Paula Berinstein's Blog - Posts Tagged "france"

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

An exquisite book that was hard to read. Of course when the story is set in France and Hungary in the late 1930s and the war years, that's to be expected. So many hardships, so many atrocities.

However, because I read this book as part of my historical novels project I found it fascinating--if heartbreaking--to see what a Hungarian Jew studying in France might have gone through. When Andras began his architecture study in Paris in 1937, there were some restrictions on Jews--quotas for schooling and professions, for example--but as the years went by more and more rights and privileges were taken away. Imagine desperately wanting to become an architect, just managing to scrape together the funds to get you through school, and then having that dream snatched away just because you're Jewish. And that was only the beginning of his misfortunes. Over the course of a few years Andras lost not only his schooling but his job, his freedom, his home, and most of his family. (There are bright spots, though, so if you're interested in reading the book, know that there are hopeful moments.)

I'm generally less interested in 20th century history than in earlier times, but I found it fascinating to read about Hungary--a country about which I know virtually nothing--during the war. I feel that I've barely scratched the surface with this book, but at least I've been exposed. I'm looking forward to delving deeper.