Another great review!
This 5-star review was just posted on Amazon and Goodreads. I am continually impressed by the eloquence of the reviewers and so grateful that they took the time to write down their reaction to the book:
“The English author Alan Bennett stated, ‘The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you.’ Krulick-Belin has crafted an intriguing way of bringing the reader on a very emotional journey with her as she pieces together the story of her father’s life from her early childhood memories and his own words left as clues in love letters written to her mother. The book expands this collection of what could have been a neglected and forgotten box of personal love letters into a broader cultural and historical context that almost anyone at any age can relate to in many ways. Reading many of the “stage-setting passages” that connect the letters I was constantly transported to various times in my own life and reminded of things I hadn’t thought about in years. As Bennett says, I became flooded with feelings and ways of looking at similar events from my own past or thinking about my own family in similar ways. One of my favorite passages illustrates the author’s colorful writing style that immediately took me to almost forgotten memories of my own brief life with my father:
‘Our fathers teach us about strength, wisdom, and life’s practicalities. When they run along side of our two wheelers for the first time, they know when to hold on and when to let go…..before we learn to stand on our own two feet, we must first learn to dance by standing on theirs.’
Exhaustive and extensive background research, photos, documents and oral histories tap into WWII history, genealogy, Jewish culture, various religions and life in North Africa – and become the glue that connects the letters together to tell her father’s story and make the journey more relatable and interesting to the reader. Anyone interested in genealogy, American history or Jewish family life will appreciate Jan’s sleuthing descriptions, meticulous attention to details and organization as she leaves no stone unturned in this snapshot of not only her father and his life as a soldier, but how she pulled together the story of his life from the disparate pieces left behind.”
(LtoR) Antonio, Dad, Maurice Benhamou, and Aissa Karkour