Chicken Soup with Tears

Un récit poignant de deux hommes, voisins de bureau et collègues, mais dont la relation est en réalité bien plus profonde qu'ils ne l'imaginent. Les événements, qui se déroulent à des époques différentes, et les descriptions saisissantes captivent le lecteur par leur langage évocateur, leur suspense et même leur humour, le tout sur fond de lutte désespérée et brutale pour la survie menée par la population juive européenne sous le Troisième Reich. Un récit poignant et authentique qui se déploie dans toute sa complexité.

Two people, one searching for answers to the mundane challenges of professional life as a teacher, the other desperately seeking survival amidst the Nazis' gruesome killing machine of the Holocaust. The intersecting points of their lives, though shifted in time, are skillfully woven together. The vivid language develops each moment of the story into a captivating, gripping narrative that unfolds in all its multifaceted glory.

This book is a gut-wrenching telling of the world’s worst time in modern history.

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey taken by both men: Zenon and Mendel. The latter gives a powerful personification of the atrocities suffered by fellow human beings. Stories of the camps are abundant, often offering vivid recollections of misery; however, living through Mendel’s eyes provides a true perspective — a blow-by-blow account that delivers a definite sense of being there and feeling the emotions of a man almost starved to death and utterly devoid of hope. Alan Walters’ use of the English langage gives a three-dimensional quality to the reality and empathy the reader shares with the characters. Sights, sounds and emotions all reside harmoniously together, creating a genuine atmosphere in which the reader becomes fully ensconced and at one with Mendel. As for Zenon, his journey to uncover his relatives was riveting. The facts and figures of the First World War were fascinating; in truth, I had never studied the particulars of how it all unfolded. Thanks to Mr Walters, and the engaging way in which he narrates these events, it was difficult to put the book down.

Alan Walters manages to interweave powerfully the stories of two present-day conflicted teacher colleagues who share a history of pain and tumult in their lives. The backcloth to their narrative is the Holocaust. Their respective stories shine a light on the insidious antisemitism prevalent throughout the ages, which is embedded across many cultures. Zenon initially finds despair, but ultimately hope, in his quest to trace his ancestors and bring purpose to his life. Mendel symbolises the resilience of the Jewish fraternity as he returns home after many near-death experiences. This emotional rollercoaster of a story is clearly well written, well researched, and compelling on many levels.