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The Light at the End of the Tunnel: A novel inspired by a family story
A novel inspired by a family story.
Eva, a young Jewish woman who grew up in a downtrodden home in Vienna, arrives at a Zionist students’ convention where she meets David, a student who left this hometown in Poland and arrived at Vienna to study at the university. They spend time together, but their ways part when David leaves for Palestine.
Leon, Eva’s son, born in Vienna between the two World Wars, suffers the wrath of his father. He wonders why his mother, Eva, doesn’t leave the father, who is also abusive towards her.
Leon is kicked out of school, wanders the streets and finds understanding and solace in his uncle’s house. Following the German occupation of Austria, he is abandoned and left to fend for himself in the streets of Vienna. He joins the underground, where its members smuggle Jews out of Vienna and across the Austrian border, revealing his unique ability to help many get away from harm’s way.
The escape journey holds many risks and breathtaking drama.
A terrible family secret weighs down on his past all those years.
Will he find out the truth?
The story of David, Eva and Leon serves as a backdrop to the life of the Vienna Jewry before and during World War II.
Eva, a young Jewish woman who grew up in a downtrodden home in Vienna, arrives at a Zionist students’ convention where she meets David, a student who left this hometown in Poland and arrived at Vienna to study at the university. They spend time together, but their ways part when David leaves for Palestine.
Leon, Eva’s son, born in Vienna between the two World Wars, suffers the wrath of his father. He wonders why his mother, Eva, doesn’t leave the father, who is also abusive towards her.
Leon is kicked out of school, wanders the streets and finds understanding and solace in his uncle’s house. Following the German occupation of Austria, he is abandoned and left to fend for himself in the streets of Vienna. He joins the underground, where its members smuggle Jews out of Vienna and across the Austrian border, revealing his unique ability to help many get away from harm’s way.
The escape journey holds many risks and breathtaking drama.
A terrible family secret weighs down on his past all those years.
Will he find out the truth?
The story of David, Eva and Leon serves as a backdrop to the life of the Vienna Jewry before and during World War II.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 8, 2022
A study of Vienna before, during, and after WW II – a stunning family romance story
Israeli author Idit Peled Davidson earned her degrees in Literature and in Special Education from Tel Aviv University and is the founder and manager of Teva-Hai (Nature Lives) company specializing in special education classes and kindergarten educational activities: understanding animals and their interaction with children. THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL is her debut publication, translated from the Hebrew by Grace Michaeli.
Idit’s luminous novel is based on her family history, a reflection of the impact of war on family. Instead of simply recreating the horrors of the Holocaust, and she certainly does include that in her story, she spreads her adventure over the time frame between WW I and WW II and beyond, and in doing so, she brings fresh insights into both history and the overall effect of war on Jews and non-Jews alike.
The story opens in 1922 as we meet the primary character, Eva - When I was almost 17 I would stroll along the streets of Vienna with my girlfriends. I noticed that young men would turn their heads as I passed by, and some even whistled at me. But I, little girl that I was, was not aware of my own beauty. My parents never spoiled me…’ This image follows a Prologue in which Eva is the grandmother, reflecting – a technique that works very well indeed.
The synopsis explains: ‘Eva, a young Jewish woman who grew up in a downtrodden home in Vienna, arrives at a Zionist students’ convention where she meets David, a student who left this hometown in Poland and arrived at Vienna to study at the university. They spend time together, but their ways part when David leaves for Palestine. Leon, Eva’s son, born in Vienna between the two World Wars, suffers the wrath of his father. He wonders why his mother, Eva, doesn’t leave the father, who is also abusive towards her. Leon is kicked out of school, wanders the streets and finds understanding and solace in his uncle’s house. Following the German occupation of Austria, he is abandoned and left to fend for himself in the streets of Vienna. He joins the underground, where its members smuggle Jews out of Vienna and across the Austrian border, revealing his unique ability to help many get away from harm’s way. The escape journey holds many risks and breathtaking drama. A terrible family secret weighs down on his past all those years. Will he find out the truth?’
Idit’s sensitive writing style makes this novel as poignant as warm as a letter from a family member – tender, supportive, and resilient. Very highly recommended.
Israeli author Idit Peled Davidson earned her degrees in Literature and in Special Education from Tel Aviv University and is the founder and manager of Teva-Hai (Nature Lives) company specializing in special education classes and kindergarten educational activities: understanding animals and their interaction with children. THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL is her debut publication, translated from the Hebrew by Grace Michaeli.
Idit’s luminous novel is based on her family history, a reflection of the impact of war on family. Instead of simply recreating the horrors of the Holocaust, and she certainly does include that in her story, she spreads her adventure over the time frame between WW I and WW II and beyond, and in doing so, she brings fresh insights into both history and the overall effect of war on Jews and non-Jews alike.
The story opens in 1922 as we meet the primary character, Eva - When I was almost 17 I would stroll along the streets of Vienna with my girlfriends. I noticed that young men would turn their heads as I passed by, and some even whistled at me. But I, little girl that I was, was not aware of my own beauty. My parents never spoiled me…’ This image follows a Prologue in which Eva is the grandmother, reflecting – a technique that works very well indeed.
The synopsis explains: ‘Eva, a young Jewish woman who grew up in a downtrodden home in Vienna, arrives at a Zionist students’ convention where she meets David, a student who left this hometown in Poland and arrived at Vienna to study at the university. They spend time together, but their ways part when David leaves for Palestine. Leon, Eva’s son, born in Vienna between the two World Wars, suffers the wrath of his father. He wonders why his mother, Eva, doesn’t leave the father, who is also abusive towards her. Leon is kicked out of school, wanders the streets and finds understanding and solace in his uncle’s house. Following the German occupation of Austria, he is abandoned and left to fend for himself in the streets of Vienna. He joins the underground, where its members smuggle Jews out of Vienna and across the Austrian border, revealing his unique ability to help many get away from harm’s way. The escape journey holds many risks and breathtaking drama. A terrible family secret weighs down on his past all those years. Will he find out the truth?’
Idit’s sensitive writing style makes this novel as poignant as warm as a letter from a family member – tender, supportive, and resilient. Very highly recommended.
July 1, 2022
Great read
Wow just wow so much all these people had to go through to be safe in this world just because they were jewesh.they had to hide make up code words to send letters to there families and etc. Eva though she had met the man of her dreams but..im not giving you all no more of the book lol read the book it is very interesting has lots of twist and turns some good some not so good.i enjoyed reading this book it gave me lots of insight of what they all had to go through to survive..
Wow just wow so much all these people had to go through to be safe in this world just because they were jewesh.they had to hide make up code words to send letters to there families and etc. Eva though she had met the man of her dreams but..im not giving you all no more of the book lol read the book it is very interesting has lots of twist and turns some good some not so good.i enjoyed reading this book it gave me lots of insight of what they all had to go through to survive..
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews