve které se nachází, má nasazeny růžové brýle, poněvadž je zahleděný jen do své vášně a tak tomu bylo i v případě Rafaela. V tomto ohledu mne jeho chování mrzelo. Někdy jedno správné rozhodnutí může odvrátit sled dalších událostí..

Z knihy jsem si také odnesl, že pokud se nám nedaří v osobním životě, nesmíme přelévat zlost a ubližovat ostatním lidem. Pak toho časem můžeme litovat, omluvíme se tomu, komu jsme ublížili a teď záleží na tom, jestli nám dotyčná osoba odpustí či nikoliv. Pro mě byla také zajímavá část týkají se pomluv. Pokud nás někdo pomlouvá, asi je nejvhodnější uvést věci na pravou míru, poněvadž nás to může poškodit. Když se vyjádříme k dané pomluvě, už nikdy se k tématu pomluvy nemusíme vracet, jednou provždy je všechno řečeno.

Celkově se mi kniha líbila, nalezl jsem v ní řadu myšlenek, kniha není založena na skutečné události. Častokrát si lidé pokládali otázku, pokud byli umístěni do koncentračního tábora, jestli existuje Bůh, a když viděli, co všechno se děje, ztráceli v něm víru, což je pochopitelné. Ptali se, jak může Bůh dopustit, aby umírali děti?! To je otázka, nad kterou někdy uvažuji. Slyšel jsem názory, že lidé si za všechno mohou sami, nikoliv Bůh.

Nad některými věcmi jsem se více zamyslel, poněvadž jsem v životě udělal hodně neuvážených kroků a při čtení této knihy jsem si uvědomil, že jsem se nechoval správně a chyb, kterých jsem se dopustil, už nebudu opakovat. Jde o to přiznat si chybu, kterou jsme udělali a znovu ji neopakovat.

Citáty z knihy, které mne oslovily:

Bůh není pozorovatel, žádný člověk zvenčí. Bůh musí být ve tvém srdci. Jinak není nikde.

Ano, stále bude existovat, ale to i ty skály. To jsem já, pomyslela si, skála usazená v hlíně, na niž prší a svítí, skála, která se ohřívá a chladne a nepoutá ničí pozornost. Jsem potápějící se skála, neboť skály nerostou. Zůstávají na jednom místě a jsou pomalu, tiše, anonymně zatlačovány dolů, aniž by si toho někdo všiml, až jednou opustí dýchající svět a vklouznou do mrtvého ticha pod zemí.

Ale svět je, jaký je, a někteří lidé vidí věci, které se nedějí. Myslím, že asi proto, že po nich prostě touží. A kapitola sama pro sebe jsou pak všelijaké domněnky, šuškanda a pomluvy. Od pomluv k pravdě, Annie, vede krátká cesta.

Proplouváme životem, pomyslel si, věříme, že všechno víme, plujeme, plujeme a najednou se nám zaboří do břicha mohutná pěst. Ohneme se, narovnáme se - jsme jiní. Všechno je jiné.

[howsoonisnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sense that Yaxley wanted to move away from the typical Holocaust narrative, seeking to convey trauma as is carries through the generations, but I'm not entirely convinced he succeeds at doing this. I feel ambivalence towards the daughter and grandson's narratives, and I feel their stories have been included at the expense of the heart and soul of this book, which is Raphael. Raphael's accounts for one-third of the story, and it is simply divine. Moving, heart wrenching, powerful, astute, lyrical, devastating. Particularly compelling, was Raphael's father's descent into delusional madness, which left me bereft, hollow, aching, in a way no other Holocaust narrative ever has. I wanted to follow Raphael through his adult years, rather than jumping haphazardly, onto Annie and Joe's stories, which lacked the bite, power and intensity of Raphael's. The leap felt abrupt, with too much unfinished business, and too many narratives condensed in 200 words. I was unsure too, of Annie's goshawk obsession. It was a clumsy link between the inter-generational narratives (both are birds, and that's about it). Overall though, Yaxley's prose is moving and lyrical throughout. And this was a thought-provoking book that leaves its mark on you.

