Postcard - BookWyrm

English language

Published April 11, 2023 by Europa Editions, Incorporated.

ISBN:: 978-1-60945-838-6

(1 review)

Anne Berest’s luminous, moving, and unforgettable new novel The Postcard is the most acclaimed and beloved French book in recent years.

At once a gripping investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and an enthralling portrait of 20th-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, The Postcard tells the story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and yet somehow restored by love and the power of storytelling. Heartbreaking, funny, atmospheric, and a sheer joy to read, The Postcard is certain to find fans among readers of Irène Némirovsky’s Suite Française, Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.

January 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris; on the back, the four names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, …

Anne Berest’s luminous, moving, and unforgettable new novel The Postcard is the most acclaimed and beloved French book in recent years.

At once a gripping investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and an enthralling portrait of 20th-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, The Postcard tells the story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and yet somehow restored by love and the power of storytelling. Heartbreaking, funny, atmospheric, and a sheer joy to read, The Postcard is certain to find fans among readers of Irène Némirovsky’s Suite Française, Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.

January 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris; on the back, the four names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques—all of whom died at Auschwitz in 1942.

Almost twenty years after the postcard is delivered, Anne is moved to discover who sent it, and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, countless family, friends, and associates, a private detective, a graphologist, and many others, she embarks on a journey to uncover the fate of the Rabinovitch family: their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris, the war and its aftermath. What emerges is a thrilling and sweeping tale that shatters her certainties about her family, her country, and herself.

1 edition

Bridgman reviewed Postcard by Tina Kover

Review of 'Postcard' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was the choice for my local library's book group. I'd never heard of the author or the book, so I thought it would be interesting to read it without reading even one sentence of the back cover or inside flap (it's still in hardback as I write this). All I knew about [b:The Postcard|63880836|The Postcard|Anne Berest|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669656399l/63880836.SX50.jpg|92938792] was its title and the author's name, [a:Anne Berest|4306711|Anne Berest|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675718237p2/4306711.jpg].
I am, as I've mentioned here several times, a very slow reader. I also have such a short attention span that I would probably be diagnosed as an adult with ADHD (though I'm too lazy for the hyperactivity part). It's hard for me to focus on anything for an extended period of time.
But. I soared through this book, which is 475 pages long, in a week.
It covers history familiar to most. (If it isn't to you due to youth …

This was the choice for my local library's book group. I'd never heard of the author or the book, so I thought it would be interesting to read it without reading even one sentence of the back cover or inside flap (it's still in hardback as I write this). All I knew about [b:The Postcard|63880836|The Postcard|Anne Berest|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669656399l/63880836.SX50.jpg|92938792] was its title and the author's name, [a:Anne Berest|4306711|Anne Berest|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675718237p2/4306711.jpg].
I am, as I've mentioned here several times, a very slow reader. I also have such a short attention span that I would probably be diagnosed as an adult with ADHD (though I'm too lazy for the hyperactivity part). It's hard for me to focus on anything for an extended period of time.
But. I soared through this book, which is 475 pages long, in a week.
It covers history familiar to most. (If it isn't to you due to youth or lack of exposure, it will be after reading it.) I often have trouble reading translated works—the author is French—because I quibble with choices the translator made, but this has been translated almost flawlessly. It won't get in your way, even if you're as bad as I am.
The most disturbing thing about it is that, although most of it takes place in France in the years before and during World War II, it's timely.
13:40