RaveThe Boston GlobeBruck’s gaze is often postwar, even if she’s recounting events directly tied to Nazi atrocities. As scholars have noted, Bruck’s frequent focus on the period following the liberation of the camps is part of what makes her work original and compelling.
Marina Jarre, tr. Ann Goldstein
PositiveFull StopJarre’s discussion of these events offers her an opportunity to describe the ways the forces of history intersected with that of her own family. The most important aspect of the memoir, however, is how it recaps the relationships—which are often strained – with the women in Jarre’s life. And of all the women in her life, her mother loomed the largest. That would be true of most people but in Jarre’s case, the memoir could be read as a catalog of how she disappointed her mother, how she failed to live up to her mother’s expectations, and how her mother spelled this out at every turn ... Jarre switches between present- and the past-tense narration while she recounts the salient moments of her long life ... This can make for rather disjointed reading. At times, the reader may wish Jarre chose a straight narrative line and followed it. But the jagged feel this gives to the work is particularly apt for the way it meshes with Jarre’s character, especially when she tells candid stories about herself and her failings ... If the reader is up to it, treasures await in this work. Jarre’s English-language debut is a story of an unforgettable life full of heartbreaking moments, and the author honors the genre of memoir by presenting her life and herself truthfully, warts and all.
