Hesse, M. (2020). They
went left. NY: Little, Brown and Company.
After World War II, the remnants of Europe’s Jews were forced to find a place to start a new life in a broken world. The novel follows the experience of Zofia Lederman, a survivor from Poland who lost almost everyone in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The book’s title refers to the notorious separation of the camp’s inmates into two groups, those who would be subjected to slave labor, deprivation, and torture, and the others who were immediately murdered. When the novel begins, that process is long over. Zofia has been liberated from the Grosse-Rosen camp by Soviet forces and is setting out on a journey from her native Poland to Germany. Her only goal is to locate her younger brother, Abek, but she is only one among many on a devastated continent hoping that someone from her past is still alive.
Zofia flashbacks to her life before the war and the destruction of her family and community. Her memory is spotty, so she is trying to construct her past, especially the days between when her and her family were taken from their home, and when she was alone in a camp. Until she remembers she can’t move through the present to the future. A skilled seamstress, she sews words into the linings of garments. Arriving at the displaced persons camp of Foehrenwald in Allied-occupied Germany, Zofia meets other young Jews, some planning to settle in Palestine. Although her brief return to Poland had exposed her to continued antisemitism, she cannot commit to an alternative future until she finds Abek.
Zofia becomes romantically
involved with Josef, a fellow resident of the camp; their relationship
is characterized by ambivalence and grief. Neither one trusts the other,
while Zofia’s friend, Breine, who has lost her first fiancé, is preparing to
marry a man she has known for only five weeks “because he’s here,
I’m here, and we’re ready to not be lonely together.” Zofia is unable to
adjust her expectations and to compromise, making it difficult for her
to accept that the post-war life of survivors is defined by crushed expectations
and the inevitability of loss. The descriptions of Zofia’s strong sexual
attraction to Josef are tinged by the violence of their past. In one troubling
scene, as part of their intimacy they exchange evidence of the physical
abuse they’ve both endured. In the
story, characters that Zofia meets aren’t always who she initially believes
them to be.
The book is a work of historical fiction, as well as a mystery and an exploration of the psychological effects of survivors of the Holocaust. It includes “A Note on History and Research,” with useful information and context. The website The Nerd Daily said: “Truly, all of Monica Hesse’s books have had this effect on me. Her books look into parts of history that most don’t think about. Her author’s notes are worth reading for the historical relevance to the places Monica chooses to focus on. There’s so much respect in her research, and it reflects into her writing. I look forward to her next book, wherever that journey takes us.” (DeFelice, 1)
The way Zofia hides the notes in the garments she sews is fascinating. She is a skilled seamstress and sews words into the linings of garments, a metaphor for her ability to preserve her own story and those whom she loves. The dramatic tension of the novel encompasses Zofia’s search for Abek as well as the fate of others with whom she interacts in a completely altered world. The book’s central mystery is the question of how and when Zofia will assemble the fragments of her past and create a vision for her future. They Went Left is a New York Times best seller and is the best I have read in a while.
This is a link to an interview with Monica Hesse about the book.https://bookpage.com/interviews/25091-monica-hesse-ya#.YGoxSOhKjIU
1.
DeFelice, N. https://thenerddaily.com/review-they-went-left-by-monica-hesse/
No comments:
Post a Comment