Love amidst chaos

The irony in the title immediately strikes you. The Luck Of The Jews is a true story about love and providence amidst twentieth century’s darkest period — the Holocaust.

The Luck Of The Jews
Michael Benanav
Global Vision Press
Rs.395 

The author, a journalist, traces the lives of his grandparents Joshua and Isadora, both victims of the Nazi pogrom. After escaping from separate concentration camps, their paths miraculously cross aboard a refugee ship bound for Palestine. Three days later, and without any common language between them, the two are married.

This well-researched book is not about the Holocaust as much as it is about the triumph of the human spirit. And it is as important a historical micro narrative as it is the author’s personal quest for answers.

With a journalist’s eye for detail, Benanav succeeds in drawing us into the times and the spaces he describes. One only wishes he had spent more pages describing his  grandparents’ life post-marriage and their eventual shift to America. But that’s a minor shortfall in a book that’s both important and gripping.

Full review here Hindustan Times