Please visit www.gitlinlibrary.co.za to view all new books and the entire Gitlin collection.
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS by JOSHUA HENKIN. A sweeping novel centred around Spence Robin, esteemed professor of English literature. His second wife Pru realises that something is wrong with him – Alzheimer’s. When an estranged son comes back into their lives, he provides hope. Running throughout is a golden thread of Yiddishkeit, showing how families may fracture but the gravitational pull of love holds them together.
DAUGHTERS OF THE LABYRINTH: by RUTH PADEL. Ri, a celebrated artist living in London returns to her home in Crete. As she unearths the stories of her family’s past, Ri’s identity is transformed. Skilfully interwoven is the tragic story of Crete’s Jews. Padel brings a painter’s eye to her sumptuous descriptions of the Greek island, past and present.
HOW TO BE A REFUGEE by SIMON MAY. Three Berlin-born sisters under Nazi rule deny that they are Jewish. Ursel secures Aryan status and becomes part of the German aristocracy. Simon’s mother, Marianne, and sister Ilse convert to Catholicism. Even after Hitler’s defeat they hide their Jewish roots. In the face of his forbidden inheritance, Simon uncovers the lives of his family. A Holocaust memoir about those who stayed and survived.
DANCING WITH THE OCTOPUS by DEBORA HARDING. Aged 14, Deborah was abducted, raped and left to die. She survived and returned to her life in a dysfunctional, abusive family home. Decades later, when married to British writer Thomas Harding, she reconsiders her complex story, shifting between the past and present with a narrative of reckoning and recovery. A brave, thoughtful and inspiring memoir.
EVA AND EVE by JULIE METZ. A memoir about Julie Metz’s mother, who lived in New York and rarely spoke of her childhood in Nazi-occupied Austria (or the pain and sacrifices of being a refugee). When Eve passed away Julie found an autograph book filled with farewell notes to 10-year-old Eva. This memoir takes place in several time frames: Eve’s past, the author’s present and the years when Eva, now Eve, was mother to Julie.
PEOPLE LOVE DEAD JEWS by DARA HORN. Prize-winning novelist Dara Horn’s essays include the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, the little known history of the righteous gentile Varian Fry and international veneration of Anne Frank. Horn examines how we laud Jews of the past, while erasing and misinterpreting living Jews. Written with humour and riveting prose.
NOTHING CAN HURT YOU by NICOLA GOLDBERG. A psychological thriller based on the murder of student Sara Morgan by her boyfriend Blake Campbell. His plea of temporary insanity raises more questions than it answers. In the wake of his acquittal, the case haunts many, like the woman who discovered the body and the junior reporter who senses a connection to a local convicted serial killer.
THIS IS BIG by MARISA MELTZER. Marisa, contributor to the New Yorker and New York Times, weaves together her own story with that of Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers. Each faced enduring frustrations in their decades-long struggle to lose weight and maintain it. An honest, unforgettable and funny memoir for anyone struggling with body image issues.
These and many more outstanding new books available from the Gitlin Library. Please email admin@gitlinlibrary.co.za
or phone 021 462 5088 to request books and make an appointment. Visit our website at www.gitlinlibrary.co.za
Wishing all our Gitlin borrowers a very Happy Chanukah
• Published in the PDF edition of the December 2021/January 2022 issue – Click here to get it.
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