DINA'S LOST TRIBE

Name: DINA'S LOST TRIBE
Author: Brigitte Goldstein
ISBN: 978-1450251082

by Brigitte Goldstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 2010

Readers who appreciate historical fiction will find much to like, and if Goldstein could apply the same level of ability to...

bookshelf

Two historians journey to France to find a mysterious village with ties to historic Jewish persecution in Goldstein’s (Princess of the Blood, 2007, etc.) new novel.

When Professor Henry “Henner” Marcus receives a letter from his cousin Nina who disappeared five years ago, he has acute misgivings about traveling from Chicago to Toulouse with a large sum of money, as per Nina’s instructions. But Henner’s strong sense of family and academic curiosity drive him to commit to the adventure. When Nina finally shows herself, Henner is drawn further into the mystery through a codex allegedly written by Dina, a Jewish woman who founded a community high in the Pyrenees Mountains that has retained its isolation over the centuries; it is Valladine—the place where Nina was born during her parents’ escape from the Nazis and where she returns as an adult when she abandons her academic career. Henner and Nina’s friend Etoile set to the task of translating the codex while Nina returns to her adopted medieval village, where she may face punishment for removing the document. Parallels and reflections abound among the several interwoven plot lines: Dina’s story, Nina’s story, Henner’s family history and contemporary events. Goldstein—historian, literary translator and editor—shows a talent for making historical events feel relevant and alive. Dina’s story is captivating; Goldstein describes the various settings—a mountain village, a forlorn jail cell—with prose that is both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually satisfying. She wavers, however, on her more contemporary subjects. She uses the same language when following Henner, Etoile and Nina on their travels through 1970s France and America as she does when describing the 1300s. Even their conversations sport a pedantic tone with a liberal peppering of highbrow vocabulary; the result is a constant, solemn cadence that grows heavy-handed over 400 pages.

Readers who appreciate historical fiction will find much to like, and if Goldstein could apply the same level of ability to her modern-day characters as she does to her historical figures, the book may find a broader audience.

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2010

ISBN: 978-1450251082

Page Count: 412

Publisher: iUniverse

Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

HISTORICAL FICTION | ROMANCE | HISTORICAL ROMANCE | GENERAL FICTION

bookshelf

WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES

by Georgia Hunter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2017

Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.

bookshelf

Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.

Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “You’ll get only one shot at this,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “Don’t botch it.” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “That form is a deal breaker,” he tells himself. “It’s life and death.” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.

Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK TO SCREEN
Hulu’s ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ Adds To Cast

bookshelf

MAGIC HOUR

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

bookshelf

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.