A Boring Evening at Home

by Gerda Weissmann Klein

The book is a glimpse into the life of Gerda Klein, and into the thoughts that have always vindicated her belief that the most treasured place on earth is home, and that the most beautiful and desirable aim for people is to spend "a boring evening" there with family. "I have been in a place for six incredible years, where winning meant a crust of bread and to live another day. Since the blessed day of my liberation I have asked the question, Why am I here?... In my mind’s eye I see those years and faces of those who never knew the magic of a boring evening at home. On their behalf I wish to thank you for honoring their memory, and you cannot do that in a better way than when you return to your homes tonight to realize that each of you who knows the joy of freedom is a winner. On their behalf I wish to thank you with all my heart."
-- Remarks by Gerda Weissmann Klein, accepting the Oscar for the documentary One Survivor Remembers, at the Sixty-eighth Annual Academy Awards in 1996

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, War

150 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sue Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading her first book, “All But My Life,” I watched every available online interview with the author, but I still wanted to know more. And now I have the full picture! I want to read it again, because I devoured it, and yet I feel it’s a book that should be slowly savored. In order to fully appreciate this book, I think it’s important to read “All But My Life” first. These books were incredible and inspiring to me.

[Deena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short pieces are always harder for me than "full length" narrative texts; these are short, and quite a few are stream of consciousness as opposed to constructed narratives. But they are a fascinating look at the ways in which having survived the Holocaust impacted a woman's life after 1945: how she thinks, how she processes what she sees, thinks, feels, does. So while not strictly "memoir of the Holocaust," these essays (vignettes, in some cases) represent a view one rarely gets. And Mrs. Klein is always worth reading.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more stories of her time living in America. There are some, but often her mind is taken back to reflecting on her lost family.
Nonetheless, reading her trilogy of books, from surviving a WWii death camp, to then waiting the eternal months for her husband to marry her, to finally starting her life in Buffalo NY

[Tuly Huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring book by Gerda Weissmann Klein. An important read.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just did start read this book.

[Aundreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's good book.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very powerful and reminded us of all we have to be grateful for.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerda Weissmann Klein is a treasure. I adored these essays. It was clear that she had taken sections of them to use in her previous books, so parts were a bit repetitive, but her writing is stunning. So often, WWII memoirs end with the end of the war, but I love that she continued to write about how she adjusted to life after the war, and how those experiences affected her view of everything from buying a washing machine to 9/11. It's such a rare but important perspective.