An interesting biography
3 steloj
I was interested to read this biography because it recounts a lesser-known Jewish experience during the Second World War. I didn't previously know that many Polish Jews managed to escape the Nazi genocide by fleeing into Russia, braving a nation that had driven out a significant proportion of its Jewish communities by way of pogrom attacks over the previous decades. Adel and her husband Itchale were two such young Jews who headed East. In Have You Seen A Dark Haired Man With Burning Eyes, Adel's daughter, Shanun-Klein, retells and shapes her mother's memories into a coherent narrative of an incredible journey.
As the book was written many years after the events themselves, there is an almost dream-like sense to the tale. Time stretches and shrinks according to the vividness with which each event is remembered and I liked the little details that had remained in Adel's memory - the name …
I was interested to read this biography because it recounts a lesser-known Jewish experience during the Second World War. I didn't previously know that many Polish Jews managed to escape the Nazi genocide by fleeing into Russia, braving a nation that had driven out a significant proportion of its Jewish communities by way of pogrom attacks over the previous decades. Adel and her husband Itchale were two such young Jews who headed East. In Have You Seen A Dark Haired Man With Burning Eyes, Adel's daughter, Shanun-Klein, retells and shapes her mother's memories into a coherent narrative of an incredible journey.
As the book was written many years after the events themselves, there is an almost dream-like sense to the tale. Time stretches and shrinks according to the vividness with which each event is remembered and I liked the little details that had remained in Adel's memory - the name of a dog or the colour of a dress, how the snow fell on a particular day or the scent in the air. There are, understandably after so much time, gaps in the story and the level of detail seemed to wane as the book progressed so later years felt rushed in their retelling. I would have liked a stronger idea of how Adel's journey fitted into the wider world picture. I did struggle to keep sense of where she was at any particular year although I understood the Adel herself often didn't know either so this was accurate to her experience. I thought I really got to appreciate who Adel was as a woman though and the inclusion of some of her notions and sayings allowed her to emerge from these pages and show her life.
I think Have You Seen A Dark Haired Man With Burning Eyes would appeal to readers who liked other Second World War memoirs such as The Hiding Place. Shanun-Klein focuses mostly on positive experiences such as the kindnesses of strangers, the 'small miracles' Adel witnessed and her sheer determination to find out what had happened to Itchale. An ordinary woman discovering her extraordinary self.