Michael
Alice Hoffman’s The World That We Knew is set during World War II in Berlin, Paris and the French countryside. This is a novel where magical realism sits beside the monstrous horrors of the Nazis and the very human actions of the characters. Most of the characters are Jewish, most die at the hands of the Nazis. The literal Angel of Death is hovering nearby and one of the main characters is Ava, a golem. It is a novel about love, loss, resilience, and what it means to be human.
It starts with Hanni Kohn, mother to 12-year-old Lea, and her desperate desire to save her daughter. The only way to do this is to go to a world-renowned rabbi, and ask him to create a golem, whose one purpose in life would be to protect Leah. Having failed once before the rabbi refuses. The rabbi’s daughter overhears the conversations and says she will create a golem, although this would be a sin, since women are not supposed to act in this way. But the golem, who is female created by a female to protect a female is created and she is called Ava.
There are a multitude of characters in the book that I had no trouble keeping apart. Most are Jewish, but not all. I was so very sad when one of my favorite characters was killed, but that is the historical part of this historical fiction novel. Anyone starting to read this because it is historical fiction, should be aware that it is not true historical fiction, but fiction with a lot of history thrown in and a lot of magical realism and elements of Jewish folklore.
However, the novel reads sort of like an extended fairytale, a style that is difficult for me. I thought the writing, plot, and characters were wonderful, but the fairytale like style took me out of the story on occasion. But this was not enough to really bother me, and I thought this was a wonderful, wonderful book that I am so glad I read.
There are parallels to the world we currently live in that are frightening.
Alice Hoffman’s The World That We Knew is set during World War II in Berlin, Paris and the French countryside. This is a novel where magical realism sits beside the monstrous horrors of the Nazis and the very human actions of the characters. Most of the characters are Jewish, most die at the hands of the Nazis. The literal Angel of Death is hovering nearby and one of the main characters is Ava, a golem. It is a novel about love, loss, resilience, and what it means to be human.
It starts with Hanni Kohn, mother to 12-year-old Lea, and her desperate desire to save her daughter. The only way to do this is to go to a world-renowned rabbi, and ask him to create a golem, whose one purpose in life would be to protect Leah. Having failed once before the rabbi refuses. The rabbi’s daughter overhears the conversations and says she will create a golem, although this would be a sin, since women are not supposed to act in this way. But the golem, who is female created by a female to protect a female is created and she is called Ava.
There are a multitude of characters in the book that I had no trouble keeping apart. Most are Jewish, but not all. I was so very sad when one of my favorite characters was killed, but that is the historical part of this historical fiction novel. Anyone starting to read this because it is historical fiction, should be aware that it is not true historical fiction, but fiction with a lot of history thrown in and a lot of magical realism and elements of Jewish folklore.
However, the novel reads sort of like an extended fairytale, a style that is difficult for me. I thought the writing, plot, and characters were wonderful, but the fairytale like style took me out of the story on occasion. But this was not enough to really bother me, and I thought this was a wonderful, wonderful book that I am so glad I read.
There are parallels to the world we currently live in that are frightening.