THE BOOK FAIR

Review:

The van Dornbach family resides in Hamburg, Germany in pre-WW II.  The family is educated, modern, well-to-do, and adheres to traditional Judaism.  As the Nazis rise to power, the family begins to feel the tinges of anti-Semitism.  The van Dornbach’s believe, as do most Germans, most German Jews, and most Jews across Europe, that Hitler is nothing more than a ruffian to be put in place.

Of the three children, the eldest child, a daughter, Grethe, early on, against her parent’s wishes, leaves Germany for France.  The elder, sickly son, Siegfried is sent out of the country to manage a business enterprise far beyond his abilities.  By the time of Kristallnacht, the van Dornbach’s realize that survival in Germany is not only difficult, but possibly, impossible. The youngest son, Hermann, makes his escape on a children’s transport to England.

 

Comments:

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson’s book sheds light on the fact that German Jews, represented by the van Dornbach family, refused to believe their beloved country would first betray, then, ultimately seek to destroy them.

However, the book turns colorless and stagnates under the load of political and social arguments concerning socialism verses communism verses Eastern philosophies.  The characters lack of depth, the conversations lack realism.  Lastly, the ending of the book is not only abrupt, but is suddenly advanced by several decades.

The author, born in England, states her relatives escaped from Germany to England.  On that premise, van Shefer-Vanson penned her fiction novel.