History, Politics & Society
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Here's what readers have to say about this book....
I am mainly a fiction book reader, particularly those that are historical in genre, about people and their lives. This book being non fiction therefore is not my usual choice of reading matter, but being a work of family history based on a collection of family letters and ephemera from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, I was quickly engaged by the story of Meyer and Sonia, the author’s grandparents and the rest of her family. As the author unravels her family’s immigration journeys from the Pale of Settlement in Russia to South Africa, UK and the USA, we get a real insight into their hopes and fears, and the challenges of being an immigrant and refugee, which I found really engrossing. The book also cleverly weaves the author’s own personal journey through Eastern Europe, tracing her family roots against how more recent conflicts have obscured earlier history, giving detailed, well researched historical context whilst also drawing parallels with the modern day refugee crisis. This really helped me to further understand and have empathy with all involved . The book is further enhanced with photographs and endnotes should the reader wish to extend their reading. This was a very enjoyable, well written, interesting read . I recommend it to the wide audience of fiction readers of family stories as well as anyone interested in European and Jewish history and migration.
Meyer Fortes and Sonia Donen grew up in a Jewish immigrant community in South Africa, where they met and fell in love. In 1927, Meyer set off, alone, to study in London. Sonia stayed behind in South Africa and they kept up a lively correspondence to keep in touch. Their letters chart their hopes, fears, disappointments and successes, as Meyer struggles to make a life for himself in London and prepare for Sonia’s arrival.
Members of both their families had undergone their own journeys, fleeing from danger in the Jewish Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. Meyer’s father, Nathan, had first emigrated to Memphis, Tennessee and spent a period of time in Leeds, UK. Meyer’s half-sister, Annie, had recently travelled back to Memphis, having been briefly incarcerated on Ellis Island, USA, and was temporarily separated from her husband. Sonia, herself, had been a refugee from the Russian Civil War that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The letters offer unique insights into universal challenges, chiming with current affairs and prompting a journey of discovery through eastern Europe. Few traces now remain of this important period of history, overlaid by more immediate, recent conflicts. Some of the contemporary citizens, descendants of those who stayed, are now facing similar challenges to the families who feature in the letters.
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