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

at first i couldn't quite comprehend what was going on- maybe because i wasn't quite interested, but as i continued; i was extremely intrigued, especially by rafeal ullmann's story. but i'd say, as it progressed, the stories seemed less intense which makes sense in comparison to how each had to live their lives, especially when comparing rafeal's life to joe's life. i loved how it was sort of split into three different perspectives/stories, it really gives you a sense of how each character felt.

[Domenic Ferreri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this novel as part of a university course and thought that it was decent. I've read quite a few books about the Holocaust and thought it was interesting to represent intergenerational trauma by diving the novel into three time periods. Though there were some concepts younger readers might not fully engage with, I felt that the writing overall was simplistic and more targeted at students in Years 5-8.

[Hewlett Ho]

I read this for an Exploration of Modern Science assessment at uni and as expected I didn’t like it. It was pretty boring and a lot of the events that happened in the book were uneventful and had no purpose. If I read this for an occasion other than school it would probably take me half a year to finish.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*
I was forced to read this book for work, and I think this impacted my enjoyment of reading it.

[Tasmia · Rating 3 out of 5]

an easy read. interesting and engaging

[Anushka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunting.

[Josephine Burks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intense, solemn yet beautiful book. It tells the story of a family’s terror living in Prague during the Nazi German occupation, eventually ending up in Auchwitz. Great writing.

[jaids · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish there was a way to rate books no stars

[Amaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

its cool how all three stories connect and my fav one was the last one. reply with ur fav part😉😉

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antisemitism
Concentration camps, including Auschwitz
World War Two

[Alex Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was okay just not my vibe

[Marie J. Bystrá · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kniha není špatná ,ale ani ta nejlepší co jsem dosud četla

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: World War Two

6/10, looking back at this I can say that I won't be reading from this author again since his first book This is My Song kind of underwhelmed me and I was hoping that his next book Harmony would be better than that but it turned out to be just as tedious to read since both books suffer from the same issues, where do I even begin... It starts with the first of three main characters Rafael Ullmann or Rafael for short and he lives during World War Two when he is sent away to a concentration camp where he spends part of the book there. This is by far the best part of the book since it's the most action packed however it just goes on a downward spiral form this point onwards. The book then cuts to the next main character Annie Ulfmann and she lives in the 1970s 30 years after Rafael and she just lives a life all alone in Canada and it appears that her main hobby is birdwatching which was nice to see since this is the only character I know of that does that. I'm not sure if that's really necessary though since it doesn't add much to the story and it's just filler but anyway now I get to see the last part of the book with the final main character Joe Hawker and all he did was discover a song his grandfather wrote and that was it. This ends it underwhelmingly, what a shame.

[Anh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is My Song tells the story of the generational aftermath of World War II and the Jewish racial persecution in a modern and fresh way.
In the 1970s, Annie Ullmann lived on a prairie in Canada with her parents - Rafael Ullmann. Living each year waiting for the return of the falcon and its haunting song, she yearns to be as free as the bird with which she has such a bond. The generational aspect of the three stories is extremely artistically written, with the language and context of each distinct moment clearly distinguished and used in the writing. The contextual and cultural comparisons between the three stories are stark and complement the character development of the three characters - each with their own story and lovable traits to draw readers in.
This is My Song is subtly used to tell the story of intergenerational discord and the aftermath of Jewish racial persecution during the Second World War. Showcasing the consequences through the lives of three very different protagonists, the novel is a great read for anyone interested in World War II, ancestry, and a deeper look at history. history of immigrants and survivors of World War II.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of exploring different generational perspectives! However, it would have been even more impactful if Rafael had written down his story for Annie and Joe to read, giving them a sense of closure.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging- full review closer to release date